Buzzards Bay station

Buzzards Bay serves as the western terminus for Cape Cod Central Railroad, which runs tourist excursion trains along the track between Buzzards Bay and Hyannis. In the summer, Buzzards Bay serves as a station of departure for excursion trains running to West Barnstable,[6] select dinner trains running along the length of the Canal,[7] and a special excursion in mid-September to celebrate Cape Cod Canal Day, which includes a stop at the Pairpoint Glass facility in Sagamore.[8] In the winter, Buzzards Bay is the point of departure for several Polar Express-esque holiday excursions.[9]

A CapeFLYER train at the 1999-built high level platform in 2013

Second high-level platform under construction in June 2014

Original plans for the reopening of the Middleborough/Lakeville Line in the 1990s called for service to Wareham or beyond; however, plans were scaled back and the line was only opened to Middleborough/Lakeville in 1997. In 2007, the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization released a report evaluating the possibility of commuter rail service to Buzzards Bay including several intermediate stops.[10] However, other projects like the Greenbush Line received priority and the extension to Buzzards Bay was not constructed.

In 2014, a new high-level platform was built closer to the bridge. This platform allows CapeFLYER trains (which, like other MBTA trains, place the first car at the mini-high platforms) to avoid blocking the Academy Drive crossing while stopped at the station. In November 2014, it was announced that an improved siding would be fully restored near the station, including a universal crossover before Cohasset Narrows.[11]

The relative success of the CapeFLYER has brought new attention to the possibility of extending the Middleborough/Lakeville Line. The possibility was seriously discussed before the end of its first summer season.[12] In September 2013, the Wareham Chamber of Commerce announced that based on the success of the CapeFLYER, the Chamber supported commuter rail extension to Buzzards Bay.[13] The Buzzards Bay town selectmen similarly supported the idea later that year, and a public forum was held in January 2014.[14][15]

Bourne’s Transportation Advisory Committee began studying the possibility in mid-2014, with the addition of work by MassDOT's Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) in November 2014.[16] A Local Impact Report released in April 2015 proposed an 800 foot (240 m) high-level platform and two parking alternatives: a 120-space modification of the existing lot, and a 400-to-600-space structure including a realignment of Academy Drive. The CTPS data estimated ridership at 875 daily riders if all Middleborough trains were extended to Buzzards Bay, or slightly fewer with a limited number of trains.[16]

Bourne voted to join the MBTA district in 2015 and began paying an assessment in mid 2016 (for FY 2017), although there was no guarantee that commuter rail service would be provided in the fiscally constrained environment.[17] For FY 2017, Bourne paid $41,707 to the MBTA plus an existing $88,429 to the CCRTA for existing bus service.[18] MassDOT began planning a possible commuter rail trial service in October 2015. In February 2016, state representatives and CCRTA administrator Thomas Cahir said that the state wished to begin trial service during FY 2017, possibly by the end of 2016.[18] However, the proposal was rejected by the MBTA Fiscal Management and Control Board in April 2016.[19] In 2019, town officials raised the possibility of leaving the MBTA because the agency had no plans to extend service to Bourne within the next two decades.[20] Withdrawal was rejected by residents at a June 2020 town meeting.[21]

In fall 2020, the MBTA began conducting a study to evaluate the feasibility of implementing Buzzards Bay commuter rail service in conjunction with the currently-underway South Coast Rail project.[22][23] Upon completion of the study in spring 2021, two different alternatives for service were presented, one of which would terminate at Buzzards Bay and the other of which would continue to Bourne station.[24]