(The following story by Charlie Breitrose appeared on the Metro West Daily News website on July 22.)
FRAMINGHAM, Mass. — Residents gave Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officials an earful of concerns over the impact of proposed changes to train service going through and stopping in Framingham during a public hearing at the Memorial Building last night.
The MBTA and consultants from HNTB Cos. came to explain preliminary plans to add more trains running along the Framingham to Worcester commuter rail line, as well as the possibility of putting a train station at Framingham State College on an offshoot from the main commuter rail line.
The study started because the tracks from Framingham west to Worcester are owned by CSX Corp., said Michael McInnis, project manager for HNTB, and they have reached capacity.
Additions of a third track, needed to pull freight trains off to allow commuter trains to pass, have been proposed for a 1.5-mile section from south Framingham into Ashland, as well as another few miles from Worcester, through Millbury and into Grafton.
Consultants will also examine ways of making a parking lot at FSC into a transit center by adding a parking garage with spots for students and commuters.
The parking area would be connected to the downtown train station by some sort of public transportation, McInnis said, with options including a commuter train, light rail trolleys or a shuttle bus.
State Rep. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, told the MBTA officials that the project seems largely aimed at helping people on either end for the commuter rail line.
“I feel this is not to the benefit of the Framingham area, except for the part at the college,” Spilka said. “It is for the benefit of Boston and Worcester, and we just happen to be in the middle.”
Trains going through downtown Framingham tie up traffic, said state Rep. Debbie Blumer, D-Framingham. She also complained that while the MBTA looks at increasing the number of trains, it has cut back funding for local buses.
Blumer requested that consultants look at what it would cost to submerge the tracks through downtown so that no roads would be interrupted by trains.
To allow more trains to use the tracks, a third track would be installed beginning at the Nevins Yard, near Winter Street in Framingham, and go into Ashland. The tracks would likely stop before crossing Main Street or Cherry Street in Ashland, McInnis said, but could cross those roads.
Ashland Selectman Cassie Sammons said trains idling in or near downtown would be a detriment.
“Essentially it stops traffic on the only road north and south between Rte. 9 and 495,” Sammons said.
Residents living near Framingham State College worry about the impact of putting a station in their neighborhood. Mayflower Circle resident Tony Miceli said the traffic in the area would become even more congested.
“If you go up Salem End Road to get across to Edgell (Road) or Rte. 9, it takes three or four lights now,” Miceli said. “If there are more cars, traffic flow will be a nightmare.”
Miceli’s wife, Jemie, said she doubts that FSC students would use the train, even if it stopped right at the college.
“(Students) have to go back and forth to jobs,” she said. “They don’t want to be on the train schedule, they want the flexibility of having a car.”
Some were dubious about why a station has been proposed for FSC. The track, called the Fitchburg Spur, passes through Marlborough on the way to Fitchburg. If the train stopped at FSC and then returned to downtown it would not cross Rte. 9. But Framingham Selectman Ginger Esty said she believes some want the train go go further.
“I think this has to do with the plans (Marlborough) might have, and their industrial growth, not with the college and the needs of their students,” said Esty, who serves on a few regional transportation boards.
Framingham Planning Board member Sue Bernstein suggested that rather than looking at adding more commuter trains, or a station at FSC, the MBTA should look at new options, including putting a light-rail line down the center of the Massachusetts Turnpike.
The comments and questions given by the residents will be considered while doing the study, McInnis said, and the MBTA will hold another meeting when the study nears completion, possibly in September.
The MBTA will accept comments about proposed changes to the commuter rail. Comments can be mailed to “Worcester Commuter Rail Study,” 200 Market St. Room 202, Lowell, MA 01852; or e-mailed to WorcesterCommuterRailStudy@fhiplan.com