(The following story by Noah Bierman appeared on the Boston Globe website on March 5.)
BOSTON — The tardiest commuter rail line in Massachusetts will experience another round of delays beginning Sunday, as CSX Transportation begins work on replacing rails on the Worcester/Framingham line.
The work is expected to last from March 9 through March 17, and to produce 30-minute delays on off-peak trains and delays of up to 10 minutes on rush-hour trains, said Scott Farmelant, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co., which runs commuter service for the MBTA. Crews will not be performing work from March 13 through 15.
Trains on the line have been the tardiest in the commuter rail system. Officials promised better on-time performance last month when they changed the schedules to give the trains more time to reach their destinations.
CSX Transportation owns the tracks and depends on them to run freight trains; it is responsible for train dispatch. Commuter trains on the line had some of their worst on-time performance in the fall, when CSX was replacing rail ties. In September and October, fewer than half the trains on the line came in on time.
The latest track work will force some off-peak passengers onto buses for part of their journey.
“CSX juggled the schedule to try to minimize impact to peak hours,” Farmelant said. “We hope that this does not cause any great inconvenience.”
Farmelant said 69 percent of the trains on the Worcester/Framingham line ran on time or less than five minutes late last month. Since the Feb. 19 schedule change, 94 percent of trains on the line have run on time, he said.
Bob Sullivan, CSX spokesman, said the company is doing the work mostly nights and weekends.