All aboard! The CapeFLYER will be rolling out of South Station on May 23, the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, kicking off the second year of seasonal rail service between Boston and Hyannis. Last year's inaugural run was such a success, generating "$290,756 in revenue from 16,586 riders from Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day," that state official's have decided to expand the weekend passenger train. While Curbed readers are heavily in favor of increasing CapeFLYER service, the powers that be have come up with five actual changes for 2014:
· Not surprisingly, the fare will increase. "This year, trains between South Station or Braintree and Hyannis will cost $40 roundtrip or $22 one way. And, trains between South Station or Braintree and Wareham or Buzzards Bay will cost $35 roundtrip or $20 one-way."
· In addition to the stops in Buzzards Bay and Hyannis, trains will now stop at Wareham Village.
· There will be another Cape-bound trip on Friday evenings.UPDATED: A tipster wrote in to let us know that we got that wrong, see the full schedule HERE - apologies for the error.
· While children 12 and under will still be able to ride for free, there will be new discounted fares/reduced rates for seniors and people with disabilities.
· It's not high-speed rail, so enjoy the concessions and free Wi-Fi: "Friday night trips to the Cape took, on average, about two hours and 15 minutes last year, according to Thomas S. Cahir, administrator of the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, which runs the service in partnership with the MBTA."
· How Should CapeFlyer Service Be Expanded? [Curbed Cape Cod]
· Our CapeFLYER archive [Curbed Cape Cod]
· CapeFlyer seasonal train ready to roll [Cape Cod Times]
· State To Expand Weekend CapeFlyer Train Service [Boston Globe]