Amtrak AEM7 at Bowie, MD.

Last week, the State of Maryland submitted a request for $360 million in stimulus funding for rail improvements to the Northeast Corridor (MDOT press release). Of course, Maryland is not the only applicant, so it is likely that some of these projects will not be funded. However, the list includes seven important projects which will improve the travel of commuters, inter-city (Amtrak) passengers, and freight through the region.

Funding was requested for the following projects:

  • BWI Station & Track Improvements: Maryland is requesting $10 million for engineering work and studies which would reconfigure the BWI Airport MARC/Amtrak station (pic). The project would finance the study of constructing a new station building, platforms for all four tracks, and the construction of a fourth track along 9 miles of the Northeast Corridor from Grove Interlocking (north of Odenton) to Wynans Interlocking (south of Halethorpe).
  • Northern Maryland Bridge Replacement: Another $200 million would go to engineering studies for the replacement of the two-track bridges over the Gunpowder, Bush, and Susquehanna Rivers with three-track bridges. This would speed trains between Baltimore and Wilmington. It is noteworthy to mention that the narrowing of the Northeast Corridor from three tracks to two tracks at the two-track Gunpowder River Bridge contributed to the fatal Chase, Maryland rail crash on 4 January 1987.
  • Washington Wedge Yard: This request for $36 million would fund final design and construction of a six-track train storage yard at Washington Terminal (Union Station). During the day, MARC trains would be stored here. Currently, MARC runs trains to Baltimore during the day for storage. At night, Amtrak trains would be stored in the wedge yard.
  • Chesapeake Connector: This project provides $25 million in funds for engineering for a third track to be constructed along 6.3 miles of the Northeast Corridor, from Prince Interlocking north of Perryville to Bacon Interlocking north of Northeast, Maryland. The project will improve freight rail access to the Delmarva Peninsula and the Port of Baltimore. Additionally, this two-track section is one major obstacle to extending commuter rail service to Newark, Delaware on the Northeast Corridor. Delaware is a cosponsor.
  • Positive Train Control: $10 million in funding for this project is requested. The money would provide for the implementation of a GPS-based train location system for MARC trains operating on the Penn and Brunswick Lines.
  • Brunswick Line Signaling Improvements: This $18.3 million request would provide for the updating of signals on CSX’s Metropolitan Subdivision from Silver Spring to Brunswick. It would improve reliability for freight, MARC trains, and Amtrak’s Capitol Limited.
  • Engineering Study, B&P Tunnel Replacement: $60 million request. See below.

Replacement of the B&P Tunnel

One of the most important rail projects in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast is replacing the B&P Tunnel in Baltimore. To emphasize its importance, a report (PDF) by the Federal Railroad Administration in 2005 showed that fully one-fifth (20%) of Amtrak passenger-trips pass through at least one of Baltimore’s two Northeast Corridor (NEC) tunnels.

In Baltimore, the Amtrak Northeast Corridor approaches from the south and turns east to enter the B&P Tunnel (pic). At the eastern end of the B&P Tunnel, trains stop at Penn Station. Continuing east, trains pass through the Union Tunnels (pic).

A study to replace the aging tunnel is among the funding requested by Maryland. The requested $60 million will fund engineering and feasibility studies, not the actual replacement of the tunnel. A 2005 Federal Railroad Administration study estimated that the cost of replacing the B&P Tunnel would be around $550 million.

The current two-track, single-bore tube is almost 8,000 feet long and has two sharp curves. Because of the curve near the western end of the tunnel, the entire tunnel has a speed limit of 30 miles per hour. It presents a significant bottleneck for Northeast Corridor traffic, including MARC and Amtrak trains. For the Norfolk Southern freight traffic using the NEC at night, the tunnel profile presents an impediment to wide and tall cargoes. In addition, studies by Amtrak suggest that the tunnel needs to be replaced within two decades because of increasing maintenance issues.

A Federal Railroad Administration study from 2005 looked at potential alternatives for replacing the B&P Tunnel. The 2005 study was not the engineering-type study which Maryland hopes to fund with the stimulus grant. However, it laid out several options for moving passengers through Baltimore. Most options were eliminated for various reasons, whether cost, track geometry, or practicality.

The tunnel option the report thought most likely was the “Great Circle Passenger Tunnel.” The Great Circle route would be bored, so it would not need to follow existing city streets or cause surface disruptions due to digging. There would actually be two passenger tunnels, each with one track. They would split from the existing NEC just west of the mouth of the B&P Tunnel, heading north from Fulton Junction. It would slowly arc back toward the southeast, emerging just south of the Baltimore Light Rail Storage and Maintenance Yard. From there on, the surface tracks would enter Penn Station and follow the NEC’s current routing through East Baltimore.

An alternative includes using Presstman Street Alignment for which right-of-way was purchased by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1931 for a replacement route. However, the FRA report discounts this route because it would have many of the same drawbacks as the B&P Tunnel, including a low speed limit due to curves. Additionally, it would require cut-and-cover tunneling, something which would be extremely disruptive in Baltimore’s dense urban neighborhoods.

The most expensive option would be a new alignment roughly following the Route 40 east-west corridor through the city. It would allow for an underground inter-city rail terminal closer to downtown. However, this alternative is likely to be prohibitively expensive.

MARC Investment Plan

Almost two years ago, in September 2007, the Maryland Mass Transit Administration released a plan for investment in the MARC Commuter Rail system. This plan called for pouring funds into the system to help keep service levels catch up to ridership increases. Unfortunately, the recession put those plans on hold. In fact, instead of increasing service and preparing capital projects, MTA has cut MARC service since the release of this report.

The MTA still intends to make MARC improvements, but it needs resources first. It hopes to find some of those resources with the stimulus. Of the seven projects mentioned above, most are in the investment plan.

The BWI improvements, including a fourth track from Grove to Wynans interlockings, are mentioned in the plan as being completed by 2015. MTA Hopes to have a new four-track bridge over the Gunpowder River by 2020. Sometime beyond 2020 it hopes to have four tracks spanning the Bush and Susquhanna Rivers. The current funding request will fund engineering for three-track bridges across each river. Another aspect of their long-range plan calls for the Chesapeake Connection sometime after 2020, for which engineering funds have been requested. Replacement of the B&P Tunnel and its subsequent rehabilitation for use should happen by 2020 according to MTA.

Significant expansion of MARC, VRE, and other passenger rail services in the region depend on major improvements to our rail infrastructure. Baltimore and Washington sit at a strategic point on our East Coast rail networks, and expansion of passenger service competes with valuable slots for freight movement. Without significant capital investment, we won’t be able to continue to add more passenger trains.

The stimulus funding would present an excellent start. However, Maryland’s MARC plan calls for $3.9 billion in capital costs alone by 2035 on all three lines. That would allow commuter trains to run to Newark, Delaware in the north, and Alexandria, Virginia in the south. It would also allow for weekend, mid-day, and reverse commute services on all lines. Under the plan, new stations would be constructed, parking would be added, and maintenance facilities would improve the efficiency of MARC.

The need for rail investment is clear to everyone. We can hope that the stimulus’ emphasis on improving rail transportation is an indicator of where the transportation reauthorization is headed. Regardless, the Mid-Atlantic states are aware of the funds they need to spend. Unfortunately, the economy has siphoned many of those funds away.

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Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington area since 2007. He has a Master’s in Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He lives in Dupont Circle. He’s a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and is an employee of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation. His views are his own and do not represent those of his employer.