$100 million CSX deal in Massachusetts

Written by jrood

Elected officials closed of a $100-million deal with CSX Corp. to launch commuter rail service to the South Coast and increase service for Central Massachusetts commuters, the Telegram and Gazette reports. The agreement, announced by the governor and other officials, allows the state to buy more than 30 miles of track from Taunton to the Fall River and New Bedford area, which is crucial to passenger service.

The state is paying $40
million for that track, as well as two pieces of track in and around Boston.
One of those pieces, the roughly eight-mile-long Grand Junction track, could be
used to connect Worcester commuters to Cambridge and North Station in Boston.
The track needs $5 million to $10 million of improvements before it can
accommodate passenger trains, according to Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray.

"The exciting thing
about North Station is the trains will be going through Kendall Square, MIT …
giving commuters more transportation options," Murray said.

At present, all Worcester
trains end at South Station in Boston.

Murray spoke with
running-mate Gov. Deval L. Patrick, U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester,
and U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., during a conference call with reporters.

The governor said the state
has made "incredible progress" on commuter rail and called the deal
with CSX a historic one.

State officials are hoping
to add several passenger trains on the Worcester line so there are at least 20
inbound and 20 outbound trains daily. The additional trains would begin in
2012, when CSX completes the move of its freight operations from Allston to
Westboro and Worcester.

In September 2012, the
state is scheduled to purchase the track from Worcester to Framingham. The $50-million
acquisition will allow the state to take over maintenance and dispatching of
all the tracks from Worcester to Boston – and add more passenger trains.

"Without these
purchases, increased commuter rail to Worcester would not be possible and
commuter rail to the South Coast would not be possible," McGovern said
during yesterday’s conference call.

He and Kerry said they
already have obtained more than $30 million in federal funds for the rail
projects. The senator said increased commuter rail service would help reduce
pollution and relieve congestion on highways. New rail service to the South
Coast will increase property values there, he added. Passenger service on that
line is slated to begin in 2016 or 2017.

"It’s a very important
boost to our economy," Kerry said. "It’s extraordinarily helpful to
the New Bedford-Taunton-Fall River triangle, which for years has been trying to
make up the economic lag it has faced."

Patrick and Murray said
they led the first administration to deliver on the promise of providing rail
to that part of the state. South Coast residents were getting sick of "photo
ops and cheap rhetoric," Murray said.

Work on the South Coast
line is scheduled to begin this summer, with the replacement of deteriorating
railroad bridges.

A major part of the state’s
deal with CSX is the freight company’s rail yard expansion project in
Worcester. CSX plans to make Worcester its hub of freight operations in New
England. When freight trains are able to end their journey in Worcester rather
than in Boston, track will be freed up for more passenger trains.

At present, 13 passenger
trains leave Union Station in Worcester each weekday and 12 arrive there. A
draft 2012 train schedule includes seven more inbound trains and eight more
outbound. About half of the new trains may travel to North Station, and the
rest would end at South Station. In exchange for additional commuter trains on
the Worcester-Framingham line, the state is raising several bridges and CSX is
lowering several pieces of track to accommodate double-stacked freight trains.

Separately, with the help
of federal money, the state also is investing in the Fitchburg commuter rail
line, where a new station is scheduled to open in two years.

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