Four hours?? I'm not sure it's that long. But I hear your point. The idea still being tossed around; here's a recent Globe article on it. The general public seems to interpret it as a way to alleviate the housing crisis in Greater Boston. People will use any excuse they can get to avoid upzoning and building more housing in Boston and the inner suburbs and to appease the NIMBYs. I know some people are open the idea of supercommuting (I am not one of them). A Springfield-Boston commute would really only be viable if it's high speed rail, not the current iteration of the T commuter rail trundling along. I'm not holding my breath on that.