Massachusetts moves to buy CSXT track

The MBTA board has approved a deal that allows the state to purchase a section of railroad track to expand commuter rail service from Worcester to Boston through Ayer, but passengers won't be able to travel that route any time soon, the Telegram and Gazette reports.

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray
said yesterday the Ayer option is still under consideration, but on the state’s
long-range plan.

"I think that’s quite a
ways away," he said, adding that the state is already concentrating on a $200-million
investment in the Fitchburg commuter rail line and on closing a long-sought
deal with CSX Corp. The state is purchasing several miles of track from CSX
Transportation with the goal of increasing the number of passenger trains
between Worcester and Boston, through Framingham.

As for the
Worcester-to-Ayer route, expanding commuter rail service there is not
conditional on the state’s purchase of the track, Murray said, but the issue
needs much more study. The cost of acquiring the line and making all the
improvements necessary for fast passenger trains would be $100 million to $200
million, he said.

"Significant capital
improvements are needed along the line to make trains fast enough. Sometimes
these acquisitions take decades," he added.

A trackage rights agreement
approved by the MBTA board last week, however, seeks to avoid "protracted
negotiations," such as the ones between CSXT and the state. The agreement "establishes
a procedure to acquire the ownership of the rail line," MBTA spokesman Joe
Pesaturo said in an e-mail. "This acquisition is to protect that option for the
future."

The deal between the MBTA
and Pan Am Railways and Pan Am Southern also allows the state to expand
commuter rail service to a new train station near Route 2 in Fitchburg. The new
station is scheduled to open in 2012.

The agreement lets the MBTA
access $55.5 million in federal funds to pay for the cost of commuter rail
expansion and track improvements. When improvements are complete, trains will
be able to move passengers from Fitchburg to Boston, about 50 miles, in an hour
and 13 minutes. Currently, the ride is several minutes longer.

"Travel time will be
shorter because of the projects to upgrade the signal systems and add second
tracks," Pesaturo said.

State and local officials
say additional rail service in Fitchburg will be good for commuters and help
development in and around the city.

"It would be good for the
whole region," said Westminster Town Administrator Karen M. Murphy.

Murray said, "(This) is
something that is going to make North Worcester County more attractive for
investment."

The new Wachusett Station
in Fitchburg is expected to divert traffic from the often-congested Route 2 and
bring about 400 additional commuters to trains. A layover station will be
constructed nearby to house inactive trains. Most, if not all, of the layover
station will be in Westminster, rather than in Fitchburg, Pesaturo said.

Murphy said the Westminster
Board of Selectmen will be reviewing plans for the layover station and has
already sought public comment on the issue,

The MBTA’s new agreement
with Pan Am also states that the MBTA will no longer charge Pan Am for using
state-owned tracks, and in return, the MBTA will be able to use Pan Am’s track
for free.

A Pan Am spokeswoman was
not immediately available for comment yesterday.