A thorough evaluation of costs, ridership potential, and operational feasibility of various alternatives, as well as broad public conversation in 2019, will inform the ultimate vision for the future of the Commuter Rail—one that the MBTA will then begin to turn into a reality.

MBTA Rail Vision will identify cost-effective strategies to transform the existing Commuter Rail system into one that better supports improved mobility and economic competitiveness in Greater Boston.

As part of our $8 billion, 5-year capital investment plan , we're renovating stations, modernizing fare collection systems, upgrading services for our buses, subways, and ferries, and improving the accessibility of the entire system.

Advisory Committee

The role of the Rail Vision Advisory Committee is to provide informed advice to MBTA leadership and the project team. The members represent diverse perspectives of the MBTA service area.

Download roster of Rail Vision Advisory Committee Members

Our Process

Over the past year and a half, through October 2019, the Rail Vision team has focused on learning about effective Commuter Rail service around the world, identifying service models we can test on our system, and understanding the constraints and opportunities with our current infrastructure.

This included:

Reviewing more than a dozen domestic and international peer rail systems

Developing clear objectives for a future MBTA rail system

Evaluating more than 60 service concepts across all 14 Commuter Rail lines to project potential ridership benefits and required infrastructure changes

Developing 6 service alternatives, featuring a range of service approaches and technologies, to move forward into the next phase of analysis

Hosting 7 Advisory Committee meetings to gather feedback about our objectives, service concepts, initial results, and the service alternatives

Rail Vision Alternatives

The Rail Vision team evaluated 6 alternatives for how the Commuter Rail could operate in the future. These range in service frequency, vehicle technology, and level of capital and operational investment. We used several modeling tools to evaluate their feasibility, cost, ridership benefits, and any potential effects on regional land use.

To learn more about the alternatives, download the fact sheet for each one below.

Each PDF includes a map of the service area, service features, and a summary capital investments needed to deliver the proposed service and the benefits for riders.

Alternative 1: Optimize Current System

Alternative 2: Regional Rail to Key Stations (Diesel)

Alternative 3: Regional Rail to Key Stations (Electric)

Alternative 4: Urban Rail (Diesel)

Alternative 5: Urban Rail (Electric)

Alternative 6: Full Transformation