Express train from Worcester to Boston? Not so fast
WORCESTER — The trip to and from Boston for commuters will take longer soon, with the latest schedule changes on the Worcester/Framingham commuter rail line to include more stops.
Effective Monday, the Massachusetts Bay Transportaton Authority’s Heart to Hub express train will have added stops between Worcester and West Natick, adding to the trip time.
The new schedule also changes morning and evening departure times from Union Station and South Station.
“I looked at the schedule this morning and I was like, ‘What the heck’,” said Holden resident Steven Hall, who takes the commuter rail to Boston for work. “I’m definitely not happy about it. It just adds time to my commute both ways.”
More:Framingham/Worcester commuter rail schedule
Currently, the 6:30 a.m. train from Worcester makes one stop at Framingham before going directly to Lansdowne station in Boston, arriving at 7:24. The new schedule’s additional stops will add on as much as half an hour to the commute.
Spencer Fields of Worcester goes into Boston three days a week and relied on the express line to reach South Station. “The only option to get in at a reasonable hour and not sit on the train for an hour and a half was the 6:30,” he said. With the changes, he feels commuters like himself are left with few options.
In late 2016, city and transportation officials pitched the new Heart to Hub express trains as a solution to workers who skipped the trains because they needed to be to work by 9 a.m.
