Commuter Rail in Massachusetts to be Fully Restored by March 30

The company that operates Massachusetts' commuter rail system said Thursday that it will have service fully restored in another month.

Keolis International CEO Bernard Tabary said in a statement that a plan approved by Gov. Charlie Baker will have the commuter rail system operating at 78 percent passenger capacity by Friday, and at full service by March 30.

"We will do everything we can to accelerate that process, and have brought experts in from around the world to support this effort," he said. "We'll be working hard to keep passengers informed during this recovery period as we work to rebuild their trust."

[READ THE FULL STATEMENT HERE].

The announcement came after a meeting Thursday between Baker and the French parent company of Keolis Commuter Services. The MBTA Commuter Rail System has come under criticism for its spotty winter performance.

"To our passengers, we know this has been an incredibly frustrating time," Tabary said. "You have endured cancelled or delayed trains, information snafus, and mechanical issues like doors that don't open. We know you've waited on cold platforms and been late to work or had a difficult time getting home at night.

"On behalf of the entire Keolis team, I want to express our sincere apologies. We are dedicated to providing our passengers on the MBTA Commuter Rail System with outstanding service each and every day. In recent weeks, we have fallen short of that goal... we won't rest until MBTA Commuter Rail is once again operating as it should."

"We want to get to the point where the traveling public can depend on this," said Baker. We obviously want to see significant improvements with regard to what they plan to do on communication as well."

Baker's transportation secretary, Stephanie Pollack, a longtime rider on the Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, confessed that she no longer feels she can rely on the train to be on time and won't use it "if I have an early meeting with the governor, and that really troubles me."

Also on Thursday, state senators spent 90 minutes grilling state and MBTA leaders about the pace of progress restoring service on the T and why the agency's service collapsed after repeated snowstorms over the last 3 weeks.

The informational hearing came one day after the board that oversees the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority named state highway director Frank DePaola interim general manager of the Boston-area transit system.

Pollack and DePaola both expressed some skepticism about the idea of riders getting refunds or compensatory discounts on future T passes after the month of terrible and non-existent service. The state transportation board is set to take up that question next month.

"I'm going into that process with an open mind, but my concern is folks want their money back but they also want service to get better faster -- and it's the same pot of money," Pollack said.

"Every dollar we give back is a dollar I can't invest in the system," said DePaola. "So we have to balance our financial needs -- we need to fix the system -- with being fair and reasonable with the public."