South Coast Commuter Rail is Happening';

Apparently, the Governor stopped by UMASS Dartmouth today - and I missed him! I saw some signs saying "Governor's Parking Space" earlier this morning literally across the street from my dorm, which made me think it had to refer to good ol' Deval - and I was right. I figured he'd be coming around noon, but couldn't find anything to confirm any specific time on massgov or in emails - which was a disappointment.

Anyway, the discussion was on the South Coast Commuter Rail project, something Deval Patrick unveiled today right here at UMASS.

Trains would be rolling to Fall River and New Bedford by December 2016 — nearly a decade from now — under a commuter rail plan Gov. Deval Patrick will announce at UMass Dartmouth today, according to sources familiar with a private briefing by the state's transportation secretary.

Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen also gave SouthCoast lawmakers a new price tag on the proposed extension of the MBTA's Stoughton Line, which originates at South Station in Boston: a whopping $1.4 billion. Previous estimates on the cost of extending rail to SouthCoast were $800 million to $1 billion.

The key to bringing the train to New Bedford and Fall River will be finding a source of money for the project, something Gov. Patrick may elaborate on when he gives a presentation to local leaders at 10 a.m. today at UMass Dartmouth's Woodland Commons Building.

Apparently, I should have read South Coast Today before I left for my first class, because I could have actually gone. Regardless, if anyone knows what happened, please inform readers in the comments. A ten-year time table is half that of Governor Patrick's predecessor. This speech seems as if it was a big deal - there were three television trucks (NECN, Channel 4, Channel 7) still there when I walked by again slightly before noon. Did the Governor reveal anything about funding?