South Coast Rail opened Monday morning, restoring commuter trains to the region after more than six decades.
State and local officials marked the occasion with a ceremonial first ride from Fall River and New Bedford, and a handful of area residents were riding the train, too.
On the platform in Fall River, Ollie Couto said he remembers trains in the city during his childhood in the 1950s, and he’s glad they’re back after all these years.
“The last time I seen a train go, it was in back of my schoolyard,” he said. “And I kind of miss that, you know?”
Grisel Negron-Stanley of Fall River asked her husband, Ron Stanley, to ride with her to Boston and have breakfast, just to try it out.
And eleven-year-old Nathan Wing of Swansea happened to be on the same train car from Fall River as Gov. Maura Healey. He loves trains so much, his mom let him skip school for the occasion.
“I like doing train trips,” he said. “It's easy to get on. I've always liked trains since I was a kid, and I've always wanted to ride them.”
His mother, Jennifer Wing, said she’s a big supporter of public transportation. She and Nathan even took a ride share from their house to the Fall River station, to see what it would be like to go without their own car.
“I think not driving into Boston is a huge thing,” she said.
Officials riding from the South Coast gathered outside the East Taunton station, under a large enclosed tent, for celebratory speeches and thank-yous.
The event was a who’s who of South Coast mayors and legislators, both past and present, opened by rousing music from the Taunton High School Wind Symphony.
Despite the cold rain outside, spirits were high under the tent.
Taunton Mayor Shaunna O'Connell called the opening of South Coast Rail a monumental achievement.
“Train service just unlocks so many opportunities for employment, economic growth, and recreation, and it's already having a positive impact here in the city of Taunton,” she said. “Just adjacent to this, we have a beautiful new project that will be built. … It's going to be about 280 beautiful apartments with commercial space and outdoor space as well.”
Healey said the train gives better access to work, school, shopping, and great local restaurants, thereby improving quality of life.
“One big quality-of-life improvement is you can get on a train, grab a Dunks and just sit and chill out for a little bit, read a paper, scroll, go online, whatever. Do some work. You know? All that. Like, time back in your life.”
Other statewide officials who spoke included Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Transportation Secretary Monica Tibbits-Nutt, and Phillip Eng, general manager of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
A big cheer went up from the audience when Healey recognized Jean Fox, a Freetown resident and public engagement director for South Coast Rail who has long been a link between the project and local communities.
The governor said she wanted to thank everyone involved, including the riders.
“It's an awesome day, not just for the South Coast, but for Massachusetts, because it shows what's possible," she said. "It shows we can actually do hard things, and we can deliver on transformative things.”
The state has been trying to plan and fund South Coast Rail for about 35 years — through the administrations of seven governors.
Check out our visit to the rail stations before the opening: 66 years after trains left, South Coast is ready for commuter rail.
