CSX Wants Legal Free Pass

In spite of an accident last week that sent 95 Commuter Rail passengers and crew to the hospital, the freight company CSX is seeking a contract with the state that would hold the railroad blameless in any accident with a Commuter Rail train on the Worcester-Framingham Line - even if CSX was at fault. The MBTA has long sought to buy the line, which CSX owns and shares with Commuter Rail trains. Those negotiations have stalled, transportation secretary Bernard Cohen said Thursday, because CSX is insisting on a clause that would force the state to pay all damages in the event of an accident. "I don't see how we can agree to complete indemnity of CSX for an accident where they're responsible," Cohen said. "We don't think that sends a very good safety message, number one." On Wednesday, Massachusetts Sens. Edward Kennedy and John Kerry and other members of the state congressional representatives wrote to CSX president Michael Ward, threatening federal legislative action if the company does not drop the issue. Last week's accident on the Stoughton Line occurred when a 100-ton boxcar came loose from a lumberyard siding, rolled about three miles and crashed into a stopped Commuter Rail train. No one was seriously injured. Early on, investigators were said to be focusing on employees at the lumberyard, Stoughton-based Cohenno Inc. However, MBTA Director of Railroad Operations John D. Ray said other causes are still being looked at. "Right now, I think nothing's been ruled out," he said. CSX representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday.