It is planned to open on March 24, 2025, as part of the first phase of the South Coast Rail project.

The station is located about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) north of downtown New Bedford on the east side of the Route 18 expressway and Acushnet Avenue.

[3] A footbridge over Route 18 and Acushnet Avenue connects the northwest corner of the parking lot to Purchase Street.

[6]: 398  An Egyptian Revival station designed by Russell Warren was located at Pearl Street in downtown New Bedford.

[8]: 36 In September 2008, MassDOT released 18 potential station sites for the South Coast Rail project, including two in downtown New Bedford: Whale's Tooth (the name of a ferry parking lot) at the former station location, and State Pier at State Pier Maritime Terminal (the former steamship wharf).

[13] On June 11, 2010, the state took ownership of the New Bedford Subdivision and several other CSX lines as part of a sale agreement.

The station building and bus plaza were removed from the design; the existing footbridge would be reused.

[17] By then, a new footbridge at Willis Street (a block south of the existing bridge) was added to the design.

[24] Opening of South Coast Rail was delayed to mid-2024 in September 2023; at that point, the station was 94% complete and expected to be finished by the end of the year.

[25][26] Installation of the span of the new footbridge began in February 2024, with completion of the bridge expected by the end of 2024.

[1] In November 2024, the state legislature passed a bill naming the bridge as the "Andre Lopes Korean War Veteran Overpass".

[29][30] The elevator shaft of the bridge will have artwork entitled "Equinox" by Tracy Silva Barbosa.