Massachusetts legislation · 194th General Court
Massachusetts H3654: An Act relative to restoring commuter rail to Cape Cod
Status: In committee, March 25, 2026
What the bill says
From the introduced text, February 27, 2025:
SECTION 1. (a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, hereinafter referred to as MBTA, shall conduct a feasibility study, hereinafter referred to as the study, relative to establishing year-round, daily rail service between the towns of Falmouth, Bourne, Barnstable, Yarmouth and Sandwich and the city of Boston via the Cape Cod line, Hyannis Branch line and the Woods Hole Branch line. The study shall be undertaken in consultation and collaboration, to the maximum extent possible, with the New England District of the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and shall seek to complement and improve upon the Cape Rail Study of 2021. (b) The study shall examine and evaluate the costs and opportunities related to providing year-round, daily rail service between the towns of Falmouth, Bourne, Barnstable, Yarmouth and Sandwich and the city of Boston including, but not limited to: (i) the projected capital costs including the costs to upgrade the lines, signal systems, and stations for commuter rail including specific costs to upgrade tracks to each town with existing rail lines and costs to upgrade each station on Cape Cod; (ii) the development of an operating and maintenance plan for commuter rail access to Cape Cod towns; (iii) the prospect of operating high-speed …
Sponsors
- Kip Diggs (D, 2nd Barnstable) · primary sponsor
- Rodney Elliott (D)
- Amy Sangiolo (D)
- Vanna Howard (D, 17th Middlesex)
- Jeffrey Turco (D, 19th Suffolk)
- Kathleen LaNatra (D, 12th Plymouth)
- Michelle Badger (D)
- Dennis Gallagher (D)
- Francisco Paulino (D)
- Michael Soter (R, 8th Worcester)
- John Moran (D, 9th Suffolk)
- John Marsi (R, 6th Worcester)
Latest actions
- : Accompanied a new draft, see H5277
- : Reporting date extended to Wednesday, March 18, 2026
- : Hearing scheduled for 09/16/2025 from 1:00 PM-5:00 PM in B-2
- : Senate concurred
- : Referred to the committee on Transportation
Common questions
- What is H3654?
- H3654 is a bill in the Massachusetts Legislature (194th General Court): An Act relative to restoring commuter rail to Cape Cod.
- What is the status of H3654?
- In committee as of March 25, 2026. Latest action: Accompanied a new draft, see H5277 (March 25, 2026).
- Who sponsored H3654?
- Kip Diggs (D, 2nd Barnstable), with 11 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for H3654?
- On the Massachusetts Legislature website: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H3654
Source: official Massachusetts record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.