In an interview with Boston Public Radio Tuesday, Former Governor Michael Dukakis commented on the latest development of what appears to be an ongoing battle between every facet of the Massachusetts public transportation system.
In the latest saga, Amtrak is threatening to cut rail service in Massachusetts, due to a legal dispute with the MBTA. This would disrupt service along the Northeast Corridor, a risky move that local leaders, including Dukakis, just don’t believe is possible. “It’s not going to happen,” he said. “We’ve got a difference of opinion on who is supposed to pay for what… Obviously reasonable people are going to work this out. This is ridiculous.”
Amtrak’s threat was filed in court this week, in response to an ongoing lawsuit brought by the MBTA in January. After Amtrak requested $30 million for track maintenance, the MBTA sued, claiming an agreement had been violated. Amtrak responded with a claim that the MBTA owes money for maintenance— in addition to a base amount of at least $175,106 the company claimed the T owes Amtrak.
The MBTA’s latest legal entanglements have emerged as transportation officials continue negotiations; a vote of approval on a scaled-down Green Line Extension, the contentious South Station Expansion Project, and Dukakis’ beloved North-South Rail Link.
In a previous interview with Boston Public Radio in May, Dukakis attributed Governor Charlie Baker’s hesitancy regarding the Link to “lousy advice from Mass DOT.”
“They don’t understand the project, they never have, they’ve never been sympathetic to it under [former Governor] Deval Patrick as well as Charlie Baker, and it’s time that Stephanie [Pollack] and the people down there take a good hard look at this and understand that this is the alternative.”
In June, The State House News Service reported that Dukakis met with Pollack, and Baker’s administration plans to go ahead with the study. Dukakis told BPR he’s already getting impatient. “I’m happy that the Governor and the Secretary have now agreed to proceed and complete the detailed study, but it’s already lagging,” he said. “It has been weeks since that announcement was made, and in the meantime, as I think I said in a previous program, connecting North and South station is all about the core system. This is not some exotic experiment, I mean we’re talking about finally linking what are two separate commuter rail systems that are costing us millions, and significantly relieving pressure on the transit system, which now is burdened by all these folks that have to get off at North and South station, and then get on the T to get where they’re going. There’s nothing far-out about this thing, and as you know, the administration keeps talking about expanding South Station and spending $1.5 billion for seven new tracks, which is really nuts, in my opinion.”
Dukakis recently returned from a trip to Greece, where he held meetings with political leadership at the Delphi Economic Forum. According to Dukakis, despite the recent debilitating economic crisis, Massachusetts has something to learn when it comes to transportation. “Despite its economic troubles, the condition of those Greek highways we traveled on is a heck of a lot better than the condition of highways in Massachusetts,” he said. “There are no unpainted bridges and rusting stuff, I don’t know if you guys have headed up 128 lately, but it’s just embarrassing. Those highways were in mint condition, and the Athens metro, which is the relatively new public transportation system in Athens— I don’t have to tell you, it puts the T to shame.”
To hear Former Governor Michael Dukakis’ full interview with Boston Public Radio, click on the audio link above.
