Harvard Study: Rail Tunnel Could Replace $4.7B Project
18.08.2026
USA: A century-old idea to connect Boston’s two disconnected commuter rail terminals could do something more than cut commute times, according to a new Harvard Kennedy School study — it could make a separate $4.7 billion station expansion project entirely unnecessary.
Researchers Linda Bilmes and Brian Immartino released the study arguing that the long-proposed North-South Rail Link, an underground tunnel connecting North and South stations, would more than double commuter rail ridership while cutting platform wait times by 71%, according to the Boston Globe. Neither commuter rail nor Amtrak service currently connects the two terminals, forcing passengers to transfer by subway, bus, bicycle or on foot.
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A “one-seat ride” that could cancel out a different $4.7B project
The study argues the tunnel would let riders travel through Boston without switching trains, calling it a “more efficient solution to the region’s rail capacity problems” that would make the proposed $4.7 billion South Station Expansion project unnecessary. That reasoning also extends to land use: the researchers say the tunnel would free up sites like the MBTA’s 24-acre Widett Circle railyard — purchased for $255 million in 2023 — for new housing and office space, creating what the study estimates at $5.8 billion in value.
An idea with a long, expensive history
The North-South Rail Link has been discussed for more than a century, and its price tag has moved substantially over different studies: the Massachusetts Department of Transportation estimated $12.3 to $21.5 billion in 2018, while an earlier 2017 Kennedy School study put the cost closer to $4.5 billion. Former Rep. Seth Moulton, a vocal backer, told the Globe in 2024 that private-sector interest in the project had been “not just positive, but enthusiastic.” The announcement does not specify any funding commitment or construction timeline tied to this new study — it is a research paper, not a state or MBTA project decision.
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