Job fair in New Bedford ahead of opening of South Coast Rail

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WLNE) — On March 24 the South Coast Rail line will officially be open for service.

“It’s a historical day realistically,” Executive Director and CEO of MassHire Michael Santos said. “We’ve been talking about the MBTA coming to New Bedford for 30 years now.”

For the first time in 65 years, the communities of Taunton, Freetown, New Bedford, and Fall River will have passenger rail service.

“What I am seeing, and feeling, and hearing is hope and that’s what people need,” MassHire Career Center Employee Luis Bartolomey said. “People need to know this community and the state are moving forward. This has been promised for a long time.”

With a whole new rail system comes many opportunities for jobs.

“Here in the city of New Bedford there’s a lot of talent and a lot of hard-working people,” New Bedford resident and job seeker Anthony Claiborne said. ” This will also cut the cost of people driving and paying for parking.”

On Friday, a job fair was held at MassHire in New Bedford.

At least 100 job seekers showed up eager to get involved.

“It shows the drive of this community,” Santos added.

With the new service running all the way to Boston and back, the hope is more people come visit the whaling city.

“It gets people to come down here and see what the city is like and see the work ethic that comes out of the city,” Claiborne said.

The city of Fall River is set to host its own job fair with Keolis and the MBTA on April 1.