FOR THE CAR -AVERSE BOSTONIAN looking to flee a muggy 90-degree summer for cooler Massachusetts climes, the now decade-old Cape Flyer route might be the vehicle of choice if there are weekend hours to spare. It’s slower than most commuter rail lines, and a rare bird in that it only operates on weekends during the summer season, but it did get this reporter safely to and from Hyannis over a holiday.

The Flyer is a joint project of the MBTA – operated as the other commuter rail lines are by Keolis – and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority. It first popped onto the train line in 2013, with smashing success for a weekend-only limited service: its inaugural year saw some 16,586 riders port between Boston and the Barnstable town of Hyannis. 

Between Memorial Day to Labor Day, the train trundles a winding, surprisingly leisurely path once a day from Friday to Sunday in the evenings, stopping briefly at six towns along the way for a two-and-a-half hour ride. 

Speed restrictions are definitely de rigeur across the system these days, but they’re baked into the Cape Flyer. A section of track between Bourne and Hyannis in MassCoastal Railroad territory is rated for just 30 miles per hour, significantly slower than most commuter rail stretches. 

Over the years, Flyer ridership stayed fairly strong, growing after a 2014 drop to a recent peak of 14,568 riders in 2019. Then, the global pandemic walloped public transportation. In 2020, the Flyer operated minimally, subject to COVID-19 restrictions for the whole summer and carrying a mere 2,453 riders during the season. Like most commuter rail lines, it bounced back in 2021 with 7,037 riders and creeped up even more since, hitting 9,473 riders last year.

Service is limited for a reason, as it happens. Cape transit authority administrator Thomas Cahir told the Enterprise that, despite the train’s popularity, efforts to expand service to a second back-and-forth a day during the season have been rebuffed repeatedly by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps controls the Cape Cod Canal, and says a second time raising and lowering the railroad bridge “would have a significant negative impact on navigation in the Canal.”

The Flyer out from South Station on Friday was packed but timely, as vacationers flooded down to the Cape for the Fourth of July weekend. There were no Boston trains on or off the Cape on the nation’s birthday, though. So, no last minute Cape Cod fireworks courtesy of the MBTA.

If the goal is to watch fireworks near some strictly-regulated shingles (the entire island of Nantucket is a historical site, so no getting too creative with home design for Bill Belichick or John Henry), add a ferry and some local buses that hopefully stay on the road. Getting to and from the Gray Lady might as well be cross-country travel if you’re hoping to avail yourself of the public transportation options. Some combination of subways, commuter rail, cars, and ferries means about six hours door-to-door if leaving from this journalist’s Dorchester porch.

And it wouldn’t be a trip on Massachusetts transit without some unexpected crunching noises.

Call it a reporter’s jinx, but the trip back from Hyannis on Wednesday featured an atypical series of delays. A minor technical issue at Hyannis, a wait for another train to clear the track at Bourne, and a signal issue that prompted slow downs made for a bracing stop-and-start. 

“Delays for the Cape Flyer aren’t typical. The 30-minute delay last night was the most significant delay so far this season,” a Keolis spokesperson said on Thursday.

The seat-scaling children and slightly sunburned 20-somethings made it back to the city in one piece, about half an hour delayed, fireworks behind them, and a blistering summer ahead.