BOSTON — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its contract commuter rail operator, Keolis Commuter Services, have announced schedule adjustments on the Fall River/New Bedford Line and three routes, effective July 21. The changes on the South Coast Rail route and the Greenbush, Kingston, and Providence/Stoughton lines are intended to improve reliability.
The Fall River/New Bedford Line was plagued by reliability issues after its opening in late March, attributed primarily to a shortage of crews qualified to operate on the new 37-mile extension [see “After first-month issues …,” Trains News Wire, April 26, 2025]. “Despite some early challenges, Keolis and our union partners have made significant progress on crew qualification,” the company said in a press release, “and no weekend Fall River/New Bedford trains have been cancelled due to crew availability in over nine weeks.” The new changes, meant to improve on-time performance, include elimination of the JFK/UMass stop for midday and evening trains. Two late-night shuttle trains will also be eliminated, and departure times throughout the day will be adjusted.
Changes elsewhere include an additional morning inbound train on the Greenbush Line; minor midday schedule changes on the Greenbush and Kingston lines, and an additional stop for one Providence/Stoughton train (No. 824, an 8:08 a.m. departure from Providence) at Hyde Park to accommodate Fairmount-area passengers during Fairmount Line construction in preparation for the introduction of battery-electric trainsets [see “
The adjusted schedules will be available soon on the MBTA website.
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