Getting Back On Track | What will be the economic impact of CSX's planned freight yard expansion in Worcester?
Photo/Christina H. Davis
CHUGGING ALONG: CSX hopes to expand its freight yard in Worcester from 28 to 51 acres. While some local officials claim the expansion – and promised increased commuter rail traffic into Union Station – is a boon for the city, some in the neighborhood say the project will have only a negative impact.
A planned $100 million expansion of CSX Corp.’s freight rail facilities near Franklin Street in Worcester has been heralded by state and local officials as a major boon for economic development.
But just how many jobs the expansion will create, and what the impact on the local neighborhood will be, remains to be seen.
Divided City
One unabashed supporter of the project is Worcester City Manager Michael V. O’Brien, who calls the development “an absolute game-changer for the local economy.”
The biggest boost to local jobs will come during the two-year construction phase — slated to begin in late 2012. An estimated 376 construction workers will be needed. But once the yard is established, the permanent jobs will be a more modest 42, according to CSX.
The height of bridges along the railroad line between Interstate 495 and the New York line to accommodate double-stack freight trains, freeing up tracks, which will make room for additional commuter trains. The state will take responsibility for raising highway bridges, while CSX will lower the tracks.
Work on the double-stacking will add an estimated 464 construction jobs, according to CSX.
CSX’s decision to move forward with the Worcester expansion has garnered attention in the rail industry, according to Tom Judge, editor of the Chicago-based trade journal Railway Track & Structures.
“It’s being talked about in the industry,” Judge said, explaining that his readers — many of them engineers for large contractors — would likely be enlisted to help build out the Worcester yard.
Judge also said that CSX is not alone in its decision to move forward with a large-scale expansion. There are several sizeable projects across the country in the planning stages.
“They’re building capacity projects now so that when traffic does come back they can handle it,” Judge said.
Indeed, freight has slowed right along with the overall economy. According to the most recent statistics from the Association of American Railroads, railroad freight traffic was up 1.4 percent for the week ending Feb. 6 when compared with the same week in 2009. But that number is still well below — 14.7 percent — traffic during that week in 2008.
Commuters’ Dreams
The real boon, according to O’Brien, is the possibility of more commuter trains, which will encourage both employees and businesses to relocate to Worcester, where property and commercial costs run significantly lower than in Boston and the surrounding areas.
But not everyone shares O’Brien’s rosy outlook. Neighborhood groups have raised concerns about potential added traffic and pollution.
CSX “sees us as a big plum,” said City Councilor Philip P. Palmieri, whose district includes the project area. “They want to eat us, core and all.”
He said the project “needs to be done right. Negotiations need to be a little more serious. This wouldn’t even be an issue if the commuter rail weren’t involved.”
The freight yard project is just part of a multi-year rail transportation plan between the state and CSX. Officials hope the plan will expand commuter options with the addition of 20 trains on the Worcester-Boston line by 2012.
Joining Palmieri in criticizing the plan is the Grafton Hill Business Association, led by its chairman and president, George Kerxhalli. He said his group was “blind-sided by the project,” which he said is located “on our front door, our side door, our back door.”
He raised concerns about the impact the freight yard expansion would have on bordering neighborhoods, including Oak Hill, Grafton Hill, Vernon Hill, Green Hill and portions of Shrewsbury Street.
“The freight yard is ringed by neighborhoods,” he said.
He also questioned the “air, noise and visual pollution” that could result from further work on the freight yard, as well as plans to cut off Putnam Lane, which serves as a connector between Shrewsbury and Franklin Streets.
In response to neighborhood concerns, CSX has offered to alter its original access plan so that traffic could move directly onto an Interstate 290 exit ramp rather than travel along Grafton Street, which neighborhood groups had opposed.
“They’ve moved marginally,” Palmieri said of this proposed change. “It’s a long way from resolution.”
O’Brien said CSX continues to work to make modifications to the project in response to neighbors’ concerns.
“There’s a clear recognition they want to be good neighbors,” he said. “I’m very optimistic we will continue to bring these issues forward.”
Beyond Worcester
Expanding the CSX freight yard on the city’s East Side from 28 to 51 acres serves as one aspect of the statewide project. The expansion also includes moving CSX freight operations from Allston to Worcester and modernizing and expanding the intermodal terminal in Worcester.
CSX officials have said the freight yard work would include replacing some older structures at the site. CSX also plans to upgrade stormwater management, landscaping and lighting.
While the debate on the freight yard expansion has been local, the true economic impact is indeed regional, at least according to O’Brien.
“All the pieces come together for this project,” he said. “This is about positioning not just Worcester, but the state.”
“It makes perfect economic sense for everyone,” he added.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce has gotten behind the expansion as well.
“It’s a true win for the city, and it’s something that could have an impact for generations to come,” said Michael Lanava, business resource manager at the chamber.
The added jobs will help the city in the short term, he said. In the long term, the transportation upgrades could create “spin-off industries” that provide distribution and storage.
“It’s all positive,” he said.
But Kerxhalli argues that the promise of more commuter trains between Worcester and Boston will not be the “magic bullet” some believe.
He said that commuters have been moving west to take advantage of lower housing prices for many years, without making a serious impact on the economy.
He also questioned how the CSX yards have benefited the city in the past. Doubling the size, he said, will not add anything positive to the equation, Kerxhalli said.
“CSX freight yard has been loading and unloading trains (for years) and we don’t see the benefits,” he said. “What benefits has Worcester got from that to date?”
Sandy Quadros Bowles is a freelance writer based in Worcester.
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