The South Coast Rail line, recently launched, faced significant challenges in its first week of operation. Delays exceeding an hour occurred on March 25th, and on the same day, a school bus narrowly avoided a collision with a train, an incident attributed to human error by the MBTA.
Further disruptions plagued weekend service. Both Saturday and Sunday saw issues, with Sunday's service experiencing cancellations of two evening trains from South Station to New Bedford due to crew availability issues. Shuttle buses were used to accommodate affected passengers.
Keolis, the operator of the MBTA service, acknowledged the issues, stating that their aim is to maintain scheduled service but that crew availability problems led to the cancellations. Passengers were advised to monitor MBTA alerts for updates.
The article also includes brief unrelated segments about the official launch ceremony of South Coast Rail and an exploration of historical gasoline prices.
We’re just a week into South Coast Rail service connecting New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton to Boston, and we’ve already seen some delays and incidents that have caused concern for travelers.
First, there were delays of over an hour on some trains back on March 25, the second day of service.
That same day, an afternoon school bus in Freetown carrying middle and high school students was struck by the arm of a railroad crossing and just missed being struck by a train by under a minute, which the MBTA ruled was “human error.”
READ MORE: Freetown School Bus With Students on Board Misses MBTA Train By Less Than a Minute
This past weekend, those taking the train back from Boston to the SouthCoast ran into trouble on both Saturday and Sunday.
MBTA’s Commuter Rail account on XOn Sunday, two evening trains from South Station to New Bedford – the 7:59 train and the 9:53 train – were both replaced by shuttle bus service “due to a crew availability issue,” according to the MBTA’s posts on X.
Jake O’Neill, Manager of Media Relations and Public Affairs for Keolis, which operates the MBTA service, issued the following statement to WBSM:
"Our goal is always to operate every train as scheduled. Due to crew availability issues, two trains on the Fall River/New Bedford Line and one on the Greenbush Line were cancelled yesterday. Customers were accommodated by shuttle buses. Passengers should subscribe to MBTA Alerts or follow @ MBTA_CR_Alerts on X for up-to-date service information."
Dignitaries gathered on the morning of March 24, 2025 to celebrate the official launch of South Coast Rail service connecting New Bedford to Boston.
Gallery Credit: Mack Eon/Townsquare Media Intern
Read on to explore the cost of gas over time and rediscover just how much a gallon was when you first started driving.
Gallery Credit: Sophia Crisafulli
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