BOSTON — A Massachusetts Senate committee has announced an investigation into the early operating issues on the South Coast Rail project that opened last month, saying responses to date “lacked specific assurances to riders and the public at large.”
The Bedford (Mass.) Standard-Times reports that Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), chair of the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight, is requesting information from Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority CEO Phillip Eng , as well as Keolis, the MBTA’s contract operator for commuter rail.
The MBTA and Keolis have cited a shortage of qualified operating crews for the 37-mile South Coast Rail extension that opened on March 24 for train delays and cancellations, as well as the substitution of buses for trains on some weekend trips. [See “After first-month issues, MBTA extends …,” Trains News Wire, April 26, 2025].
Montigny has set a 5 p.m. deadline on Friday, May 2, for answers to 15 questions. They include “When and how did Keolis confirm its readiness to operate the Fall River/Bedford line, including adequate staff, prior to March 24?” and “When will the weekend commuter rail service fully resume with adequate, qualified staff to safely operate the Fall River/New Bedford line?”
Referring to reports that some shuttle buses have failed to appear when replacing trains, Montigny said that stranding passengers is an “unacceptable error that presents a potential safety issue … in addition to the obvious inconvenience inflicted upon all passengers.”
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