By Johanna Seltz, Correspondent, The Boston Globe; April 26, 2019
The state, and not the MBTA, will pick up the estimated $1 billion tab for the first phase of extending commuter rail service from Boston through Middleborough to New Bedford and Fall River — with diesel trains now projected to begin running on the new routes by late 2023.
The long-stalled project had been scheduled to provide train service to the South Coast starting in 2022 and can now move ahead, having received its final federal permit and secured a finance plan, according to an April 22 statement from the Department of Transportation.