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Rhode Island is one step closer to expanding commuter-rail service into the state.

Yesterday, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation signed an operations agreement with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which will enable the authority to launch commuter-rail service between Warwick and Providence, and beyond to Boston, by year’s end.

Trains will make six stops per day at the soon-to-be-completed InterLink station at T.F. Green State Airport in Warwick. The $267 million station will feature a 1,250-foot elevated, enclosed skywalk with moving sidewalks that will connect the airport and station. It also will include a consolidated rental car facility, bus hub and parking garage to accommodate both the rental car fleets and commuter-rail passengers. Once complete, the facility will be the closest air-rail connection in the country, according to a prepared statement.

When the Wickford Junction station opens in late 2011, MBTA trains will continue from the airport to North Kingstown, making 10 stops per day.