CSX Project In Westborough Under Scrutiny
While national rail company CSX is making headlines for the expansion of its Worcester operations, a few miles down Route 9 the company is undertaking another significant project.
CSX has proposed redeveloping a 22-acre site off Flanders Road in the south part of Westborough at a rail yard the company owns. Rail officials hope to turn the site into the region's bulk materials transfer station.
While the $19 million project is small in comparison to the $120 million, 51-acre project at the Worcester yard, it is raising some questions in the MetroWest community.
Moving Materials
With the closing of the company's Allston rail yard, CSX hopes to split the duties of that facility between the Worcester and Westborough sites. Worcester will be the main hub for CSX and will process most of the company's intermodal traffic, or large container transfers from trains to trucks and vice versa.
The Westborough facility will be central to the operations of TransFlo, a subsidiary that handles bulk material transfers. That means everything from corn starch to plastic pellets to biodiesel and even airplane de-icing fluid will be shipped into Westborough and stored on the site until a customer comes to pick it up.
CSX wants to increase the Westborough yard from five to 11 rail lines, tear down the single building on the site and construct two new structures, according to Jim Robbins, Westborough's town planner.
To do so, CSX needs to gain approval from three groups in Westborough: the board of selectmen, the planning board and the conservation commission. All are in the midst of reviewing the company's plans.
Some of the materials that could be processed at the site have raised some eyebrows in town.
Fire Chief Walter Perron admitted he had some apprehensions when he heard that gasses, hazardous materials and corrosive chemicals are handled by TransFlo.
"When I educated myself on the process, learned about TransFlo's safety record and saw all the work the company is doing with the town, I felt much better about it," Perron said.
There is always a chance something can go wrong, but he said the company has mitigation plans in place and is developing new procedures in case of an accident.
CSX officials say the project could even be an economic boon for the region.
Having the bulk material transfer station in Westborough could allow businesses in the region to access the site more easily than when it was in Allston, according to Robert Sullivan, a spokesperson for CSX. Sullivan said the company is working hard with local officials to mitigate any potential impact of the expansion plan.
Robbins said he expects the reviews by local boards and commissions to be complete by the end of the summer if there are no major stumbling blocks.
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