Cost estimates, ridership models and more analysis of a long-sought passenger rail connection between Boston and western Massachusetts will become more clear Thursday when a committee of the state Department of Transportation releases a study of the topic.

The East-West Passenger Rail Study Advisory Committee plans to meet in Springfield, where it will release analysis of six strategies for expanding the MBTA commuter rail from its current westernmost terminus in Worcester to Springfield and Pittsfield.

The study will include “ridership modeling, physical impacts to properties and natural resources, environmental and community impacts, permitting requirements, and cost estimates,” according to an email from the committee.

Six options for the rail extension, touted as a way to connect more affordable areas in the western part of the state with employment opportunities in the east and as a strategy to reduce roadway traffic, are on the table for the Advisory Committee’s study. Following public feedback, the committee will narrow the list down into three alternatives for further study.

The committee also plans to hold a public meeting on Feb. 12 to hear feedback on the study and another meeting on Feb. 24.

Rep. Rich Neal, who represents much of Western Massachusetts in Congress and chairs its powerful Ways and Means Committee, has said East-West Rail should be the “price” state legislators from outside Greater Boston should exact for their support of billions of dollars for MBTA upgrades.