Ethanol Trains Through Somerville Under Scrutiny, Meeting Wednesday Night

Trains that would each carry about 1.8 million gallons of ethanol and might travel through the heart of Somerville at least twice a week are the subject of a study by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

MassDOT is holding a meeting about the trains, dubbed "bomb trains" by some activists, Wednesday night in East Boston.

The trains would deliver about 187 million gallons of ethanol, a volatile and inflammable alcohol used as an additive to gasoline, each year to the Global Oil terminal in Revere.

In doing so, the trains would travel through about 25 Massachusetts cities and towns, including Somerville, Cambridge, Boston, Chelsea and Everett.

Somerville has joined Chelsea, Revere and other communities in opposing the ethanol trains, which could come down the Fitchburg and Lowell Commuter Rail lines.

The Fitchburg Line runs past Porter Square and Union Square in the southern part of Somerville, and the Lowell Line runs through the heart of the city, past Magoun and Ball squares and places like the new Maxwell's Green residential development.

Opponents of the trains point to several spills and explosions that have occurred in connection to the trains in other parts of the country.

At Wednesday's meeting, MassDOT will present its study, an evaluation of the trains and their impacts on public safety. There will also be a question and answer period.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. at East Boston High School, 86 White St., East Boston.

More on Somerville Patch

Ethanol 'Bomb Trains' That Might Travel Through Somerville Receive Nearby Opposition

Aldermen: Keep Your Ethanol-Filled Freight Trains Out of Somerville