State to buy Worcester-Boston rail line; Five more trains to start Oct. 27; more trains, routes to come later.

Byline: John J. Monahan

BOSTON - After years of often difficult negotiations, state officials have reached agreement for future purchase of the rail lines from Boston to Worcester from CSX Corp., which will allow a major expansion of commuter rail service - starting with five additional trains between Boston and Worcester later this month.

The agreement also provides for state purchase of three other sections of track in the state, including the South Coast rail line needed to develop new commuter service from Boston to New Bedford and Fall River and two other key freight rail links in the Boston area.

Lt. Gov. Timothy P. Murray said besides the immediate addition of five new daily trains to Worcester, the agreement provides for the addition of up to six more daily trains between Boston and Worcester over the next four years, as certain milestones in the pre-purchase agreement are completed by the state and CSX.

Immediate plans call for the state to add two trains in the morning, two during the afternoon commuting hours and another mid-day train from Worcester starting Oct. 27. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority now runs 10 trains each way daily between Worcester and Boston.

CSX officials are scheduled to join with state, federal and local officials this morning to announce details of the agreement at Union Station in Worcester. The purchase agreement is expected to be signed today.

Mr. Murray said the breakthrough, after long and difficult negotiations with CSX, will mean Worcester area commuters will get a dramatic increase in train service which he and Gov. Deval L. Patrick have been working on for the last two years and which had been sought previously by Gov. Mitt Romney.

He said the state and region will see major economic benefits.

"Study after study has shown we have got to do a better job of cross-pollinating our housing and workforce needs, and rail is one of the best ways to do that. Linking up the two largest cities and points in between in a way that is affordable and environmentally friendly makes absolute sense," Mr. Murray said.

The agreements provide for the state to undertake the elevation of highway bridges to allow double-stack freight trains between Interstate 495 and the New York state line, while the state also has agreed to help CSX with possible future relocation of a major Boston freight yard to one or more locations in Central Massachusetts, including Worcester. Together, Mr. Murray said, it could make Worcester "the new rail hub of New England."

Lisa Mancini, vice president of strategic infrastructure initiatives for Jacksonville, Fla.-based CSX, said the agreement provides for the company to replace the freight capacity lost to increased commuter services by providing for elimination of obstructions and low bridges for CSX "to bring double-stack trains into New England."

"We are glad to be part of it and we are very pleased with the result," she said of the agreements. She said the company will look at several possible sites in Central Massachusetts, including facilities in Worcester, Westboro and Brookfield, for possible relocation of operations from the 80-acre Beacon Park rail yard in Boston.

U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester, who also worked for years on the negotiations, which involved more than 50 meetings in Boston, Washington, D.C., and CSX headquarters,

said with expanded commuter rail and new prospects for freight operations in Central Massachusetts, the effort "was worth all the hard work."

U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., also helped facilitate the agreement and met with CSX's top officials to encourage the deal. He will be among a group of officials who plan to take the commuter rail train from Worcester's Union Station to Boston this morning to mark what Mr. Kerry said is a "milestone" in expanding commuter rail service in the state.

"This has been a long and drawn-out negotiation, which I am really delighted has come to fruition here. It is really an historic day for all of Massachusetts," Mr. Kerry said. He said Congress recently authorized $900 million nationally for rail improvements, which will help fund some of the Massachusetts projects.

Jeffrey B. Mullan,

state undersecretary for transportation, said four rail lines will be purchased from CSX for a total of $100 million. That includes the

track between South Station in Boston and Union Station in Worcester now shared by commuter and freight trains, which accounts for $50 million of the

purchase price.

As part of the agreement, CSX will be granted easements to move freight on the Boston to Worcester line, but the track would be owned by the state, which would assume responsibility for maintaining the line and control dispatching of trains, once the purchase is completed. Mr. Mullan said the agreement must be approved by the MBTA board.

Exact times for the new Worcester train service have not yet been set. Plans call for the MBTA to extend the routes of a number of commuter rail trains between Boston and Framingham to provide the initial increased service to Worcester.

One key issue left unresolved is whether the state or CSX would assume liability for accidents, Mr. Mullan said. The agreements call for continued negotiations to settle that before the agreement results in the actual sale of the Worcester line to the state in 2012.

In the meantime, the state will continue to assume liability as it has under previous commuter rail agreements with CSX.

The state would complete the purchase of the South Coast line to New Bedford and Fall River along with CSX's rights on several rail links in the Boston and Cambridge areas in 2009.

"This is a significant step forward and there is still some work left to be done, but there is an incentive for both sides to stay at the table and plow through that," Mr. Murray said of completing the terms that would lead to state purchase of the Boston to Worcester tracks.

Mr. Murray said $10 million in federal infrastructure improvement funding set aside in an earmark by Mr. McGovern last year could help pay for a new loop track and train maintenance facility in Worcester. That would allow two to four trains to be added to the Worcester-Boston commuter service, once the state completes the bridge work called for in the deal. Mr. Murray said if the liability issue is not resolved over the next several years, the state could "conceivably" decide not to purchase the rail line. "We aren't going to buy the line unless we come to some agreement on liability," Mr. Murray said.

The result: State officials have reached agreement for future purchase of the rail lines from Boston to Worcester from CSX Corp., which will allow a major expansion of commuter rail service.

The trips:

Besides the immediate addition of five new daily trains to Worcester, the agreement provides for the addition of up to six more daily trains between Boston and Worcester over the next four years.

ART: PHOTOS; CHART

CUTLINE: (1) Passengers disembark from the commuter rail train last evening at Union Station. (2) The commuter rail train pulls in at Union Station last evening. (CHART) Main elements of the plan

PHOTOG: T&G Staff Photos/STEVE LANAVA