Taunton Senator Dooner: South Coast Rail Disruptions ‘Unacceptable’

Enthusiasm over the much-ballyhooed launch of rail service from Boston to New Bedford and Fall River in March has been dampened somewhat by frequent service delays and interruptions.

Problems such as these could shake the public's confidence in the rail's reliability.

The New Bedford Light reported, "This past holiday weekend, with the 250th anniversary celebration of the American Revolution and the Boston Marathon, 10 trips on the Fall River and New Bedford lines (five inbound and five outbound) were replaced with bus service."

The week before, "Hundreds of passengers utilizing the new South Coast Rail service Sunday night (April 13) said their direct lines out of Boston were canceled due to staffing shortages," according to Providence-based WJAR.

The station reported that "More than five hours of service to New Bedford and Fall River was brought to a standstill."

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Taunton Senator: Delays and Strandings Are "Unacceptable"

Third Bristol and Plymouth District State Sen. Kelly Dooner of Taunton, who serves on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said that  "These delays and people being stranded are unacceptable."

South Coast Rail has stops in East Taunton and Middleboro in Dooner's district.

Dooner, a former paralegal at a Boston law firm, used commuter rail service five days a week.

"I understand the frustration with the delays," she said.

"People have a right to be concerned," Dooner said. "With the amount of money dumped into the MBTA, these problems should not be happening."

"This is not necessarily a money problem, but a management problem that needs to be addressed," she said.

Dooner is also concerned that the legislature appears ready to vote to give the MBTA $700 million of the $1.3 billion generated by the so-called millionaires tax. The tax revenue is dedicated by law to education and transportation.

"We told people, we're going to fix your roads, we're going to fund your schools, yet 97 percent of that tax is going to the MBTA, for what?" she said.

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Gov. Maura Healey would like to borrow another $8 billion for transportation projects, including the MBTA.

"It's highly concerning the amount of money that we have spent on this. These problems should not be happening," Dooner said.

"Schools in my district are laying off teachers because they are struggling to fund K-12 education," she said. "We need to be much more fiscally responsible with how these funds are spent."