New MBTA Commuter Rail Schedules, Non-Stop Boston-Worcester Service Begin Monday

BOSTON (CBS) – Several schedule changes go into effect across the MBTA's commuter rail system Monday, including the addition of a new express train between Boston and Worcester.

Check: MBTA Schedules

The T says new departure and arrival times will more accurately reflect the time trips actually take. Nine of the 12 lines are impacted.

"These are the most substantive changes in decades, and will lead to improved service and customer dependability," said State Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack in a release.

MBTA General Manager Frank DePaola said the improvements also took into account the rail system's problems in dealing with difficult weather.

"Between updating the schedule and ongoing efforts to prepare the rail system to be in a better position to withstand inclement weather, we are taking major steps toward delivering on our promise to provide the kind of service our customers deserve and expect," said DePaola. "While our work is far from done, we want to ensure our customers of the continued progress we are making as we continue to strive for a higher standard."

The MBTA said other improvements to the Worcester/Framingham line include the installation of new track and more than 27,000 new ties, which will help "de-stress" the track and end speed restrictions.

Non-stop MBTA commuter rail service between Boston and Worcester also began Monday, as Lt. Governor Karyn Polito and other state and local officials, including State Representatives Hannah Kane and Jim O'Day, Congressman Jim McGovern, and Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty made the inaugural ride on the 8:05 a.m. train.

Each weekday, there will be one non-stop commuter rail train from Worcester's Union Station to Boston's South Station in the morning and from Boston to Worcester in the evening. The train's Boston stops are Back Bay, South Station, and Yawkey Way.

The train is called "HeartToHub," and the MBTA hopes that more people in central Massachusetts will skip the Massachusetts Turnpike and hop on the train.

"As someone who occasionally takes the Mass. Pike, it is frequently not the fastest way to travel," Pollack told WBZ NewsRadio's Carl Stevens. "A train like this not only saves you time, it means you can get work done while you're travelling."

It's not a bullet train, but it does skip thirteen stops to make the trip in less than hour.

"The fact that you'll be able to go from Worcester to Boston, the heart to the hub, in less than an hour--it's a great day for Massachusetts," Tim Murray, former Mass. Lt. Gov. and current head of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, said.

Officials also say the train will link millennial workers and students from Worcester's universities with high-tech startup companies in Boston.

"This train doesn't just increase speed between the two largest cities in Massachusetts," said Worcester Polytechnic Institute President Laurie Leshin in a press release about the new service. "It will allow great minds to collaborate more easily.  It will expand horizons and push boundaries, in much the way students and faculty at the twelve colleges in Greater Worcester do."

Pollack said the service would work both ways, getting young people involved in the job markets of both cities.

"We also believe that folks will discover all that Worcester has to offer by taking the train out here," said Pollack.

One rider told WBZ NewsRadio that he had hoped this day would come.

"It's a game-changer," said Eric, a rider from Charlton. "It gives me an extra hour of sleep and takes a half hour off the ride."

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

In:
• Worcester