MUCH HAS BEEN MADE about who exactly is to blame for the failure of our rail system in Massachusetts last winter.  The question is not whether or not there is a problem with our mass transit system, but how to go about solving it.  More recently we’ve seen former governors weigh in on the need for a North/South Station connector line along with stories about the exploding cost of the planned Green Line expansion.  And while the importance of the T to Boston and its surrounding cities and towns has been well documented alongside its ultimate failure this winter, little has been said of the communities that are serviced by the commuter rail system.

Increased connectivity along the commuter rail system, specifically between Boston and Worcester, will serve to strengthen our economy and bolster the middle class across our state.  Our goal for the Worcester/Framingham line is increased round trips daily and true express trains that will make the trip from Union Station to South Station in about an hour.  Track improvements would allow for higher speeds for both passenger and freight cars and limit heat-related speed restrictions that we currently experience.  Improved convenience and speed stand to improve our economy and benefit both businesses and commuters alike.  These improvements will lead to greater ridership and ultimately serve to reduce traffic on the Mass Pike at a time when it is needed most.

From cities as varied as Worcester, Lowell, Newburyport, and Plymouth, the average daily ridership of the commuter rail is routinely over 100,000; over 14,000 on the Worcester/Framingham line in June of this year.  And while not all of these fares are Union Station to South Station, the vast geographic region that is served by the commuter rail, the economies it bolsters, and the employment opportunities it creates, should not be ignored in the course of any discussion regarding the fixing of the T.

When the Beacon Park yard moved from Boston to Worcester, making way for the $260 million straightening of the Mass Pike and simultaneously creating 60 acres of developable land in Alston, the rail link between Worcester and Boston became that much more important.  Over 100,000 shipping containers now pass through Worcester every year, some heading east to Boston and others going as far west as Chicago or Long Beach, California.  Those containers are carrying goods from across the country, reducing congestion on our roads, mitigating further wear and tear on our infrastructure, driving growth, and increasing the speed of commerce.

For those of us here in Worcester, we see the health and expansion of a vibrant commuter rail as imperative to our continued growth as a city.  Many employees along the Worcester/Framingham line, those who work along the Route 9 biotech corridor or in Boston’s financial district, make their homes and build their lives in cities such as Worcester.  Affordable cities such as Worcester will only become more important to our Commonwealth’s middle-class as the cost of living in the metrowest area and Boston continues to outpace wages.  And while the starkest and most storied difference may be in the residential sector, the business sector is feeling the pressures of the market as well.  Across Greater Boston, office rents are up 7.6 percent in the last 12 months to an average of $32.53 per square foot. By comparison, class A office space in Worcester rents for between $18 and $26 per square foot.

There is much work to be done on the T and the MBTA as a whole.  And while the fixes are not yet clear, and will likely be contentious, I ask that we remember our commuter rail system throughout the state and the communities and people that are served by it every day.

Joseph M. Petty is the mayor of Worcester.