HeartToHub nonstop hurting for riders
PHOTO/EDD Cote
Framingham officials like Town Manager Robert Halpin see more transit options as a way to increase transit-oriented development for the commuting crowd.
With ridership of the evening version of the HeartToHub train between Worcester and Boston suffering, Worcester and Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority are getting inventive to entice people to ride.
Even though it undoes the convenience of the nonstop, MBTA has proposed adding stops in Ashland and Framingham in order to get more people to ride. Meanwhile, the MBTA has bought up all the track between the city and Framingham with the hopes of updating it for faster speeds.
Rail investments are important to Worcester's economic growth and to continued investments in the downtown area, said Timothy Murray, president and CEO of the Greater Worcester Chamber of Commerce.
“If you talk to every investor, they all talk about the rail being a major catalyst,” said Murray. “You are talking about economic development and jobs.”
Unpopular evenings
HeartToHub launched in May, hailed by MBTA and Worcester officials as a way to get from Boston to Worcester within an hour, stopping only at Union Station in Worcester and the Back Bay, Yawkey and South stations in Boston.
The inbound train, which leaves at 8:05 a.m. from Union Station, has remained popular, averaging 153 people per train, according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The outbound train, which leaves South Station at 7:35 p.m., averages far less at 60 people per train.
The stops in Ashland and Framingham were proposed in effort to increase ridership, said Patrick Marvin, MassDOT spokesman. MBTA wrapped up the public comment period on the new stops on Feb. 17.
If approved, the stops would be added May 22 and are expected to add five minutes to the commuting time.
“Ridership is not as strong as people would like,” said Murray.
From the start, the timing of the HeartToHub departure from South Station so late in the evening was an impediment, Murray said.
“We knew that that time was not the best, the important thing is there is a commitment to continue to try and make improvements,” Murray said.
High-speed trains
Worcester bought the stretch of tracks between the Worcester and Framingham stations, said Murray, replacing much of the aged track between the cities which would allow trains to travel at higher speeds. While it is impossible to double track the entire distance between Worcester and Boston, the city is also adding infrastructure that would allow faster trains to bypass slower ones in certain places.
Worcester is not the only city hoping to benefit from commuter rail. Framingham and Ashland told MBTA it is important for economic development and hope to benefit from the their addition on the HeartToHub train.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the city of Worcester had bought the track between Worcester and Framingham when when the MBTA purchased actually the segment in 2012.
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