A newly-released draft of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's 2018 rail plan includes a proposal to study ways to connect Boston and Springfield with passenger rail, following a years-long struggle by Longmeadow Sen. Eric Lesser and other Western Mass. legislators to pass such a study through the State House.

In the plan, MassDOT has designated East-West rail as a Tier 2 project -- one meriting further study. The rail plan says that MassDOT will examine both conventional rail service proposed by a multi-state study in 2016 and higher-speed options.

"Given the lack of consensus on the appropriate type of service to pursue between Western Massachusetts and Boston, as well as a lack of full understanding of the costs and impacts of a higher speed service, further study is necessary," the rail plan says. "This study, at the direction of MassDOT, will address more than ridership. It will examine safety needs (including Positive Train Control) associated with the expectation of higher speed trains, right-of-way acquisition, constructability, community impacts, and the need to protect freight rail capacity, as well as MBTA commuter rail sevice on the Worcester line."

In an interview, Lesser described the proposed study as a vindication of the efforts of the Western Mass legislative delegation and constituents who rallied, petitioned and testified in favor of the measure.

"It's very encouraging news. It's the news everyone has been waiting for and I'm glad to see it," Lesser said. "We're committed to working with MassDOT to make it a reality. It's something the people of Western Massachusetts have been waiting for for a very long time."

From Lesser's first election campaign in 2014, he has made the study of improved rail service from Springfield to Boston a signature issue, describing it as a potential economic boon to Western Massachusetts and a way for the region to benefit from the greater Boston area's strong growth.

Each legislative attempt to launch the study has run into obstacles. In 2016, the study made it into the final budget before being vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker, who recommended replacing it with a study that would also consider other forms of transit. The House did not override Baker's veto, and the measure died.

Last year, the study was included in the Senate's version of the budget but was cut in secret budget negotiations with the House before it reached Baker's desk. The spiking of the study blindsided Lesser, who said at the time he was unaware of any opposition among his Democratic House colleagues.

But with the study's inclusion in MassDOT's rail plan, East-West rail will get the analysis Lesser has pushed for, without the conference committee talks, budget process frustrations and vetoes that previously prevented the study from coming to fruition.

The study could include an analysis of a potential fare structure, as well as technical feasibility, safety and how passenger rail could coexist with freight service already in effect. It does not, however, explicitly mention performing an economic cost-benefit analysis of the project -- something Lesser pushed for in his legislative lobbying for a rail study.

Lesser said he consulted with MassDOT and Transportation Sec. Stephanie Pollack as the agency prepared the rail plan, and will advocate for including such an analysis in the eventual study.

"It's very important that a very robust and thorough examination of costs are done, but we also need to examine the benefits," Lesser said. "An analysis needs to be done of the costs of not doing it - of doing nothing."

The rail plan identifies several potential challenges to East-West rail, including current use of Western Mass rail capacity by the freight operator CSX, lack of additional capacity at South Station during peak hours and existing use of Worcester to Boston rail capacity by MBTA commuter trains.

MassDOT will hold a hearing on the rail plan in Worcester on Monday evening.