The great race from Fall River to Boston: Commuter train vs. car
Is taking the train from Fall River to Boston faster than driving? We tested it out on a weekday morning during rush hour. The results are surprising.
- Staffing shortages caused multiple MBTA trains to and from the SouthCoast to be canceled.
- Riders in Boston trying to head home faced delays of about 4 hours.
- Service alerts show many trains on the newly opened South Coast Rail have been running about five to 20 minutes late.
People trying to get home to New Bedford and Fall River were delayed at South Station for about four hours on the afternoon of Sunday, April 13, after multiple trains on the Fall River/New Bedford commuter rail line were canceled.
According to MBTA alerts, staffing shortages caused the cancellation of seven trains on the Fall River/New Bedford Line between early afternoon and evening, leaving in the lurch any travelers taking advantage of free weekend service.
Three trains leaving South Station on Sunday afternoon were canceled: a 3:40 p.m. to New Bedford, a 4:50 p.m. to New Bedford, and a 5:59 p.m. to Fall River. Also canceled was a 6:06 p.m. shuttle from East Taunton to Fall River.
The gap in service meant riders heading home to New Bedford at 3:40 p.m. had to wait until 8 p.m. to start their journey home, a delay of more than four hours.
Fall River riders expecting to catch the 5:59 p.m. home had to wait until the 9:59 p.m. trip back.
Three trips north were also canceled: two from New Bedford north to South Station, a 3:23 and 6:50 p.m., and the 8:55 p.m. from Fall River.
The Fall River/New Bedford Line has 11 stations between each terminus, including stops in Freetown, Taunton, Bridgewater, Brockton, Braintree and Quincy.
It’s unknown how many riders were affected by the cancellations.
Delays have been frequent since South Coast Rail rollout
Keolis Commuter Services, the company that operates and manages the MBTA Commuter Rail system, did not provide specific comment on why these trains were canceled.
“Some trains on the Fall River/New Bedford and Kingston Lines were cancelled yesterday due to crew availability issues. Passengers were accommodated by later trains or shuttle buses,” stated Jake O’Neill, manager of Media Relations and Public Affairs at Keolis.
The MBTA has a system to provide users with text-based alerts for delays and cancellations; they are also posted to X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, at @mbta_cr_alerts.
A check of Fall River/New Bedford commuter rail line alerts shows that since beginning operations on March 24, many trains have been running five to 20 minutes late. Keolis did not respond to inquiries as to why.
Keolis recently held job fairs seeking to hire more employees in both New Bedford and Fall River, on March 14 and April 1.
