HYANNIS, Mass. — A Massachusetts legislator has announced plans for a bill that would revive daily commuter train service to Cape Cod, currently served by the summer-weekend-only CapeFlyer service.
The Cape Cod Times reports state Rep. Dylan Fernandes said this week that the service would ease congestion on the Cape’s major roadways and bridges across the Cape Cod Canal, and, according to a 2021 study, would generate 1,700 to 2,500 daily boardings while reducing carbon emssions by 3,400 metric tons.
Restoration of Cape service would come in two phases. The first would begin service from South Station to Buzzards Bay, where infrastructure is already in place and service could begin within 12 months of the bill’s passage. The second would establish the feasibility of daily service to the towns of Falmouth, Bourne, Barnstable, Yarmouth, and Sandwich, and the cost of improving the current rail infrastructure to handle regular passenger service. The CapeFlyer service currently takes up to 2 hours, 38 minutes for the approximately 70-mile trip from South Station to Hyannis.
State House News Service reports the bill would require the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to operate at least three round trips daily to launch the service to Buzzards Bay.
About 11,000 people have ridden the CapeFlyer this season, Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority Administrator Thomas Cahir told the Cape Cod Times. The train offers one Boston-Hyannis round trip on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Labor Day from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.
Daily Boston-Hyannis service was last offered by the New Haven in 1959.
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