Commuter Rail will Start with Woonsocket

By RUSS OLIVO/rolivo@woonsocketcall.com Jul 27, 2016 0

WOONSOCKET – In a switch of plans with a big upside for the city, the Boston Surface Rail Company now says the first trains of its fledgling commuter rail service may run between this city and Providence before Worcester is included as part of the daily run.

“When we engineered the whole project it made sense to start from Woonsocket and go south,” said BSRC President Vincent J. Bono.

“Officially...we are exploring a Woonsocket-Providence start prior to Worcester-Woonsocket-Providence.”

In a phone interview, Bono said the $3 million project is still on track to welcome riders by 2017.

City-based commuters would pick up the train at historic One Depot Square, built as a passenger rail hub by the Providence & Worcester Railroad in 1882. Except for seasonal runs like foliage tours and the Polar Express, the site hasn’t been used for its original purpose since 1959, according to city officials.

BSRC also plans on using the site as its administrative headquarters. Bono signed a five-year lease with on the 4,000-square-foot site with the state Department of Transportation, the owner, in January.

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