www.axthetax.org/commuter-rail/dec_03_update/freights.h -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 12/1/2005
Last Visited: 3/21/2007
John Gibson, vice president of operations, research, and planning for CSX, said the company wants to stay in control of the line.He questioned whether freight would receive proper attention if it were dispatched by a passenger rail operator and said he believes the average delays for passenger trains are lower than they are for freight trains.
"There is no bias in favor of freight in our dispatchment," said Gibson, who said CSX routinely talks with the MBTA about performance.He does not believe changing dispatchers would make much of a difference.
The lack of reliability in service on the line has frustrated riders.
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Its trains carry everything from trash to cars to everyday retail items such as clothes and computers, Gibson said.Trains are an efficient way to move freight because they keep traffic off the highway -- one freight car replaces as many as five trucks, he said.
The line is critical for CSX, Gibson said, because it connects to Albany, a hub from which trains can go anywhere in the country.