REALTORS® for Commuter Rail to Southeast Massachusetts

Commuter rail lines are essential to reducing traffic and connecting outlying areas to job opportunities. Because it makes more housing and employment opportunities available, rail service helps increase property values.

But while the Greater Boston area has an extensive commuter rail network, that convenience doesn’t extend to all the residents of Massachusetts: Southeast Massachusetts has not had a commuter rail station since 1958.

That’s why the Greater New Bedford Association of REALTORS® is working to return rail service to New Bedford, Fall River and Taunton. These are the only three cities within 50 miles of Boston without rail service.

The Greater New Bedford Association of REALTORS® has gathered community support as part of its grass-roots effort. It holds the co-chair of the South Coast Coalition, a task force recently formed to bring commuter rail service to the area.

With financial support from the National Association of REALTORS® and the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, the task force has hired a lobbyist and public relations firm to coordinate the mission.

Restoring rail service to Southeast Massachusetts has been a topic of discussion for 15 years. Residents are in favor of it, but politicians have not gotten the project off the ground.

It took a group of REALTORS® to make that happen: Funds for rail have been inserted into the 2014 transportation bill.