Shuttle buses replace some South Coast Rail trains April 26 and 27
FALL RIVER — This weekend, April 26 and 27, riders on the Fall River/New Bedford Line will need to use shuttle bus service for select train trips.
In a Friday statement, Keolis Commuter Services, the MBTA’s operations and maintenance partner for the Commuter Rail, said that select train trips on the Fall River/New Bedford Line will be temporarily replaced with shuttle bus service on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27.
“The alternative bus service provides reliability for riders in the event there are any crew availability issues over the weekend and enables passengers to plan accordingly,” the statement read.
State Rep. Carole Fiola shared the news as well on her official Facebook page, noting that she had been “assured that the bus chaos that occurred on 2 separate weekends will not occur this weekend as they have ordered more buses and provided each bus route with express bus routes to Fall River and New Bedford.”
Fiola also noted that she had been on calls with MBTA leadership, requesting a community meeting in the coming weeks.
This is what we know about the shuttle schedule for April 26 and 27:
Shuttle buses will replace trains for a total of 10 trips per day (five inbound and five outbound) on both Saturday and Sunday, according to Keolis.
The statement also noted that express buses have been added to supplement local buses serving stations along the line.
Inbound trains (to South Station) for bus replacement with both a local and express option for passengers:
- Train #6922; 9:37 a.m. from Fall River
- Train #7028; 1:03 p.m. from New Bedford
- Train #6930; 2:17 p.m. from Fall River
- Train #7040; 6:50 p.m. from New Bedford
- Train #7046; 9:53 p.m. from New Bedford
Outbound trains (from South Station) for bus replacement with both a local and express option for passengers:
- Train #7015; 11:00 a.m. to New Bedford
- Train #6917; 12:10 p.m. to Fall River
- Train #7029; 4:50 p.m. to New Bedford
- Train #6979; 6:06 p.m. from East Taunton to Fall River
- Train #7039; 7:59 p.m. to New Bedford
Express buses will make no stops between East Taunton Station and South Station, according to Keolis.
Express buses to/from New Bedford will make the following stops: New Bedford, Church Street, East Taunton and South Station.
Express buses from Fall River will make the following stops: Fall River, Freetown, East Taunton and South Station.
Local buses will connect with the Red Line and Kingston Line service at Braintree Station, then run express to South Station.
Keolis also said that, “as a show of gratitude to riders who have been utilizing this new service,” the MBTA is extending fare-free weekend service on the Fall River/New Bedford Line through Sunday, June 1.
In their statement, Keolis said of crew availability: “Crew members, including conductors and engineers, must be qualified in order to operate trains on specific lines. If a crew member calls out sick or misses their shift, it can cause trains to be cancelled if a qualified person cannot be found to replace them.”
Keolis also said in the statement that they are working to increase the number of conductors for South Coast Rail, with a plan to have 65 “qualified conductors” by early June.
If additional crews become available, Keolis said that trips will return to train service. Riders will be notified via T-alerts and by staff at stations. Passengers can also contact customer service by calling 617-222-3200 or emailing [email protected].
“Keolis apologizes to our passengers and to all who eagerly anticipated the opening of the Fall River/New Bedford Line last month,” the statement read. “We understand the frustrations experienced by passengers over the past two weekends and we are committed to providing the South Coast region with the level of Commuter Rail service they both expected and deserve.”
The statement did not clarify whether future weekend service will be impacted similarly, or require shuttle services.
Passengers can stay up to date with the latest information about train and any additional shuttle services, as well as any delays or cancellations by:
- Downloading The MBTA Go app for iOS and Android. Riders can use the app to see any changes to service like delays or cancellations and follow train arrivals in real time.
- Signing up for text alerts at alerts.mbta.com. This is especially useful for frequent riders who take the same train often. Users who sign up can get text or email alerts about specific commuter train runs, or even subway, bus and ferry runs.
- Following MBTA on X (Twitter). The MBTA’s Passenger Information Center is active on the service formerly known as Twitter, posting delay and cancellation info, and responding to customer complaints.
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