May 9, 2008
Rail Gathering Fails To Reach Summit
By Matthew L. Brown
Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis told an audience at this morning's Statewide Rail Summit in Worcester that he is nearly 75 years old and would like to see the state and the entire northeast build a first-class passenger rail system in time for him to see it.
Dukakis said it was absurd that the state and freight rail carrier CSX bicker over insurance policies while demand for passenger rail service grows and goes unmet. He said while Massachusetts can't connect South Station with North Station in Boston, Europe's major cities are connected by efficient, high-speed lines.
"Irish and Chinese immigrants were laying 14 miles of track a day," to construct the trans-continental railroad in the mid-19th Century, Dukakis said. "You can't tell me we can't do better than that."
In an impassioned address, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said the state's efforts to increase passenger rail service between Worcester and Boston are being "railroaded" by CSX, which owns the rail lines between the cities.
The state's Executive Office of Transportation, the MBTA and CSX showed little sign that the impasse they've reached with regard to CSX's demand that the state be held liable for any passenger train accidents between Worcester and Boston could be overcome anytime soon.
Murray and Jody Ray, MBTA director of railroad operations, said there's demand and capacity for twice the number of passenger train trips between the two cities per day. In fact, Ray said, most delays experienced by passengers are caused by increased use by passengers, not by CSX's freight trains.
However, CSX's ongoing insistence on a no-fault liability policy for passenger train trips operated on its rails is keeping additional passenger runs from beginning, Murray, Ray and some of the summit's attendees claimed.
Murray called CSX's insistence on a no-fault policy "bad public policy" and "absurd." Taxpayers have poured $100 million into upgrades to the Worcester-Boston line and are now demanding more frequent passenger train trips, Murray said. "You're all familiar with the term 'getting railroaded,' I think we know what that means now," he said.
Lisa Mancini, CSX vice president of strategic infrastructure, said CSX is perfectly willing to negotiate with the state. "I agree we want more passenger service, but I don't think you want that at the expense of freight service," a major component of the state and region's economy, she said.
"We do insist on no-fault liability," she said. "It pays claims quickly and efficiently, and (accidents) are rarely only one party's fault. No-fault avoids finger-pointing."
James Repass, president of the National Corridor Initiative, said CSX was "holding up the development of one of the state's most important cities."
Mancini said CSX was "willing to contribute to the cost of insurance, but we're not willing to take on the risk for passengers we don't have today. It's easy to say, 'get it done right away,' but it's hard to do."
Dukakis reminded the summit that a no-fault policy isn't an esoteric concept. "It's about bucks," he said. He said the parties involved must come to an agreement for how to share the costs of the policy.
Dukakis said it was absurd that the state and freight rail carrier CSX bicker over insurance policies while demand for passenger rail service grows and goes unmet. He said while Massachusetts can't connect South Station with North Station in Boston, Europe's major cities are connected by efficient, high-speed lines.
"Irish and Chinese immigrants were laying 14 miles of track a day," to construct the trans-continental railroad in the mid-19th Century, Dukakis said. "You can't tell me we can't do better than that."
In an impassioned address, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said the state's efforts to increase passenger rail service between Worcester and Boston are being "railroaded" by CSX, which owns the rail lines between the cities.
The state's Executive Office of Transportation, the MBTA and CSX showed little sign that the impasse they've reached with regard to CSX's demand that the state be held liable for any passenger train accidents between Worcester and Boston could be overcome anytime soon.
Murray and Jody Ray, MBTA director of railroad operations, said there's demand and capacity for twice the number of passenger train trips between the two cities per day. In fact, Ray said, most delays experienced by passengers are caused by increased use by passengers, not by CSX's freight trains.
However, CSX's ongoing insistence on a no-fault liability policy for passenger train trips operated on its rails is keeping additional passenger runs from beginning, Murray, Ray and some of the summit's attendees claimed.
Murray called CSX's insistence on a no-fault policy "bad public policy" and "absurd." Taxpayers have poured $100 million into upgrades to the Worcester-Boston line and are now demanding more frequent passenger train trips, Murray said. "You're all familiar with the term 'getting railroaded,' I think we know what that means now," he said.
Lisa Mancini, CSX vice president of strategic infrastructure, said CSX is perfectly willing to negotiate with the state. "I agree we want more passenger service, but I don't think you want that at the expense of freight service," a major component of the state and region's economy, she said.
"We do insist on no-fault liability," she said. "It pays claims quickly and efficiently, and (accidents) are rarely only one party's fault. No-fault avoids finger-pointing."
James Repass, president of the National Corridor Initiative, said CSX was "holding up the development of one of the state's most important cities."
Mancini said CSX was "willing to contribute to the cost of insurance, but we're not willing to take on the risk for passengers we don't have today. It's easy to say, 'get it done right away,' but it's hard to do."
Dukakis reminded the summit that a no-fault policy isn't an esoteric concept. "It's about bucks," he said. He said the parties involved must come to an agreement for how to share the costs of the policy.
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