Massachusetts Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee investigating South Coast Rail service disruptions

• Chris Lisinski

MAY 5, 2025…..The head of the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee slammed a one-month extension of free South Coast Rail weekend trips as “not an appropriate way to apologize” for dozens of service disruptions that left some passengers stranded.

Sen. Mark Montigny, who chairs the investigatory panel and is a New Bedford resident served by the new rail extension, on Monday published correspondence with the MBTA further illuminating the staffing challenges at commuter rail operator Keolis that have led to several canceled trips over the last four weeks. The chairman said the committee is keeping open an investigation of the situation.

In response to an inquiry from the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said the original South Coast Rail schedule required 11 conductors and 11 engineers to work each Saturday and Sunday.

On several weekend days between March 30 and April 20, Keolis had fewer than 11 conductors available to work, forcing some trains on the Fall River/New Bedford Line to be canceled and replaced by buses. Eng said the absences could be attributed to a combination of causes, including employee vacations, family or medical leave, federally required “relief” after prior work, and one “unexcused absence.”

Altogether, the T counted 13 South Coast Rail trains that failed to begin or finish a trip on schedule, 30 that were canceled, and dozens more with delays of 10 minutes or more.

Fewer than 15 people were stranded by canceled service, Eng said, based on “a review of available customer service data.”

Transit officials have apologized for the disruptions, and T leaders criticized Keolis for failing to ensure adequate staffing. Keolis Commuter Service CEO Abdellah Chajai told MBTA overseers last month that the company had “the right level of staffing” for South Coast Rail but “didn’t have enough resilience about the training” to avoid problems.

“With the support of the SMART Union (representing the Commuter Rail conductors), Keolis is pleased to have operated all trains on the Fall River/New Bedford Line for the past two weekends,” Keolis spokesperson Sheri Warrington said in a statement Monday. “We continue to work collaboratively with our workforce to support the new service for the South Coast Rail region at the level that our passengers deserve.”

Eng wrote in his letter to the Senate Post Audit and Oversight Committee that Keolis shared a qualification dashboard with the T on March 21, three days before the expansion launched, that showed “the planned 41 qualified Conductors had been achieved.”

“While the majority of South Coast Rail trips have occurred as planned and on time, we know that there have been several instances in which shuttle service had to replace train service. This is entirely unacceptable, and we have made that clear to Keolis,” Eng wrote. “Keolis provided assurances to the MBTA prior to the start of service that a sufficient number of trained operators would be available, and that Keolis would provide the level of service our riders deserve. Keolis has fallen short on that promise, and the MBTA intends to hold Keolis accountable.”

As of April 23, another 17 conductors, two locomotive engineers, one manager of locomotive engineers and three managers of conductors were being trained to join the workforce, Eng said.

The MBTA extended fare-free weekend trips through May, a month longer than originally planned, amid the disruption.

“Keolis must be held accountable to deliver timely and consistent service and it appears that the MBTA shares this perspective. However, a free weekend service extension while these issues are worked out is not an appropriate way to apologize for this error nor will it provide a good impression for riders when they must step onto bus service home,” Montigny said. “The T should make every effort to offer an extended free service when the staffing issues are resolved later this Spring. In the meantime, the committee will keep this investigation open pending satisfactory staffing levels and adherence to the service schedule.”

Keolis has already accumulated tens of thousands of dollars in fines from the T, and Eng wrote in his May 2 letter to Montigny that the total value of penalties and incentives is “currently being determined by the MBTA and Keolis.”