MBTA Commuter Rail
Greater Boston commuter rail system
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We include updates on South Station, Providence/Stoughton Line, North Station, Franklin/Foxboro Line, Forge Park/495 station, East Taunton station, Foxboro station, Lowell Line, Greenbush Line, Providence station, Wickford Junction station, Pawtucket/Central Falls station, River Works station, Lynn station, JFK/UMass station, Fairmount Line ... and more.
| 2025 | MBTA plans to complete the second-generation fare collection system, which will standardize fare media across modes and allow CharlieCards to be used for all commuter rail trips. |
| February 17 2025 | Wellesley Square station opened with a new temporary freestanding accessible platform. |
| 2024 | Phase I construction is completed. |
| December 2024 | MBTA plans to implement 30-minute all-day headways on the Framingham/Worcester Line by FY 2026, with train consists shortened to 4 coaches. |
| November 2024 | State committed to reconstruction of Newtonville station. |
| November 2024 | MBTA exercised a $165 million option for 39 additional coaches (29 trailers and 10 cab cars), with deliveries to begin in 2027, which would allow retirement of all remaining single-level equipment. |
| November 18 2024 | Silver Hill station reopened. |
| October 1 2024 | Winchester Center station partially reopened with rebuilt infrastructure. |
| July 2024 | MBTA board approves a $54 million Fairmount Line proposal from Keolis, with new BEMU equipment to enter service in early 2028. |
| July 1 2024 | A new island platform at Worcester Union Station was opened. |
| May 2024 | Fairmount Line implements 30-minute all-day headways, including weekends. |
| May 2024 | MBTA exercised an option order for 41 additional trailer coaches at $203 million, with deliveries to begin in mid-2026. |
| May 20 2024 | Limited service resumed at South Attleboro station. |
| January 2024 | MBTA tested a temporary freestanding accessible platform design at Beverly Depot. |
| 2023 | Middleborough station to replace Middleborough/Lakeville when South Coast Rail service begins. |
| 2023 | MBTA begins planning a southside maintenance and layover facility, expected to be constructed between 2023-2028, which will replace the existing layover yard. |
| December 2023 | Interim platforms opened for the station temporarily closed in October 2022. |
| October 2 2023 | Foxboro service made permanent. |
| August 2023 | New Hampshire Governor candidate Joyce Craig publicly endorsed the Manchester commuter rail project during her campaign. |
| February 2023 | Engineering and design work for Manchester commuter service was completed. |
| 2022 | CSX Transportation purchased Pan Am Railways, gaining freight operating rights on most northside commuter rail lines. |
| October 2022 | An unnamed station was temporarily closed due to structural deterioration. |
| October 2022 | Daily boardings data collected for MBTA Commuter Rail lines, showing ridership across different routes, with the Providence/Stoughton Line having the highest daily boardings at 17,648 passengers. |
| June 2022 | MBTA indicates plans to purchase battery electric multiple units (BEMUs) with partial network catenary for charging. |
| June 2022 | First four of the 83 bilevel Rotem coaches arrived, with plans to enter service in 2023. |
| April 2022 | Design work for reconstruction of South Attleboro station for accessibility was completed. |
| 2021 | Study analyzed two alternatives for service to Buzzards Bay or Bourne station, projecting potential daily ridership. |
| April 2021 | 9 of 15 commuter rail lines are moved to clock-face scheduling. |
| February 26 2021 | South Attleboro station was temporarily closed due to structural deterioration. |
| January 2021 | Winchester Center station was temporarily closed due to structural deterioration. |
| 2020 | Phase I construction begins, involving diesel service extension of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line via the Middleboro Secondary. |
| December 2020 | Engineering and design work for commuter service to Manchester, New Hampshire began. |
| September 2020 | MBTA begins adapting short-term regional rail plans, moving some peak services to midday. |
| August 15 2020 | Final segment of the system to have Positive Train Control activated was the inner Worcester Line. |
| 2019 | MBTA's Fiscal and Management Control Board approves a plan to transition the commuter rail system to a regional rail model, endorsing full electrification of key network portions. |
| September 2019 | MBTA issued a $279 million contract for 80 additional Rotem bilevel coaches, with the contract later modified to 83 coaches (43 of which are cab cars). |
| 2018 | A feasibility study was conducted for the proposed North-South Rail Link, which would create a new rail tunnel connecting downtown Boston's commuter rail terminals to allow through-running service. |
| 2018 | MBTA begins conducting the Rail Vision study to assess regional rail alternatives and potential electrification strategies. |
| 2017 | South Coast Rail project plans are modified into two phases due to increased costs. |
| 2017 | Rebuilding of 37 F40PH-2C and F40PHM-2C locomotives to F40PH-3C class by MotivePower (MPI) began. |
| September 30 2016 | 4-mile extension of the Fitchburg Line to Wachusett station opened. |
| April 2016 | Proposed shuttle train service between Bourne and Middleborough was rejected by the MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board. |
| 2015 | Town of Bourne voted to join the MBTA district. |
| 2015 | The Indigo Line procurement and DMU project were canceled. |
| 2015 | Last run of 18 EMD F40PH locomotives (built between 1978-1980). |
| October 2015 | MassDOT began planning a possible commuter rail trial service to Bourne. |
| July 1 2014 | Keolis took over operations of the MBTA Commuter Rail. |
| 2013 | CapeFLYER service introduced, which prompted renewed discussion of extending the Middleborough/Lakeville Line. |
| 2013 | MPI HSP46 locomotives 2000-2039 added to MBTA fleet. |
| 2013 | CapeFLYER service began running from South Station to Hyannis on summer weekends, the first direct service from Boston to Cape Cod since 1959. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article MBTA Commuter Rail, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.