New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack recently visited UMASS Dartmouth School of Law to inform the public on the latest with South Coast Rail and its service for residents of the region. Here are 10 important takeaways from the South Coast Rail Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Report:
1. Rail service to Boston from Fall River and New Bedford will start in 2022 and is known as Phase 1. Phase 1 will provide commuter rail service by extending service from the Middleborough/Lakeville Line to New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton using existing freight rail corridors. The Full Build will be completed around 2030.
2. For phase 1, New Bedford will have two stations and one layover; King’s Highway Station, Wamsutta Layover, and Whale’s Tooth Station. Total time from New Bedford to Boston is estimated at 63 minutes.
3. For phase 1, Fall River will have the Weaver’s Cove layover and the Fall River Depot Station. Battleship Cove Station will come during the Full Build. There will also be a station in Freetown during Phase 1. Total time from Fall River to Boston is estimated at 51 minutes.
4. MassDOT selected the Middleborough route for Phase 1 (as opposed to the Stoughton Route) service because it will support earlier commuter rail service to Fall River and New Bedford.
5. The Stoughton Route, as part of the Full Build, will come around 2030.
6. Element 1 of Phase 1 includes 6 round-trip trains for Fall River and 7 round-trip trains for New Bedford each day. Trains will arrive/leave the stations every 90 minutes during the operation window.
7. Phase 1 service will provide riders with 7 million trips over 8 years before the final build is complete.
8. The total cost of South Coast Rail Phase 1 is estimated at $935 million. The total cost of the Full Build is estimated at $3.2 billion (Phase 1 cost included).
9. Phase 1 will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7,121 short tons per year (6,460 metric tons)
10. You can check for updates and public meetings regarding South Coast Rail at http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/southcoastrail/Home.aspx
When I was looking to buy a home in New Bedford in 1999, this was one of the selling points. I was told that the “train from Boston would be coming within the next year”! That was almost 20 years ago and I’m still hearing, “the train from Boston will be coming within the next year”. I’ll beLIEve it when I see and SIT on this “train from Boston”.
I live in Middleboro. In order to provide South Coast rail service they are building a new train station here that will not only be in one of the absolute worst locations for traffic in town but also will have less parking than the existing station. In the impact statement, the MBTA has admitted there is no benefit to the town of Middleboro or the residents whatsoever and that there will be negatives that won’t be resolved for decades. I’m happy that the New Bedford area will finally get the service they have been promised, but the price is being borne by another community.
There’s only 1 thing to know about the commuter rail system. It’s NEVER coming.
I was born in 1972. They’ve been promising the commuter train since then… We’ll have flying cars piloted by robots before we see the train in Bristol County.