How much did Phase 1 of South Coast Rail to Fall River and New Bedford cost?
South Coast Rail is an MBTA commuter-rail project to restore service from Boston to Fall River and New Bedford in Massachusetts, planned since the 1980s and split in March 2017 into two phases. Phase 1, an interim diesel service via Middleborough on 36.1 miles of rebuilt freight track with six new stations, began construction in 2019 and opened on 24 March 2025; WBUR described it as a project roughly 40 years and USD 1.1 billion in the making. Phase 2, the northern link between Stoughton and Taunton with electrification, is unfunded, and CommonWealth Beacon put the full build at USD 3.2 billion in June 2026.
Reported project cost
$1.1 billion
Cost basis: 2025
Massachusetts Bay Transportation AuthorityPublic domain
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
Reported project cost2025
Project metrics
Key dimensions
- Total lengthwbur.org
- 58.1 km
Project record