WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- A study looking at commuter rail ridership trends across the 495/MetroWest area in Massachusetts shows it's almost completely rebounded since the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to an increase in scheduling changes.

The 495/MetroWest Partnership conducted the study to see what riders in the area need and what future growth could look like.

They said the greatest jump in ridership came between 2021 and 2022 after clockface scheduling was implemented, which provides hourly trips.

The partnership said they're now facing an old set of problems.

"Parking is constrained at many of the stations along our region,” said Jason Palitsch, the executive director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership. “Parking along commuter rail lines is not uniform. The MBTA doesn't even own or control all of the lots. They're individually owned and operated. It's also important to point out that even though our region has a comparatively small percentage of the stations in the system, we have a disproportionately high share of stations that don't have what are called level boarding platforms. If all of your passengers trying to get on and off the train are not at the same level, that actually increases dwell times and makes it so the train has to stay at the station longer before it can get its passengers off, get them on and move along."

The Fitchburg, Framingham/Worcester and Franklin/Foxborough commuter rail lines serve the area.