BARNSTABLE – Since the Cape Rail Study, conducted in 2021, the Cape Cod Commission and other region officials have continued looking into the possibility of a commuter rail route into Cape Cod.
The commission wants to see more focus on public transit options including on rail offered year round, says Steve Tupper, Deputy Director of the Cape Cod Commission, as they have shown success with the summer season CapeFlyer Service.
“The short story is, it would be fairly easy to do it to Buzzards Bay, the infrastructure is in fairly good condition up to that point. We see that as the most likely in the near-term to make those improvements,” Tupper said.
He went on to say that it becomes much more challenging coming on to the Cape, but ultimately there could be a possibility to Hyannis, once the Buzzards Bay infrastructure was completed.
Though there were statistics taken on the benefit to commuters, they were taken pre-pandemic, says Tupper, and the region has seen a shift in the population since that time.
“I think it’s certainly the right time to take a new look at those numbers. We’ve seen that hybrid or remote work has opened up a whole host of possibilities where folks may want to go into the Boston area just a couple days a week, and then live on the Cape. So I think it’s a good time to take a look at those numbers,” said Tupper.
He finished saying the ability to have residents of Cape Cod access a much larger job market would be very beneficial to the region from an economic development, transportation, and climate perspective by bringing down the vehicles on the roadway.
About Zachary Clapp
