Shepard
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 20, 2009
- Messages
- 3,518
- Reaction score
- 65
This could potentially be very important for regional transit and even the future of urban rapid transit (allows me to dream a little bit more about an RER-like service on the Worcester line through A/B and Newton using DMUs, similar to Indigo Line proposals on the Fairmount line).
From Universal Hub - I couldn't find a major news source as of just now.
From Universal Hub - I couldn't find a major news source as of just now.
CSX, state agree to move freight cars out of Allston, improve Worcester Line service
By adamg - Wed, 09/23/2009 - 10:03am.
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray announced this morning the state and the giant railroad have resolved the last stumbling block to a massive deal that will, among other things, clear out the Allston freight yards and give the MBTA complete control over the train line to Worcester.
Under the agreement, the state will buy the Worcester Line, potentially leading to reduced delays now caused by CSX dispatch rules - as well as a freight line from Beacon Park Yard in Allston through Cambridge to East Boston from CSX.
The Beacon Park Yard move will clear the way for the addition of commuter-rail service to Allston/Brighton, possible help enable the long-fabled Urban Ring project and give Harvard, which already owns the yard, more cleared land that it can then let sit fallow.
Ed. note: I have a call in to find out about timing and costs.
Under the agreement, the state and CSX will also share the cost of rebuilding bridges along a main freight line from 495 to the New York line to allow double-stack freight trains.
Murray said the Worcester Line will also get new signaling systems to reduce the odds of collisions and that the state and CSX will better coordinate train scheduling to further reduce the odds of delay.
All of this comes after the state and CSX agreed on a plan to deal with liability for any potential train collisions: CSX will contribute $500,000 to help defray the cost of the liability insurance policy the MBTA carries for the entire commuter system. And CSX agreed that if an accident happens anyway and CSX or its operators are "clearly at fault," the railroad will be responsible to pay the deductible on that policy, up to a maximum of $7.5 million per accident.