Rail plan opposed in two towns

Concerns raised on new stations

A proposed expansion of rail service to New Bedford and Fall River could result in train stations being built in Easton or Norton - a possibility that has opponents in those towns up in arms.

Both communities were included on a list of 18 possible station sites, announced last week by the state Executive Office of Transportation. The sites, along with a series of transportation routes, are slated for an exhaustive state and federal environmental review.

"I was surprised and disappointed to see the two [Easton] stations on the list," said Robert Hicks, treasurer of an Easton-based citizens group called Citizens Against the Rail Extension. "I thought the state had more brains than that. We have concerns about water, traffic, and safety."

The station list is part of the Executive Office of Transportation's analysis of expanded transportation options for southeastern Massachusetts, under the so-called South Coast Rail project. Most options involve the use of diesel or electric trains, but there is also an option for a rapid transit bus service that would use dedicated lanes along major highways between south coast towns and Boston.

Three transportation corridors for extending commuter service southward are on the table. Of those, the Attleboro Bypass Alternative would expand an existing rail line through Norton, and the Stoughton Alternative would cross through Easton.

In Norton, a site off South Worcester Street is being considered for a village-style rail station. Since there is little parking and no room for a parking lot, the station would serve as a drop-off and pick-up point for commuters, and for use by those close enough to bike or walk to the station.

"It's a big surprise to me that the station in Norton is still on the list," said Heather Graf, a Norton resident and president of Citizens Concerned About Tracks. "You're supposedly talking about a state-of-the-art train system, and you're using a 1950s concept of drop-off. You also have three bad intersections and a narrow road to get to that location."

Graf said the area isn't even near any major highway. "All you're doing with this station is putting an added burden on the people in the Barrowsville and Chartley sections of town, who would already be ravaged if the train goes through there," Graf said.

Norton selectmen unanimously voted months ago to oppose the Attleboro Alternative and to support the Stoughton Alternative, which avoids Norton but crosses Easton. In fact, Norton Town Meeting voters approved about $50,000 to cover the legal costs of keeping the train out of town.

Easton selectmen, meanwhile, took their own vote opposing the Stoughton Alternative, which affects their town. Easton has two station possibilities on the state list: one in the downtown and a second in North Easton at the Roche Bros. plaza.

"I'm not happy with either of those locations," said Colleen Corona, chairwoman of Easton's Board of Selectmen.

"I think most people in town don't want the train, period," said Easton Town Administrator David Colton. "The selectmen decided not to submit any comments to the state on the station locations, since our position is the train should not come through here at all. If they say the train is going to come through, then we'll take a position on the stations."

The downtown location would have a village-style station with limited parking, similar to the type being considered for Norton. State officials say village-style stations should encourage commercial and residential development around them, but Colton said townspeople are concerned the downtown station would cause traffic snarls, with commuters leaving their cars on surrounding side streets.

The station being considered in the Roche Bros. plaza was selected because it would have enough parking to draw commuters from all over the region. Easton officials are concerned because that site has already been targeted for an office complex, and the developer has his permits in hand. In addition, the site would generate traffic issues, they said.

Hicks, of Citizens Against the Rail Extension, noted there would be seven major road crossings, at grade, if trains are routed through Easton. The tracks would also run too close to some municipal drinking wells, he said.

The third transportation corridor being considered by the state runs through Middleborough and then south. The station site list includes a village-style station in Middleborough's downtown. Officials in that town have spoken in favor of getting train service.

But in neighboring Lakeville, officials have been vocal in their opposition to this alternative, since it would close down an existing station in their town, where they have already established a transit-oriented development district. State rail officials have said they would work with Lakeville, if the Middleborough Alternative is selected as the most viable route, to see whether the Lakeville station can be saved.

The notification forms that trigger the state and federal environmental studies on the rail project will be filed by state officials in November. The state's transportation office plans to set up workshops in communities where rail lines and stations are being considered, from this November through February 2009.

A draft report, expected to identify the best route and its accompanying station sites should be ready by mid 2009. The report will be finalized in 2010. Expanded commuter service is expected to be up and running by 2016.

More than $17 million has been authorized for study of the expansion.

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.