Foxborough Commuter Rail Service Set To Begin Next Month

FOXBOROUGH, MA — Foxborough's Commuter Rail station is available only for New England Patriots games and concerts, but that's going to change next month, according to MBTA officials. A long-delayed 11-month pilot program to provide regular Commuter Rail service to and from Boston is scheduled to begin Oct. 21.

MBTA officials said the first inbound train to Boston will leave Foxborough at 5:48 a.m., while the last outbound train back leaves at 10 p.m., giving most residents who work in the city the option to not drive.

The fare for morning inbound and evening outbound trips will be $8.75 each way, but the MBTA will sell discounted tickets at $4.25 for outbound morning and inbound evening trips, the Sun Chronicle reported.

The program is partially paid for by the Kraft Group, although MBTA officials did not disclose the amount of financial support being given.

The pilot was originally scheduled to begin in the spring, but was delayed because track renovations took longer than expected.

Foxborough town officials, Kraft Group representatives, the MBTA, and MassDOT had been working on bringing full commuter rail service to Gillette Stadium for over a year. All sides came to an agreement for a pilot program at a selectmen meeting last November.

The agreement addressed residents' concerns over noise, trains blocking roads and sitting idly overnight, according to town officials. These problems were not with the MBTA, but resulted from the town's reported issues of CSX freight trains blocking intersections in town and making noise early in the morning.

"A number of considerations have been made by this board," Town Manager William Keegan said when the pilot program was approved, "As part of the conditions, a number of those have been addressed."