Ticket To Ride
We were excited to hear that the state would buy rail lines from Florida-based transport giant CSX in a $100 million deal that allows for the almost immediate addition of up to five more daily trains between Worcester and Boston.
The weak public rail connection between the state’s — and New England’s — two largest cities has been more than an inconvenience. It has been an embarrassment.
Disconnected Hubs
Commuter trains between the two cities have historically been infrequent and their schedules have made for very long days for the train-bound workforce. “At least I can get some work done on the train” was the commuter’s constant refrain of self-encouragement.
The combined reduction in gasoline and diesel consumption and road congestion as a result of taking cars and long-haul trucks off the state’s highways under the agreement announced two weeks ago is welcome indeed.
In theory, everyone — commuters, the state and CSX — wins.
But we fear the entire transaction is at grave risk because the single sticking point between the state and CSX for as long as the state has been trying to get more commuter trains between Worcester and Boston still exists: The no-fault liability insurance policy the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority has had to accept since 1994 in order to operate passenger trains on CSX’s tracks is still in place and was not resolved as part of the state’s purchase agreement with CSX.
CSX has demanded that the state accept no-fault liability, which holds the MBTA responsible for train accident-related injuries on the Worcester-Boston line even after it purchases the tracks.
The no-fault liability issue should’ve been resolved before any sale announcement was made. But suddenly, no-fault liability is something that can be hashed out later rather than the “deal breaker” Lt. Gov. and former Worcester Mayor Timothy P. Murray described during a Statewide Rail Summit held in Worcester in May.
Of course, the state should not, at CSX’s behest, have to accept no-fault liability even now. And Murray is never more direct or persuasive than when he is chiding CSX for its rigid adherence to the old arrangement. Even as he announced the $100 million purchase of CSX lines, he told the press, “We aren’t going to buy the line unless we come to some agreement on liability.”
Murray has come dangerously close to weakening the state’s position by announcing the purchase and allowing the additional trains to run immediately. In exchange for some election season warm fuzzies (U.S. Sen. John Kerry rode the train from Worcester to Boston as part of the announcement) not hammering out a liability agreement could put the state over a barrel in the future.
The $100 million and increased productivity that comes with the $40 million the state will spend on raising overpasses to allow for the passage of double-stacked freight cars looks great to CSX now, but what happens if a liability agreement can’t be reached as the state and CSX begin checking off pre-purchase milestone requirements over the next four years?
Does the Worcester-Boston line go back to only enough trains to satisfy half the demand? Is the state forced to relent on the no-fault liability?
If the state and CSX can’t find a way to share the cost of liability insurance, the agreement may offer only a fleeting glimpse of how good commuter rail between Worcester and Boston could’ve been. We hope that the liability negotiations don’t remain a liability for train commuters for long.
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