One advocacy group says investing in electrifying the commuter rail could mean a faster, more reliable ride and a cleaner environment

Jeff Saperstone | NBC Boston

“If you take the commuter rail, you know one delay can cause a ripple effect. Now, there’s a new push to speed up the trains and make them more reliable by going electric.

‘Having more options, having more trains more often would be great,’ said commuter Alex Mulcahy.

Jarred Johnson with the advocacy group TransitMatters said he wants to see the commuter rail move away from diesel and covert the trains to electric power.

‘Faster trains, far more reliable trains and that’s the biggest part,’ said Johnson. ‘We’re standing here in Roxbury. We’re standing here in an environmental justice community where they have higher asthma rates and you see that same thing across the system.’”