The MBTA announced today that New Bedford, Fall River and other South Coast points will get commuter-rail service starting on the morning of March 24 - for the first time in 65 years.
There will be a total of 15 trips on the Fall River line and 17 trips on the New Bedford Line with a total of 32 trips between South Station and East Taunton. There will be a total of 26 trips between South Station and East Taunton on the weekends. The MBTA anticipates trains to run every 70 minutes on weekdays and every 2 hours on the weekends.
Late night service will be offered to South Coast Rail stations with the last train leaving Boston just before midnight.
In addition to direct service, there will also be shuttles operating between each terminus point and East Taunton Station. This allows for even more frequent service, which is consistent with the All Day Service model across the rest of the Commuter Rail network.
Once service starts, the Middleborough/Lakeville Line will be renamed the Fall River/New Bedford Line - in part because Lakeville will no longer be a train stop (except on the seasonal Cape Flyer). Also:
The MBTA has determined that the fare structure for all South Coast Rail stations will be priced in Zone 8. This means that passengers will pay a full fare of $12.25 and a reduced fare of $6.
The T did have offer up one caveat: The March 25 date assumes final approval from the Federal Railroad Administration, which in turn assumes there will still be a Federal Railroad Administration by then.
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Comments
Great news! finally.
By lodger
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 5:04pm
Great news! finally.
Nice!
By John z
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 5:28pm
Nice! This will open up more areas for people who want lower housing costs and work in Boston.
Now do Western MA!
By BostonDog
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 5:28pm
I'd use a train to Greenfield, Springfield, or Pittsfield (or any other field) if there was an MBTA option.
But given the USDOT statements about only giving money to places with high birth and marriage rates (aka red states), I'm worried we'll see pretty significant drops in all public transportation options pretty soon. A large percentage of the MBTA's operating budget comes from the feds and they are eager to hurt states like Massachusetts.
AMEN!
By MassMouse
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 6:04pm
Although I have figured out a good way to get into Boston. I drive to Worcester and take the train in. Very convenient for appointments in Longwood and for the Red Sox games! Right now, the parking really bites but I always find myself a disabled space so I don’t have to pay.(Membership has his privileges…)
Compass Rail
By TomW
Sat, 02/08/2025 - 7:33am
There are early-stage plans to expand rail service in western Mass. The vision is for Springfield to serve as the hub. Trains would be run north to Holyoke, Northampton, and Greenfield; west to Pittsfield and maybe Albany; south to Hartford and New Haven; and east to Worcester and Boston.
https://www.mass.gov/compass-rail
They've made some decisions that seem truly boneheaded to me at first glance, but I admit I don't really know anything about the constraints they face or the local politics, etc.... so maybe they've got good reasons.
For example, they have no plans for a station in Westfield, which has a fairly large population and a nice compact downtown, and a really cool old train depot. Seems like an obvious win to put a stop here.
Also, their preferred location for a station in Palmer: will they use the already-existing beautiful granite depot building that is located right downtown, within walking distance of downtown businesses and lots of homes (and also has room for plenty of parking)? Nah! Instead, they will be putting it a mile away next to a couple of low-density industrial/warehouse buildings.
Woo hoo!
By Cleary Squared
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 7:01pm
When I attended UMass Dartmouth about 30-35 years ago, I had the pleasure of taking either the American Eagle bus from New Bedford for $5 or the Bonanza Bus from Fall River for $8. It took roughly an hour from each point, and the buses were frequent (at least 10 round trips per day).
After Dattco took over American Eagle and Peter Pan took over Bonanza (and then took over for Dattco), there is now only one bus per day between Boston, New Bedford and Fall River. I'm planning on riding the South Coast line after it opens.
Maybe the MBTA should fix
By Keith
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 8:14pm
Maybe the MBTA should fix what they already have before opening new lines.
This has in part caused NB real estate gentrifrication
By hydeparkish
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 8:36pm
Over the last 5 years New Bedford home prices have doubled and in some instances tripled in the last 5 years, especially for Multifamilies....lotta money is being made by developers!
Not that soaring prices in general have anything to do with that
By SwirlyGrrl
Fri, 02/07/2025 - 9:19pm
No, couldn't be people moving further out with work from home available or anything like that.
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