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NEW BEDFORD — Trains were ruthlessly on time as they rolled out of New Bedford on Monday morning, but the punctuality didn’t last. Increased train traffic across the MBTA system caused a series of delays for South Coast riders — for both inbound and outbound trains from New Bedford and Fall River. Delays affected many of the day’s trains and saw some trains lag 20-30 minutes behind schedule by midday.
A press manager for Keolis (the company that operates MBTA trains) did not answer specific questions about these delays, but provided a statement from company executives that said residents could now “leave their cars and traffic behind with a stress-free train ride between the South Coast and Boston.”
The first train out of New Bedford in more than 65 years departed precisely at the appointed minute — 4:27 a.m. — which drew celebratory cheers from the rail enthusiasts and commuters who braved the early morning cold.
Later, Diane Whitehouse, a downtown resident, became the first person to miss the New Bedford train when she failed to catch the 5:55 a.m. locomotive. The consultant said she moved to New Bedford because of the train, but watched it roll away before clocks had turned to 5:56 a.m.
Even by 8:30 a.m. — the tail end of the morning commuter crunch — all MBTA trains on the newly christened New Bedford and Fall River line remained unblemished. The 30-foot tall departure board at South Station showed “On Time” from top to bottom — everything was humming.
A stain on the record first appeared at 9:05 a.m., when a northbound train from Fall River fell five minutes behind schedule after it had passed through Middleborough. (New Bedford riders on this train would’ve boarded downtown at 7:25 a.m. and transferred onboard at East Taunton.)
The first malfunction occurred within the newly opened section of tracks when a signal north of New Bedford’s Church Street station encountered an unspecified issue, causing the 9:33 a.m. train from New Bedford to stop. Another signal issue near Quincy caused that train to arrive at South Station between 20-30 minutes late.
Later in the day, both the 10:43 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. trains out of New Bedford faced delays, which the MBTA said were caused by “train traffic” — again with delays extending for up to 20-30 minutes.
Similarly, both of the early afternoon trains from New Bedford faced some delays, meaning five consecutive inbound trains failed to deliver South Coast riders to the capital city on time.
In the early afternoon — around 1:30 p.m. — a snapshot of activity showed some delays scattered throughout the MBTA system: one delay on the Fitchburg line; another on each of the Haverhill, Newburyport, and Providence/Stoughton lines; and two more on the Franklin/Foxboro line.
The New Bedford/Fall River line topped all these, with three active delays among its trains.
Trains coming back from Boston to the South Coast experienced fewer delays throughout the day. The 5:05 p.m. from South Station, for example, ran without delay — just as the prime inbound trains had accomplished in the morning.
After waiting so long to join the MBTA system, South Coast riders today got their wish despite the delays.
Email Colin Hogan at chogan@newbedfordlight.org
Glad 😊 this.all.happened, its about time. And how soon are they going to extend the Fall River line to Newport R.I .