MBTA Buys Track from Forge Park to Milford

Last week, the MBTA and Class I freight railroad CSX concluded the sale of a roughly 10-mile section of track known as the Milford Secondary, from the vicinity of the Forge Park Station to the center of Milford where there is a junction with Class III railroad, Grafton & Upton.

Above, Milford Secondary at junction with Grafton & Upton.

Going back to the 1980s, the MBTA’s Forge Park station on the Franklin Line was built on a rail line that the MBTA did not own. At the time, Conrail allowed the MBTA to build the station with the understanding that the MBTA would continue to work with them to complete a purchase of the rail line. If at any time the T stopped negotiating in good faith, the MBTA’s lease payment would become the fair market value.

According to a source familiar with the situation, during discussions for the sale, Conrail was itself sold. The terms of that sale broke up Conrail with the greater percentage of the Conrail asset going to CSX. At some point, CSX stopped negotiating the sale for several years, then restarted the discussions, but also established a fair market value for a lease at approximately $1.7 million annually.

The MBTA and CSX completed the transaction to avoid paying any rent/lease payments, at a price reportedly of $13 million.

The MBTA needed to establish a layover area to replace the undersized Franklin layover, located between Dean Station and DelCarte Conservation land. This rail line provides access to potential sites along its length.

Wikipedia images