Last month, commuter rail ridership peaked at 80 percent of its pre-pandemic levels, after tumbling to 2 percent in the spring of 2020, T data shows. On average, 94 percent of trains arrived on time, according to the T and Keolis Commuter Services, which runs the trains. And on weekends, commuter rail ridership has exceeded pre-pandemic levels for nearly two years, the T said.
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Compare that to the T’s subway service, where average weekday ridership is about half of what it was before the pandemic as the system struggles with safety issues that have slowed trains on about a fifth of the tracks and reduced service to weekend schedules on the Red, Orange, and Blue lines.
“The commuter rail is a blessing,” Ernest DeBose, 70, said on a recent evening as he waited at JFK/UMass Station for a train to Quincy Center.
DeBose, who works at the University of Massachusetts Boston for Sodexo, a food services provider, said he was a regular Red Line rider until March, when slow zones were imposed in spots where the tracks need to be repaired. Then his trip from Quincy to UMass Boston grew by at least 30 minutes.
A shuttle bus driver DeBose knows suggested he try riding the commuter rail into the city.
“It’s been a month and I’m loving it,” DeBose said.
Kate Dineen, president and chief executive of A Better City, a business group that specalizes in transportation issues, said the ridership is growing throughout the commuter rail system, a network of 12 routes that provide service to Worcester, Rhode Island, and cities north of Boston. Keolis has been running the service since 2014, and has signed a six-year, $2.5 billion contract to stay on the job until 2026.
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“More and more people are realizing that the commuter rail is a viable commuting option and that is a wonderful change,” Dineen said in an interview
Dineen and Keolis said there isn’t a single factor driving up ridership numbers.
Requirements to work in the office and worsening road congestion are likely among the reasons that more people are boarding the trains, Dineen said. Keolis cited predictable schedules and a monthly on-time performance rating of 90 percent or better since last November.
And the T has promoted commuter rail as an alternative to rapid transit while slow zones are in place. Riders who board commuter rail trains at 16 stations within the service areas of the subways can ride without charge by displaying a CharlieCard or CharlieTicket, according to Keolis.
The T followed a similar policy last year when it closed the Orange Line for 30 days for repairs.
“Whenever passengers choose to ride the commuter rail, Keolis is committed to providing a safe and reliable service,” Keolis said in a statement.
Chris Friend, a member of the board of directors for TransitMatters, a transportation advocacy organization, said in an e-mail that compared to pre-pandemic levels, the commuter rail is now offering more service than any other commuting option offered by the MBTA, and that’s brought more riders onto its trains.
A third of the lines are offering more weekday trips than they did before the pandemic and another three lines offer the same level of service, according to TransitMatters data.
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On the Fairmount Line, which runs exclusively in Boston, the number of weekday trips has nearly doubled since the pandemic began, TransitMatters’ figures show. Last month, its ridership reached a new all-time record, exceeding its pre-pandemic figures by 30 percent, according to the T and Keolis.
The T imposed slow zones across the subway system on March 9 after inspectors found a slew of track defects. In late April, it announced that a systemwide inspection had identified nearly 300 tracks in need of repair.
Between the start of the systemwide slowdown and April 30, weekday commuter rail ridership increased on six lines, according to a Globe analysis of the T’s data. The blanket slowdown only lasted about 12 hours, but speed restrictions have remained in place on portions of the Red, Orange, Blue, and Green lines for months.
The commuter rail lines that picked up riders were Framingham/Worcester, Providence/Stoughton, Haverhill, and the three routes known as the Old Colony lines — Greenbush, Kingston, and Middleborough/Lakeville.
The Old Colony lines originate in Boston at South Station and run parallel to the southern portion of the Red Line. All three lines stop at JFK/Umass and Quincy Center, and the Kingston and Middleborough/Lakeville lines stop at Braintree Station.
The Greenbush and Kingston lines experienced the largest jumps in weekday ridership since the speed restrictions were imposed, 16 percent and 12 percent, respectively, the Globe found. Ridership on the Framingham/Worcester and Providence/Stoughton lines grew by 3 percent, and it increased by three-tenths of a percent on the Middleborough/Lakeville line.
Connor Catlett, who lives near JFK/UMass, said he was regularly taking the Red Line as part of his work commute to the Seaport until a delay of 20 to 25 minutes one day sent him onto commuter rail.
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“It’s way more consistent and faster than the Red Line,” he said.
Aboard a Middleborough/Lakeville train last week, Julie McKeon said she abandoned her Red Line commute shortly after the speed restrictions were imposed. Now she takes the commuter rail into Boston from Quincy.
“The commuter rail has become a refugee train for the Red Line. It really is,” said McKeon.
Taking it has reduced her stress, she said.
“At least I know I’ll get home.”
Elizabeth Koh of the Globe staff contributed.
Corrections: Due to reporting errors, an earlier version of this story misstated the end year of Keolis’s current contract to run the commuter rail. It is 2026. It also misstated analysis from Chris Friend of TransitMatters. He said, compared to pre-pandemic levels, the commuter rail is now offering more service than any other commuting option offered by the MBTA. It also misstated the time frame when two-thirds of commuter rail trains ran late. It was for a month of 2015.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her @lauracrimaldi.
