(The following story by John Dyer appeared on the Boston Globe website on July 4, 2010.)
BOSTON — Commuters in Boston’s western suburbs can take heart from the Worcester City Council’s decision Tuesday to endorse a proposal by rail giant CSX Corp. that could add at least seven extra commuter trains a day to the MBTA’s chronically delayed Worcester-Framingham line. But it’s too early to celebrate, officials caution.
“No doubt a major hurdle was cleared,’’ said Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, a former Worcester mayor who has been active on the issue.
“You’ve got agreement on most of the specifics. Now it’s going through the legal and procedural check-offs. Now everyone needs to continue doing their due diligence and push.’’
The council’s vote was a key part of a $100 million deal between the state and CSX that would shift most of the company’s Allston freight operations to Worcester and Westborough.
Under the deal, the state would purchase the 21 miles of track CSX owns between Framingham and Worcester, giving Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority dispatchers the power to schedule more trains on the route more efficiently.
The state and CSX expect to finalize the deal by 2012. Before that can happen, however, myriad local concerns need to be addressed, officials said. The Worcester and Westborough planning boards need to approve CSX’s construction designs. In Worcester, CSX needs to meet the requirements of the state’s environmental regulations. In Westborough, the town’s Conservation Commission must OK storm-water drainage upgrades and other changes to a CSX-owned yard formerly used for handling vehicles being shipped to car dealerships.
CSX spokesman Robert Sullivan said the Florida-based company was prepared to work closely with both communities. “We want the process to move as quickly as possible, but at the same time we respect the process,’’ he said.
But other towns between Boston and Worcester, including Ashland, Framingham, and Shrewsbury, have also raised questions about the additional train trips and automobile traffic that might be generated by the new arrangement.
On Tuesday, Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen chairwoman Moira Miller sent a letter to Worcester Mayor Joseph O’Brien voicing concern over the city’s decision to divert trucks leaving the proposed CSX facility away from roads in Worcester that lead to Route 20. Shrewsbury officials fear that those trucks would end up getting to Route 20 by going through their town.
“The board questions what traffic impacts would a rerouting cause to both Worcester and Shrewsbury streets,’’ she wrote.
Ashland and Framingham are conducting studies to determine how the additional commuter trains would complicate their traffic issues; there are grade-level rail crossings on nine streets in downtown Framingham, and two streets in Ashland Center.
In Ashland, moving Main Street above or under the Worcester-Framingham line could cost around $20 million, according to a recent engineering study, said the town’s director of community development and health, Matthew Selby. Sinking the train tracks or putting them on a bridge over Main Street could cost as much as $150 million, he said.
Framingham has yet to determine a price tag for reconstructing its streets, waiting for the state to release promised funding for that aspect of a partially completed engineering study, said Town Manager Julian Suso.
Dealing with train traffic through Framingham would likely be more expensive than in Ashland, Suso said, in part because three freight rail yards are situated there. But he estimated that an additional seven commuter trains would bring downtown Framingham traffic to a total stop for three hours a day. That gridlock is costly, too, he added.
“We desperately need to get on with this next phase of the study,’’ said Suso. “Time is our enemy here.’’
Before the new trains can be added to the MBTA’s schedule, the state and CSX are expecting to spend almost $80 million to raise train bridges and lower tracks between the New York State border and Interstate 495, said Jamey Tesler, with the state Department of Transportation. Officials also need to examine whether they should spend as much as $10 million on adjustments to tracks in Cambridge that would allow Boston-bound commuter trains from Worcester to reach North Station, he said.
Worcester residents also have a say in the process.
CSX needs to purchase 11 business parcels on the city’s east side to meet a plan that would double its 25-acre freight yard, Sullivan said. Neighborhood opposition has been fierce, so negotiations with some property owners might not go smoothly.
“None of the city officials or the CSX officials have come down to talk to us,’’ said William Rocco, owner of Jake’s Auto Detailing on Putnam Lane, a small road that would become a cul-de-sac under the plan. CSX doesn’t need to buy his property, said Rocco, but closing Putnam would force him to shut down or to move.
“Even though CSX made two appointments, they never showed up.’’