Just weeks in, South Coast Rail runs short of staff, owes the T fines on canceled trains

The MBTA wants to hold commuter rail operator Keolis accountable for service disruptions on the newly launched New Bedford and Fall River lines.

Just weeks after the debut of service on the long-awaited South Coast Rail project, Keolis has canceled and often replaced train service with buses, with little warning to riders. The operator said a primary reason for the disruptions has been an insufficient number of trained engineers.

At a board meeting Thursday, MBTA general manager Phil Eng did not mince words, saying Keolis had developed the rail schedule knowing it was on the hook to provide “robust, reliable, frequent” service to passengers and to encourage ridership.

“ They told us they were ready to deliver this level of service," Eng said. And going forward, "We are going to hold them accountable for that.”

Keolis Chief Executive Abdellah Chajai attended the meeting to answer board members’ questions. He said he “wanted to apologize” to the passengers affected by the disruptions. The $1.1 billion rail project was slated to provide 3,200 trips per day along the 90-minute trip to and from Boston.

Chajai told the board his company is "actively working to improve the situation," by increasing staff training. He explained that engineers need to be “qualified” on a route in order to work on it, and said Keolis was working closely with employee unions.

Eng said the T has directed Keolis to qualify and train every conductor and engineer "on the whole south side to ensure that they have more than enough ample employees to cover these shifts.” He also said the T has made it clear if there's a need for buses to fill the gaps right now, the bus service has to be reliable so riders have the level of service they deserve.

Keolis will have to pay the costs associated with the service disruptions and fixes, Eng said: “The costs for the buses, that's on them. That's not going to be reimbursed. Any cost to accelerate training is on them as well and these are all things they are responsible to do.”

In addition to those costs, Keolis also is being fined for each canceled train. Eng estimates the cancelation fines at about $51,000 so far.

Chajai did not provide a timeline for when service on the South Coast Rail lines would improve. He did say the company would be more proactive in letting the public know about disruptions.