Worcester Telegram: Murray gets kudos on rail plan

Sunday, February 21, 2010
Nick Kotsopoulos Politics and the City

From when he first joined the Worcester City Council in 1998, and then as mayor between 2002 and 2007, the expansion of commuter rail service to Boston was one of Timothy P. Murray's top priorities.

Commuter rail has always been important to him because he feels it is the engine to fuel growth in Worcester. He firmly believes that frequent and reliable train service between Worcester and Boston will bring more people from the eastern part of the state to live here and encourage companies to locate here.

While at City Hall, Mr. Murray repeatedly put on a full-court press against state transportation officials to increase the number of commuter trains on the Worcester-to-Boston line, but for a variety of reasons those efforts went for naught. He refused to quit, though, and carried on that fight when he left City Hall in 2007 after being elected lieutenant governor.

Three years later, Mr. Murray's persistent efforts appear to be paying off.

The Patrick-Murray administration reached an unprecedented agreement with CSX Corp. last fall to clear the tracks for up to 25 daily commuter rail trips in and out of Worcester by September 2012. There are currently 12 round trips per day between Worcester and Boston, and the Worcester-Framingham line carries more than 9,000 passengers into Boston each weekday.

As a follow-up to that agreement, a solution emerged in finding a place for the freight operations that use the Worcester-Boston rail, so the tracks could be freed up for more commuter rail without negatively impacting freight operations at the same time.

The solution announced last week has Worcester as a double winner: In addition to eventually getting more commuter rail, CSX is planning to invest $100 million on doubling the size of its freight yard on Franklin Street and making the city its new freight hub for New England.

City Manager Michael V. O'Brien said an expansion of CSX's freight operations has the potential of providing a much-needed economic shot in the arm for Worcester. He said it will create 370 construction jobs and 50 permanent jobs at the freight terminal once it opens.

More importantly, the manager said, is the impact the combination of added commuter rail and freight service will have on the city.

"It will not only enhance the existing and future economic development opportunities in and around Union Station, but also strengthen the capacity of local industry that rely heavily on rail distribution of goods," Mr. O'Brien said Friday. "This is tremendous news for Worcester and for the commonwealth."

Mr. Murray is well aware that the proposed expansion of the CSX freight yard could run into some neighborhood opposition. But he pointed out that CSX has operated a freight yard on Franklin Street for a number of years, so it's not a new use that would be incompatible with the neighborhood.

"This is the highest and best use of properties in that area and is consistent with what is going on there now," Mr. Murray said Friday. "More important, it should serve as an investment catalyst for that area."

Mr. O'Brien said steps will be taken to ensure that nearby residential areas are not negatively affected by the CSX expansion.

He said the entrance to the CSX freight yard will be relocated to Grafton Street, to provide easier access to Interstate 290, and CSX will construct an overpass on Franklin Street so trucks and containers could be moved to and from the rail lines within the freight yard, without going on city streets.

"The lieutenant governor certainly deserves a lot of credit for all his persistence," Mr. O'Brien said.