What's more important and relevant to understanding the possibility and impact of new Boston-NY inland access/route passenger rail service, even to those things that may or may not be beyond old rumor, misunderstanding or rhetoric, is the scale of CSX and P&W freight activities' economic value vs. the potential economic value of this new service. In this light, CSX's Worcester-Springfield direct economic value is some 40-85 times the potential value of this new passenger service while the P&W some 5-15 times the potential value.
QB 52.32 wrote:Total mis-read of CSX to suggest pressing for return of the Inland Route service. There's no retreat from Boston metro area freight service but instead the biggest and most valuable freight franchise by multiples than the next guy. The problem is that without double-tracking Worcester-Springfield, inland route passenger service interferes with CSX's high-value, service-sensitive trains. That's why the service was suspended back in the early 2000's. As recently as in an 8/18/18 Worcester Telegram article their area government affairs officer made clear new passenger service west of Worcester without capacity improvements is a non-starter.That is right, they are not retreating, they HAVE retreated. The move to East Brookfield was the first nail, then Beacon, and finally handing the Inner Boston freight over to Pan Am. If that inst a retreat I don't know what is.