Earlier this week, the Kraft Group reached an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation that should bring daily commuter rail service to Foxboro beginning in December 2016, according to Frank Mortimer at the Sun Chronicle. The trains would arrive and depart from the current station at Gillette Stadium.
The agreement was reached despite some resistance at both the local and state level. Some wanted the two groups to wait until Governor-elect Charlie Baker was sworn into office, but the DOT and Krafts pushed on and signed the accord on Monday.
At this point, the deal seems to have little impact on the New England Revolution. Two full MLS seasons will pass before the target date is reached, and there is still the matter of raising over $50 million just to acquire adjacent lines and upgrade all of them for daily use commuter use.
However, in the event that all goes smoothly, this could have the effect of creating a viable public transportation option between Foxboro and Boston, something that Revolution fans have clamored for in the past. Currently, even Saturday service on the Framingham/Worcester and Providence/Stoughton lines have outbound trains leaving at 11:00 PM or later.
Obviously, most Revolution supporters are hoping that two years from now, the club will be talking about its move into a new stadium venue closer to the city, but in the meantime, this might be a big step forward.
Previously, the Krafts have only run limited commuter rail services to the stadium station for Patriots games.