South Coast Rail Moving Ahead With Middleboro, Stoughton Plans

STOUGHTON, MA — Both the Middleborough/Lakeville and Stoughton lines will be a part of the MBTA's South Coast Rail, the state's Department of Transportation announced Wednesday.

The plan has the MBTA using the Middleborough/Lakeville Commuter Rail line while they continue preliminary engineering design and permitting on the Stoughton line.

“Our administration is committed to providing the South Coast with commuter rail service as expeditiously and efficiently as possible,” Governor Charlie Baker said in a release. “Pursuing the Middleborough/Lakeville early action service while advancing the Stoughton Electric final phase service will facilitate commuter rail service to the region years earlier.”

Splitting the project into phases will allow MassDOT to use 7.5 miles of tracks on the Middleborough Secondary Line, which must be upgraded to handle commuter rail traffic, MassDOT said.

In phase 2 of the Stoughton portion, new tracks, signals, and stations will be installed between Canton Center and Cotley Junction. During the MEPA review, MassDOT will advance work on the Southern Triangle, which consists of Cotley Junction in Taunton and goes through Berkley, Lakeville, Freetown, Fall River, and New Bedford.

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