Last week, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority (CCRTA) sent out feelers, in the form of an RFQ (Request for Quotation), to explore the feasibility of restoring a seasonal tourist train to Cape Cod from Boston and possibly New York's Penn Station.

"We have to start thinking about getting people here as opposed to getting people up to Boston," said Thomas Cahir, Executive Director of the CCRTA. "There's a consensus that getting people here without their cars is important." Back in the 1980's, visitors could ride the rails to Cape Cod from Boston and from Washington, D.C. on Amtrak's Cape Codder line. Both ended up in failure, not least of all because state subsidies to the companies running service dried up.

The other impediment at the time was the lack of a transportation infrastructure to move people around once they arrived. Today, Cahir points to the existence of a cross-modal partnership, from the to the , to the MBTA to the free trolley plying Hyannis Main Street as the perfect storm of services to visitors of Cape Cod. "This could be an economic windfall," said Cahir, referring to the benefits such a tourist train could bring to the area.

Sharon Hawkins, Board President of the Hyannis Chamber of Commerce, couldn't agree more. "Anything that brings more business and supports our members, I'm in favor of." Residents of Cape Cod seem to have a different take on proposal, which as envisioned by Cahir, would bring visitors in on Friday night then carry them off on Sundays, from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

"If there can be a train from Hyannis to Boston on the weekend, then why not for commuters during the week?" asks Joy Pell, a resident of Sandwich.

"A commuter service would help keep younger people on the Cape, which the recent census results show is a growing concern," said Katie Miller, also of Sandwich.

There are numerous impediments to the establishment of a commuter service, perhaps fodder for another article. Still, apart from the question of why Cape Cod residents are not connected to a public commuter rail system, not everyone in town is in favor of the tourist train.