Bruce Freeman Rail Trail: Framingham May Borrow $5M To Buy Land

FRAMINGHAM, MA — For the second time in 2021, Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer is proposing a way to buy a defunct railway to use as the final leg of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT).

Spicer on Tuesday will ask the City Council to issue about $5 million in bonds to buy 3.37 miles of former railway between Route 9 at Tower Street and the Sudbury town line. This spring, Spicer asked U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark for the money, but was turned down because the rail trail project wasn't eligible.

When complete, the BFRT will span 25 miles from Lowell to Framingham. A large section of the trail is already complete through Concord. Plans to continue the trail through Sudbury are underway, and construction on a stretch from the Concord line to Route 20 could go out to bid next spring.

Apart from finding a funding source, Framingham has recently been trying to find a way to continue negotiations with CSX, which owns the 3.37 miles of railway in the city.

In November, Framingham asked the federal Surface Transportation Board (STB) — the agency that regulates freight railways — to extend the deadline for negotiating a purchase by one year. That request was denied by the STB. At the same time, CSX placed the 3.37 miles of property under the ownership of a subsidiary company, effectively extending the negotiation timeline indefinitely.

Apart from the $5 million bond authorization, Spicer told Councilors in a memo she is trying to find other funding sources — including from Clark's office, and another $1 million from the state.