The faint sounding of passing train horns was audible as mayors and other officials from Brockton, Fall River, New Bedford and Taunton gathered to take stock of how South Coast Rail has changed the region in its first year — and learn how to capitalize on it.

Bridgewater State University on Tuesday, June 2, hosted a year-in-review event featuring speakers from across the region, including MBTA General Manager Phil Eng, who spoke about where South Coast Rail came from and where it’s going.

“What we’ve seen is transportation is bi-directional — it’s not the old way of just going into Boston and coming out,” Eng told officials.

Eng has touted "regional rail" as the MBTA’s future, a model built on fast, cheap and frequent train service between cities along the line, not just to Boston. Mayors of the SouthCoast’s four Gateway Cities spoke about how working together with that kind of rail service can benefit the region in terms of jobs, housing, development, education and more.

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