PAWTUCKET – The R.I. Department of Transportation recently announced a Jan. 23 launch date for the new commuter rail station that’s been under construction at 300 Pine St. in Pawtucket.
While the project is behind schedule due to construction delays after a summer 2022 opening was previously expected, the transportation department announced recently on its Facebook page that the transit center is “coming soon” with a packed daily schedule of train and bus rides. A spokesperson for the agency later confirmed the Jan. 23 opening date in an email.
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The opening of the new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Commuter Rail station comes after nearly two years of no service at the nearest station in South Attleboro, at 1315 Newport Ave., near the Pawtucket line. The South Attleboro station remains closed, with no reopening date yet announced, after the MBTA said an inspection in 2021 revealed that the pedestrian overpass on-site had “significantly deteriorated,” requiring a full replacement for safety reasons.
The planned opening of the 300 Pine St. location marks the first time in more than 50 years that a commuter rail train made daily stops in Pawtucket, according to the R.I. Department of Transportation. A commuter rail station previously operated in the city between 1916 and 1959, the agency said.
The new Pawtucket/Central Falls commuter rail station will connect inbound to Boston and outbound to North Kingstown, as part of the MBTA Commuter Rail’s Providence/Stoughton line, which is the longest MBTA Commuter Rail line and the only one that operates outside of Massachusetts, with daily boardings surpassing 17,600 in October 2022.
A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Pawtucket commuter rail station took place in 2018, but much of the construction work on the site occurred last year.
The MBTA previously estimated that the cost of the Pawtucket train station project is $63 million, with 20% of that coming from Rhode Island state and local funding.
The construction contractor for the project was Barletta Heavy Division Inc., which is based on Acorn Street in Providence.
The MBTA said that ridership studies determined that the new Pawtucket station will attract 520 daily boardings.
The new commuter rail stop comes with a 200-space parking lot, adjacent to the station, the MBTA said.
The commuter rail trains are operated by a contractor, the Paris-based Keolis Commuter Services, and they can reach top speeds of up to 79 miles per hour. Commuter rail one-way tickets range from $2.40 to $13.25 in cost, depending on the distance traveled; monthly tickets range from $80 to $426; and the commuter rail also offers special ticket pricing, such as weekend passes with unlimited trips for $10.
Marc Larocque is a PBN contributing writer.
