Seeking a signal; GAO could help clarify state-CSX dispute.

COLUMN: In our opinion

With the state and CSX Corp. at loggerheads over the issue of liability on the Worcester to Framingham commuter line, the call for a government report on the issue of rail line liability nationwide could offer the two sides some important signals.

U.S. Reps. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, and John W. Olver, D-Amherst, joined two colleagues in requesting that the Government Accountability Office conduct a study of liability agreements involving commuter rail, Amtrak and freight carriers around the country, and how much those agreements may be costing taxpayers. We hope the GAO acts on the request.

Such a study would not in itself remove one of the chief obstacles to expanding commuter rail service on the Worcester to Framingham line, but it could help clear away some of the legal and public relations fog that has the state's politicians and CSX officials groping about for a solution. By making the report general, all parties to the dispute could gain a better appreciation for what kinds of liability agreements exist and what might be appropriate in Massachusetts. Just as importantly, the GAO's reputation for integrity would provide a common document that gives the public a yardstick for determining whether the two sides are bargaining in good faith.

The use of a limited resource - in this case, 22.8 miles of railroad track - is always an important matter, and never more so than when a potential conflict between two economic goods is involved. Expanded commuter rail carries environmental and economic benefits. CSX's success as a freight carrier is vital to the state's producers and suppliers. Perhaps the GAO report will help move them off their collision course.