Our current approach to Commuter Rail, as a business model, fails to offer its rider/customers the service they want and need. As a result it contributes to the region’s worsening traffic congestion, keeps Gateway Cities isolated during most of the day, and exacerbates income inequality since the inadequate service compels many to drive – for lower income people, the high cost of owning, maintaining and driving an automobile can have a crippling effect on their ability to make ends meet.

Public transit must be frequent all day, not just at rush hour. A Regional Rail system would have trains running at least every half hour all day in the suburbs and at least every fifteen minutes in Boston and other Inner Core communities.

Regional Rail requires both frequent all day service, accessible platforms and smarter equipment to provide the service. That means high-level platforms at stations to simplify and speed up boarding and alighting. It also means electrification of the system, enabling use of Electric Multiple Units to replace the current push/pull diesel fleet. EMUs will be more reliable and less expensive to maintain, will provide riders with speedier trips, and will provide better service without polluting the air around them.

A highly functioning Regional Rail system includes five critical components:

Systemwide electrification and the purchase of high-performance electric trains.

High platforms , providing universal access and speeding up boarding for everyone.

Strategic infrastructure investments to relieve bottlenecks.

Frequent service all day : every 30 minutes in the suburbs and every 15 minutes in denser neighborhoods.

Free transfers between regional trains, subways, and buses, and fare equalization with the subway in the subway’s service area.

And one useful component that will complete cross-region mobility:

While not critical to implementing a Regional Rail system, the North-South Rail Link (NSRL) between North and South Stations, allowing service between any two stations with either a direct trip or a single, seamless transfer, would be a highly useful enhancement providing the flexibility and connectivity to which many riders and potential riders would be drawn.

A NEW VISION AND BUSINESS MODEL