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They came from Cambridge, Providence, West Warwick, Quincy, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Assonet and New Bedford hours before sunrise, all with a shared plan: board the first train from New Bedford to Boston at 4:27 a.m. — the first to connect the cities in 67 years.
Some hopped on with a sibling or spouse, looking forward to a breakfast in Boston. Others — the self-described rail enthusiasts — got right back on a train to New Bedford, documenting the scene with photos and video, and even singing an original MBTA-themed song to mark the special occasion.
About 90 people boarded from New Bedford, and about 175 departed from South Station on the first train headed back to the Whaling City, per an MBTA official. The Light spoke with some of the riders, who expressed joy and hope for what this new rail line could mean for the South Coast.
Susan Kramer of Dartmouth rode the train with her sister, who made a sign for the early morning trip.
“It’s the first train I’ve been on from New Bedford since I was a kid,” Kramer said. Her uncle would take her and other relatives into Boston to see the flower show. She said she didn’t remember much of the train rides, but now looks forward to taking her niece along.
“Especially for older people like my sister and I, we don’t drive into Boston anymore,” she said. “Now we plan to go every month. It’s just going to be so nice to have these experiences.”
William Washburn got an early wake-up call from his mother, Jackie. A few years ago, William, a New Bedford elementary school student, met an Amtrak conductor. He has loved trains ever since.
The mother and son, along with his grandpa, “Papa Pete,” rode the train just for one stop — a 6-minute ride to New Bedford’s Church Street station. School was in a few hours, after all.
Georgia Howland of Fairhaven had a bet with her siblings that she’d be the first member of the public to arrive. (She wasn’t, even though she got to the station a little after 3 a.m.)
Howland, a real estate broker, said she bought a rental property in the city in 2008 under the belief the train was coming soon. Almost two decades later, she’s glad to see it has finally arrived, and thinks it’ll help the real estate market.
Miles Taylor, a transit YouTuber with more than 60,000 followers, rode the train with about a dozen friends. He took a bus from Cambridge on Sunday and stayed overnight in New Bedford.
“I want to say I was the first person to go over these tracks, or at least among the first,” he said. “To me, New Bedford and Fall River are always these alien communities that were so difficult to get to. Now you have commuter rail service every 70 minutes all day. It just totally opens up the ability to take trips.”
Taylor was planning to catch a train back to New Bedford later in the day, so he could visit City Hall to take an even shorter ride, in one of the country’s oldest continuously operating elevators.
With this new train access, he’d also like to visit the Whaling Museum and Fall River’s Battleship Cove.
Nancy Wilkinson and Al Lay, of Dartmouth, moved to the South Coast from Boston about 20 years ago. They had hoped the rail would arrive so that they could commute to work. Now that it’s here, they’re retired.
Still, they plan to use it regularly for doctor appointments and to get together with friends.
“I think it’s going to be a long trip for people to commute, so it will be interesting to see it long-term,” Wilkinson said.
An express train would be a big help for commuters, Lay said. The morning train took a little over 90 minutes.
As for impacts to this region: “I think it’ll increase tourism in New Bedford. The South Coast is such a hidden gem. That cover may be blown now,” Wilkinson said.
Dan Brogan, a public transit specialist for SRPEDD, said he felt that “Christmas morning feeling” riding the first train with his partner, Alli Sousa-Brogan.
He said the new line not only builds connections between communities, but also increases access to health care, including the VA medical center in Brockton.
“There are a lot of significant opportunities to connect our region,” said Brogan, who lives in Providence and works for SRPEDD, Southeastern Massachusetts’ regional planning agency.
Jeff Pontiff, of New Bedford, brought a memento from 2005: a commemorative rail spike from the late New Bedford Mayor Fred Kalisz.
“I just thought it’d be a real neat thing to do,” he said at South Station, waiting for the 6:45 a.m. train to return to New Bedford.
While it’s more likely to shuttle commuters to Boston, Pontiff hopes South Coast Rail will bring commuters in the other direction for work.
“To me, it opens up the labor pool to come south to New Bedford to work,” he said, “if we have enough industry.”
A commercial real estate broker, Pontiff said the rail is advantageous from a real-estate perspective, including opportunities for transit-oriented housing development.
“[The train] adds to the overall aura of raising the bar of who we are as a community,” he said.
Daria Brashear of Cranston donned a dress with marigold Mattapan Trolley cars, something she designed herself.
With a radio on hand to listen to any interesting dispatch chatter, Brashear took the first train out of New Bedford, rode one stop, and then took a Lyft to Fall River so she could take the first train out of that station, too.
“It’s not often you get to see something open and everybody be there at 4:30 in the morning … to be part of something new and special that hopefully is going to be around for the rest of our lives,” Brashear said.
José DaSilva took his first train ride ever in the United States early Monday morning. He had only taken a train before in Russia, when he served in the Marines. He said the MBTA’s train was much quieter and smoother.
The New Bedford plumber looked up and took in the cavernous space at South Station, where he got a coffee and waited for about 30 minutes until the 6:45 a.m. train to New Bedford arrived.
He said he’s waited decades for this.
Email New Bedford Light reporters Anastasia E. Lennon and Eleonora Bianchi at alennon@newbedfordlight.org and ebianchi@newbedfordlight.org.
What a great write up on the Southcoast Rail.
Thank you!
The NB to South Station train left NB at 4:27. What time did it arrive at South Station?
4 late.
All the pictures.