Say goodbye to CSX in eastern mass

I can't believe the shortsightedness of the politicians and transportation planners in the Metro Boston area. They want CSX freight yards out of eastern Massachusetts / Boston (Beacon Park Yard) and more commuter trains to run on the line. But when the freight operations are moved west, in some cases, 40 to 60 miles west of Boston, all this does is increase the truck traffic on the Mass Pike into Boston! Yes, it will allow for more commuter trains, but with good planning, it could be done with minimal capital investment NOW.

The freight business, especially the trash business, is growing in leaps and bounds. The trash cars are loaded in Beacon Park for their trip west. Why would anyone in their right mind want to put 4 more trucks per rail car on the highway carrying garbage so they can get put on a train 50 miles away!!!! The trash is generated in the Boston area. Why not load it right on the trains there? Save wear and tear on the highways, fuel, pollution and cost for everyone.

Of course, CSX stands to make a lot of money on a deal like this but all they care about is profit....a quick way to make a buck. They don't care about more trucks on the Mass Pike, more air pollution, etc. Big business doesn't care about being a good neighbor (even though they'll tell you they are), they just care about making lots of money quickly.

This CSX line brings more freight into the Boston area than any other line. One must have blinders on not to see the long term outcome of this plan.

What it also says is that Boston as a port of any real importance is done
once and for all.I read somewhere that it doesn't even rank in the top 20
nationally for revenue.And with all the maritime tradition up here.that's nothing short of demoralizing.

They are more concerned about turning the waterfront in Boston into condos and other upscale stuff and chasing out any business interests. I recall there is a chemical company next to Beacon Park, are they also being kicked out ?

I vaguely recall reading somewhere that Harvard University bought or is planning on buying Beacon Park as part of their plans for Allston... Can anyone confirm this?

From what a friend heard on fox25 news the other night, both Boston University and Harvard University will both take part in the "renovation" of
Beacon Park. A new station stop for the MTBA was mentioned in the article also, as well as new roadways, intersections, along with buildings.

If the commonwealth of MA buys the tracks from Worcester East, who will
maintain them, MBCR ? Who from what I heard doesn't have all that a stellar reputation.

F

MickD writes

What it also says is that Boston as a port of any real importance is done once and for all.

It was done 30 years ago. The harbor is too shallow for the big tankers and container ships-- and the cost of acquiring more real estate for a bigger container terminal is prohibitive (you'd have to level all of South Boston for the Port of Boston to measure up to, say, the Port of New Jersey)

frcc writes

I recall there is a chemical company next to Beacon Park, are they also being kicked ou

I don't think any of the current occupants are being kicked out-- as far as I can tell they're selling out voluntarily.

It's been a while since I've been by there- does CSX serve Houghton Chemical?

I agree with NaDspr's comments-- might the city/state/CSX find a different venue where the trash trains can be loaded up rather than loading up the Mass Pike (and come to think of it, are 18 wheelers allowed in the Prudential tunnel anyway?)

oops! no message.

If there are no customers and no hope for future customers, why bother maintaining railroad track that won't be used. All indications are that there is no need for rail freight service into the City of Boston, no customers, no docks, therefore, no need for train service. Passenger service? People go in and out of Boston all the time, to and from all directions. Therefore, use of the rights of way could be used by commuter rail, light rail, rapid transit, or however seen fit to benifet the community.

In Metro-Boston the majority of our customers are on lines which are either MBCR or Amtrak, for example the Boston Globe and Boston Herald, and many customers that aren't right on the main lines are in industrial parks which are off of Amtrak or MBCR lines, such as Home Depot @ the Rte128 industrial park. So yes, people go into Boston, and freight still goes into the city as well, but usually during off-peak hours as to no conflict with passenger schedules.

So all Massachusetts or the MBTA needs to do is borrow a few more million $ to buy the rest of the CSX trackage they don't already own in eastern MA. What's another $100M or so when one faces a $15B to $20B transportation deficit over the next 20 years?

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegio ... eid=191543

Harvard has a 50-year plan to expand its campus in Boston. I believe they already own Beacon Park. As for the port of Boston the better question would be what port of Boston? Halifax and New York dwarf Boston which doesn't see a lot of maritime traffic. My office window looks down on Boston Harbor and most of what sails by are tankers heading to Everett. Also, from where I am (at the top of an office tower in downtown Boston) I can see a big chunk of the metro area. There isn't much industry out there. The biggest thing Boston does is the financial service industry, education and health care/bio tech. The material those industries rely on is people and not freight. For them to grow you need more people and affordable housing. One of the ways to do that is expand passenger operations. Massachusetts is one of the few states in the union that is losing population or has seen its population remain stagnent when it hasn't fallen. So, it shouldn't shock anyone that CSX wants out.

The problem is going to be, as one of the earlier posters pointed out, where the state of Massachusetts is going to come up with the money to buy CSX out if it decides to do that.

Man, I didn't think this post would spark so much interest. I learned alot about the Eastern half of the old B&A.

Let's hope Mass gets it's head out of it's !@# and purchases the line east of Worcester.

Even with the virtually non existent industrial base in the Boston area it still seems that once Beacon Park is history to rail service the container units now rolling into town will be replaced by trucks and will further the traffic congestion despite token expansion of commuter rail stops in Alston etc.

Brian (NYNE),
You are SO RIGHT! The attitude in Boston (and 'most everywhere else) is: "It's okay to live here, but don't try to make a living here!"