(The following article by Emily Shartin was posted on the Boston Globe website on December 1.)
BOSTON — When a commuter train inexplicably stops on its way to Boston, Andy Blake, who commutes from Shrewsbury, said passengers rarely get an explanation. But when he looks out the window and sees a freight train pass, Blake can guess the reason.
”You always know what it is,” he said.
CSX, the freight railroad company that directs both freight and commuter traffic on the line between Boston and Worcester, was responsible for nearly half the commuter train delays on the line during a recent one-year period, according to data provided by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
During the year that ended in September, the company, based in Jacksonville, Fla., was blamed for 780 of the approximately 1,650 delays on the line. About 100 of those delays were described as ”freight train conflicts,” according to records the MBTA keeps to measure commuter rail performance.
CSX spokesman Gary Sease didn’t dispute the MBTA data but emphasized that ”the management of both commuter and freight trains is a delicate balancing act. We work very hard to dispatch passenger, commuter, and freight trains in such a way that safety and on-time performance is maximized for all.”
The commuter rail line that runs from Boston through Framingham to Worcester is one of the region’s busiest, with more than 40 scheduled trains running in and out of Boston each weekday. But it is also sagging under frequent delays in service.
Under a contract with the MBTA, the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad runs commuter trains throughout Greater Boston. On the Worcester/Framingham line, CSX, which owns a substantial portion of the line, is responsible for maintaining the rail and dispatching all trains.
MBCR was blamed for 367 delays on the line during the period covered by the data. MBTA fines MBCR from $50 to $1,000 for each delay.
Other delays were either ”pre-approved” because the MBTA knew about them in advance or were due to some other cause, including weather problems, people working near the track, or power failures, according to the MBTA.
CSX wouldn’t discuss specific delays. But according to the reports, delays blamed on CSX include failures in the signals that instruct trains on how fast they can go, failures in the switches that enable trains to move from one track to another, and ”paperwork delays,” which are often fax or printer problems that delay instructions to train crews.
Some local officials believe CSX places a higher priority on freight and say passenger trains would benefit if the MBTA, which already owns portions of the line, or MBCR were in charge of the line.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said it is a ”more favorable situation” when a commuter rail operator has sole control of dispatching and maintenance on a line.
”On-time performance rates are higher on railroad lines owned and controlled by the MBTA,” Pesaturo wrote in an e-mail.
”I guess you’d have to believe that it’s only a coincidence that the Worcester/Framingham line has — and has always had — the lowest on-time performance rate of all the lines in the commuter rail system,” he added.
From July 2004 to June 2005, commuter trains on that line were on time an average of just under 87 percent of the time, according to MBTA figures.
John Gibson, vice president of operations, research, and planning for CSX, said the company wants to stay in control of the line. He questioned whether freight would receive proper attention if it were dispatched by a passenger rail operator and said he believes the average delays for passenger trains are lower than they are for freight trains.
”There is no bias in favor of freight in our dispatchment,” said Gibson, who said CSX routinely talks with the MBTA about performance. He does not believe changing dispatchers would make much of a difference.
The lack of reliability in service on the line has frustrated riders.
Tobias Berla, who commutes to Boston from Newton, said he believes service has improved over the past year but still finds himself waiting for trains on the platform. Because he only rides the train for about 20 minutes, he does not mind when cars are crowded or even not completely clean.
”To me, delays are the biggest problem,” Berla said.
CSX runs freight on various rail lines throughout Greater Boston, including those it does not dispatch. Its trains carry everything from trash to cars to everyday retail items such as clothes and computers, Gibson said. Trains are an efficient way to move freight because they keep traffic off the highway — one freight car replaces as many as five trucks, he said.
The line is critical for CSX, Gibson said, because it connects to Albany, a hub from which trains can go anywhere in the country.
Some local officials have been pushing for more commuter trains on the line, a goal the Romney administration supports. Erik Abell, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Transportation, said the state has been discussing giving commuter trains additional access to the line, as well as taking charge of the right-of-way.
He noted that whoever dispatches the line has to keep the interests of both freight haulers and passengers in mind.
”CSX has done their best to accommodate passenger rail in light of their own service needs,” Abell wrote in an e-mail. ”If the right-of-way ownership were to change hands, the T would have another tool to address its ongoing commitment to on-time service, while simultaneously doing its best to accommodate freight rail.”
Worcester Mayor Tim Murray blames both CSX and the MBTA for a lack of leadership that has stalled both the addition of more commuter trains and improvements to service, but is still optimistic about a resolution. He noted the line’s continued popularity.
”Notwithstanding that it’s the lowest-performing line, people still clamor to use it,” said Murray.
Paul Regan, executive director of the MBTA Advisory Board, said he couldn’t estimate how much it would cost the MBTA to take over the line, but guessed it would be ”prohibitively expensive.” He said there has to be an ”accommodation” between the MBTA and CSX.
Regan called it good that Massachusetts has a working freight system, but also noted there is little mystery in what the MBTA is seeking.
”Your scheduled passenger runs are your scheduled passenger runs,” he said. ”An organization like CSX knows well in advance.”
Stephen Urban, MBCR’s deputy general manager, said MBCR recognizes it has its own performance issues to work on. ”Our goal is to get our customers where they want to go on time,” he said.
Urban said MBCR talks to CSX about operations and the two organizations have a good working relationship. But he also said ”they have their own railroad to run.”
”Primarily, it’s their railroad, and they can determine how trains operate,” he said. Urban said he would ”just be speculating” when asked whether there would be fewer delays if MBCR operated the line.
Ultimately, he noted, the source of any delay is of little concern to the rider.
”The customer doesn’t care who’s responsible,” Urban said.