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South Coast Rail was 20 years late, but now it’s two months early.
The new MBTA commuter rail extension will begin carrying passengers on March 24, state Sen. Mark Montigny announced after a meeting with transportation officials on Friday.
The new launch date puts the long-delayed project on track to finish more than a month ahead of schedule. The most recent timeline aimed for a launch date in May.
“I’m tired of telling people, ‘Don’t worry, it’s coming,’” Montigny said.
The lawmaker said he had started to count himself among the South Coast Rail skeptics. But now, he says he’s confident in the new timeline.
He made the announcement ahead of a public meeting the MBTA was already planning to hold in Freetown on Monday. The agency confirmed the March 24 start date in a press release Friday afternoon.
Testing on the commuter rail extension is in the final stage, MBTA officials have said in recent days. Over the next several weeks, the MBTA will perform “simulated service,” running trains on schedule as if they were carrying passengers. The Federal Railroad Administration is monitoring the process. After the regulators sign off, the extension can open to the public.
Montigny said the extension will bring “enormous” economic benefits to the South Coast, allowing locals to access opportunities in Boston and attracting more visitors to the area. But he added that the region will need more aid from the state to build housing and prevent gentrification.
The project has experienced numerous stops and starts since the early 1990s. It was delayed twice more in just the last year and a half, and for two months last year there was no public schedule at all. But final construction and safety testing has been on schedule since the MBTA set its latest timeline in June.
Last month, the MBTA completed extensive testing on advanced safety systems that prevent collisions and derailments. Then, it handed operations over to Keolis, the contractor that runs MBTA commuter trains.
Passengers in New Bedford and Fall River will be able to take a 90-minute train ride to Boston’s South Station, stopping at new stations in Taunton and Freetown along the way. The route connects to the existing line that currently ends in Middleborough. When the extension opens, the line will be renamed the New Bedford / Fall River line.
New Bedford has two new stations: New Bedford Station, near the Whale’s Tooth parking lot, and Church Street Station, near Kings Highway. Daily parking will cost $4 on weekdays and $2 on weekends or holidays.
A pedestrian bridge across Rt. 18 connecting New Bedford Station to Purchase Street is 85% complete and will open by the time the extension opens, the project’s outreach director Jean Fox said at a meeting in Dartmouth on Thursday. An older pedestrian bridge across the highway will be torn down.
Exact schedules are still being fine-tuned. Officials say they plan to run trains about every 70 minutes on weekdays, making 17 trips per day between New Bedford and South Station. Trains will run about every 120 minutes on weekends. There will be late-night service, with the last southbound trains leaving Boston around midnight.
A trip from New Bedford Station to South Station will be $12.25 each way, while reduced fares for certain riders will be $6.
MBTA officials are warning the community to stay off the train tracks. It’s illegal trespassing, they said, and it’s extremely dangerous. Unlike the slow freight trains that locals are used to seeing, MBTA trains move at up to 79 mph. Dog walkers and ATV riders might not even hear the train until it’s too late to get out of the way, officials said.
Email Grace Ferguson at gferguson@newbedfordlight.org
About 25 years behind schedule!
Well, this is good news! Let’s see how it goes. They have been making really nice progress on the pedestrian bridge.
Thank you to former State Rep Bill Straus, chairman of the Transportation Committee for his unwavering support and efforts to make this happen.
Ah, the South Coast Rail, arriving ahead of schedule—a rare delight in the realm of public projects. This development promises to rejuvenate connections between Boston and the South Coast, potentially sparking economic growth. Yet, one must ponder: at what cost? Will this boon for commuters inadvertently drive up local housing costs, displacing long-time residents? Progress is a double-edged sword, my friends. Let’s proceed with both enthusiasm and caution.
Be sure to invite Seastreak to connect Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard on a reliable schedule which can be trusted and used by islanders and off-island workforce commuters.
I’ve been deprived of my access to New Bedford since the Dattco bus line discontinued service last April 2023. Now it seems with the commuter rail from Boston to New Bedford it will be business as usual for me once again; at an affordable price and with frequent trips. Thank you!!
Are there safe places to park bikes at new location?