WORCESTER -- Riders on the first ever non-stop train from Worcester to Boston on Monday gained an extra half hour, Lt. Gov. Karyn Poilito said. And while that made for happy riders, the real benefit to the so-called "HeartToHub" train will be a boost to the local economy.

The newly-rewritten MBTA train schedule does not include bullet trains. The trains themselves will go as fast as any other MBTA train. The difference, however, is in reduction in stops -- 13 fewer in the case of the HeartToHub, and several fewer on what are being called express trains. Ultimately, though, it is that one-hour figure supporters in "the heart of the commonwealth" are hanging their hopes on.

Polito on Monday echoed what Worcester officials have been saying for a number of years: It's cheaper to live in Worcester than in Boston, and it's not that far away. The hope is that Worcester is attractive to not only people living in Boston now, but to some of the 35,000 college students who regularly move east for the money after graduation.

"Many of (the students who) will graduate from colleges and universities in Worcester will be able to commute into Boston for a job, for a co-op or an internship and yet afford a quality of life in the Worcester area, with housing that is more affordable that housing in the Boston market currently offers," Polito said.

Despite the fanfare to which the new train schedule was announced in October, state officials have since said ridership levels will be reviewed next spring before it is decided whether or not to keep the new schedule. Mayor Joseph Petty he is hopeful the 300 or so people who took the inaugural ride to Boston is the norm, not the exception. Ultimately, he is hoping for more express and non-stop trains for the same reasons Polito outlined.

"Worcester is half as expensive to live in as Boston is," Petty said. "Worcester is cheaper to run a business in. These trains will allow those people who work in Boston to get to Worcester in an hour, to allow people who own a business to get to Worcester in an hour. Hopefully that will make Worcester and Central Mass. more attractive. It's a great place to live, and now maybe more people will see that."

Among those who expected the HeartToHub train to prove successful when it was announced last October was former long-time District Two Councilor Philip Palmieri.

As he headed toward retirement after choosing not to run for re-election last fall, Palmieri made the same arguments being made by other officials now as he pushed the city's legislative delegation to make increased and faster train service to Worcester a priority.

"The fundamental issue of ... having trains go from Worcester to Boston in under an hour will probably do more for the economy than anything else that is going on," Palmieri said in October.

Another long-time support of train service to Worcester was the man many on Monday said helped make it possible, former Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray.

Murray, now the head of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, compared what could now happen to Worcester to what happened to Stamford, Connecticut, in the 1980s.

"I went to Fordham University and I saw what happened in New York as the cost of living went up," Murray said. "Stamford became something like a pressure relief for New York City."

Worcester and Boston are closer than New York City and Stamford, and they already share many of the same industries, Murray said. That includes higher education, high-tech and healthcare industries.

"I think a one hour trip is something people can get their heads around," he said. "I think people will be willing to make that trip."

Murray said not only does it benefit Worcester, but it could help keep some of Boston's college graduates and young professional , who are leaving school in a high cost area, but who like Boston, to stay in Massachusetts.

"I would argue Worcester has more manufacturing, so we are even more diverse," Murray said. "But we have the same opportunities for young people. Connecting the two largest cities in New England makes economic sense."

And supporters notes that Worcester and Central Mass. has amenities that are often overlooked. Congressman James McGovern and Polito both pointed to museums, restaurants and other attractions in and around Worcester.

"Worcester offers an affordable lifestyle, but it is a great city in which to grow up, to start your career or to live in as a young professional or millennial," Polito said. "It offers a a olt in restaurants , in entertainment, in culture and activites.

"We are now able to promote Worcester as viable option for the young people that are very much part of our innovation economy in the Worcester area, in the Boston area," Polito said. "Then we connect the two with this incredible non-stop service."