"We can finally say, after 67 years, we have here a South Coast Rail." First commuter rail to bring train travel back to Southeastern Mass. opens

Like all other Commuter Rail trips, the first train Monday morning on the MBTA’s new Fall River/New Bedford line set off with a jolt. But unlike the rest, it was followed by an unfamiliar sound for the early hour: applause.

TAUNTON — For the first time in more than a half century, on Monday, residents of Massachusetts’ South Coast communities, including Fall River and New Bedford, began hopping on a commuter rail train to be whisked directly into Boston.