LYNN — With South Coast Rail now carrying passengers from New Bedford and Fall River to Boston for the first time since 1957, MBTA Board Chair and former Lynn Mayor Tom McGee says Lynn has a critical opportunity to advance its own long-delayed commuter rail improvements.
“South Coast Rail didn’t happen by accident,” McGee told attendees at the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee meeting Wednesday morning. “It happened because people didn’t stop pushing. That same kind of advocacy is exactly what we need here in Lynn.”
The 90-minute route, complete with seamless transfers at East Taunton, was decades in the making. McGee rode the line on its opening day in December and described the project as a success story driven by consistent pressure from local officials, residents, and business leaders.
“For Lynn, this is not just about a station or a garage,” McGee said. “It’s about finally getting the kind of reliable, frequent, electrified service we’ve talked about for decades. And the time to push for it is now.”
Lynn is part of the MBTA’s long-term vision for Regional Rail, a statewide plan for modernized, electrified, high-frequency commuter service. McGee noted that while Lynn won’t be the first to receive the agency’s new battery-electric rail cars — scheduled to launch on the Fairmount Line by 2028 — plans are underway to position Lynn for future upgrades.
“There’s real movement behind this,” McGee said. “It’s not just a concept anymore — we’re buying the trains.”
On the station project, McGee confirmed that funding is secured to bring design work to the 30 percent threshold, a key milestone that allows for detailed engineering and cost planning. “That collaboration is happening between the mayor, the delegation, and the general manager,” he said. “But to move from design to construction, we need continued advocacy — and trust.”
Rebuilding that trust has been a major focus for the MBTA under General Manager Phillip Eng, whom McGee credited with initiating a “real turnaround.” Eng inherited an agency down nearly 2,000 employees and plagued by slow zones and service delays.
“When Phil came in, we had system-wide slow zones. He turned that around,” McGee said. “Instead of 18 months, he reopened the Lynn station in 9.”
McGee pointed to Eng’s willingness to think outside the box — embracing full-line shutdowns to expedite repairs and training in-house teams to weld track joints, which had long been left to deteriorate. “That’s investment with a return,” he said. “Not just spending money, but spending it wisely.”
That return, he said, is now visible across the system. The Blue Line is again running 20-minute trips to Government Center. The Red and Orange lines are hitting speeds up to 50 and 55 miles per hour in places. And customer satisfaction has climbed from the low 30s to nearly 70 percent, according to internal polling.
In Lynn, McGee said the city has a real chance to become a true multi-modal transit hub. The city’s ferry to Boston, once seen as a longshot idea, is now running eight months a year and steadily gaining riders. “We started talking about that ferry in 2000, and people thought it was crazy,” he said. “Now it’s permanent and expanding.”
The MBTA is also working toward fully integrated payment systems—allowing riders to tap a credit card or smartphone across bus, subway, ferry, and commuter rail — and recently launched the in-house MBTA Go app for real-time service tracking.
Looking ahead, McGee said the state’s Fair Share Amendment, also known as the millionaires tax, is creating a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to fund transportation upgrades. Governor Maura Healey has proposed an $8 billion statewide investment — $1.5 billion of which would go directly to the MBTA.
“But only if we keep showing up and making the case — for Lynn and for the region,” McGee said. “We’ve got the pieces. We just need to keep pushing to bring them together.”
