GREENFIELD — With a fist raised in the air, state Sen. Jo Comerford and dozens of advocates and business leaders, as well as state and local officials, rallied in support of the Northern Tier Passenger Rail Monday morning at the John W. Olver Transit Center.

In an effort to urge state leaders in Boston to advance the Northern Tier Passenger Rail project, which would connect North Adams to Boston with a stop in Greenfield, advocates and legislators gathered to make their voices heard. The project has been the subject of a years-long study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which has issued a draft report on the project and will issue a final report in the coming weeks.

The message was clear from the dozens of people chanting on the train platform where folks can hop on the north-south Valley Flyer: “Bring back the train!” Service on the Northern Tier Rail beyond Fitchburg ceased in 1958 — the site of a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority Commuter Rail stop today.

Monday’s press conference followed one held in North Adams earlier in the morning to show the united support of municipalities, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofits and regional transit authorities around northwestern Massachusetts.

“In all my time living in this beautiful region, I have never seen such cross-county organizing and it’s because we have an unparalleled prospect in front of us,” Comerford said. “A promise that we can unite our region, from Berkshire to Franklin to northern Worcester County and into Boston.”

In total, more than 100 entities, ranging from the city of Greenfield and Greenfield Savings Bank to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MassMOCA) in North Adams and the University of Massachusetts Amherst have expressed support for the Northern Tier Passenger Rail by signing joint letters or sending their own.

In MassDOT’s draft report, it identifies “much of the projected ridership is concentrated east of Fitchburg,” but further work is needed to determine the feasibility of the rail. Total capital cost estimates the project’s range from $878.5 million for the lowest level of investment to $2.9 billion for the highest level, which would bring full electrified rail service.

“Given the estimated benefits and costs associated with each of the six alternatives, the benefit-cost analysis indicates that the benefits may not offset the capital costs required for implementation,” the draft report reads. “While the fundamental scale of ridership and cost is established, more work would be needed to further develop the markets, ridership, costs and benefits from a transportation planning perspective.”

To move the process forward, MassDOT laid out several next steps, which would require funding beyond the estimated capital costs. The agency stated it needs to continue to improve understanding of travel demand along the corridor, advance planning efforts “at the intersection of economic development needs and opportunities and serving travel demand,” and evaluate implementation strategies. Other steps include improving rail connections by generating unified support among communities, agencies and the railroad operators, as well as exploring express service between Fitchburg and Boston.

The full draft report can be found online at bit.ly/3APMOt4.

The Northern Tier Rail, advocates said, is more than just another transportation option — it’s an opportunity to keep Franklin County afloat as its population continues to age, according to Franklin Regional Council of Governments Executive Director Linda Dunlavy, who noted the region is projected to lose 25% of its population within the next three decades.

“This is bad for Franklin County. It’s bad for our residents, our municipalities, our businesses. But, I would argue it’s also bad for all of Massachusetts, we will be a drain on the Massachusetts economy if we allow this to happen,” Dunlavy said of the projected population loss, before adding the reinstatement of the rail would bring many benefits to Franklin County. “We are opening up economic opportunity, we are better able to welcome young families with children back to our schools, back to our towns; we provide a pathway for us to get easily to Boston and for Boston to get out here to see the splendor of Franklin County.”

Transportation alone, though, would not be the panacea, Dunlavy added, as “we need to create housing, we need to create jobs and we need a robust transportation network.”

“We can do it,” she said, “if we work at it.”

Speaking after the event, John Waite, the executive director of the Franklin County Community Development Corporation, which has also expressed support for the rail, said the project would be a huge boon to the business community in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

“People will come out here and create jobs, and businesses here will be able to work with those in Boston,” Waite said, noting that transportation is often the key to spurring development. “You need transportation and other things will grow with that.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.