Lawmaker says commuter rail expansion to Foxborough would benefit ‘billionaires’
A state lawmaker has proposed that no taxpayer money be spent on commuter rail expansion to Foxborough in light of the potential development of a $1 billion casino near Gillette Stadium.
The Globe reports today that the Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns the New England Patriots and the potential casino site, is in negotiations with one of Las Vegas’s biggest players, Steve Wynn, to propose the project.
The use of public funds for the rail expansion would create an unfair advantage for developers of the Foxborough casino over other developers in the state who must bear the cost of infrastructure improvements associated with their projects, Republican state Representative Daniel B. Winslow said today in a letter to state officials.
Winslow cited an MBTA report that concluded expansion to Foxborough would result in an annual operating loss of about $4 million.
“With two billionaires poised to privately benefit from rail expansion, it would be fiscally irresponsible for any public funds to be expended on this project,’’ Winslow said.
Winslow asked that all commuter rail work and planning relating to an expansion to Foxborough be halted in order to give the state time to explore the impacts the expansion would have on surrounding communities such as Walpole, Norfolk, Medfield, and Mansfield.
He also asked for the suspension of all negotiations with CSX Transportation, the national freight carrier that serves Massachusetts, until the impacts of the proposed casino project are fully considered.
“If a casino is in fact slated for development at Foxborough, the value of rail rights currently held by CSX will be far more valuable than is currently the case,’’ Winslow wrote.
He said failure to do so would be a “claim of bad faith and unfair dealing in the contracts.’’
“In my view, not one thin dime of limited public money should be spent for the private benefit of billionaires in a private transaction,’’ he said.
Winslow represents Norfolk, Plainville, Wrentham, and parts of Medfield, Millis, and Walpole.
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