Looks great! Two tweaks on the Baltimore stuff -- the Marc intersection with the theoretical yellow line would happen at 25th St., not JHU (both are within the Charles Village neighborhood); and the east-west red line will almost certainly be light rail rather than heavy rail.

by Josh on Feb 25, 2008 1:43 pm • link • report

There is even more to flesh out in Virginia and while we're dreaming how about connecting Annapolis to DC and/or Baltimore? This is majorly awesome though.

by NikolasM on Feb 25, 2008 1:46 pm • link • report

Josh: I'll add the tweaks to the to-do list, thanks. And after I spent so much time making enough room in downtown Baltimore for those thick lines! :)

NikolasM: Can you point me to detailed proposals for what else should go in Virginia? The most helpful would be a specific list of lines to add and pointers to something on the Web that has a detailed description or map.

As for Annapolis, I'd love a connection there, but it appears that the rail lines were all turned into roads or rail trails. Is there a usable ROW left? It may be splitting fantasy hairs here, but I'm trying to keep this particular map to things that are seriously proposed (others are, of course, free to fantasize about different transit scenarios; I'll post soon a national super fantasy map I did a few years back).

by David Alpert on Feb 25, 2008 2:13 pm • link • report

I'm amazed that you can crank these things out so quickly! You must know your way around Illustrator.

by Chris L on Feb 25, 2008 2:16 pm • link • report

while you're at it... why not reclaim the W&OD trail for commuter rail to Union Station? It would make the nonsense of Metro to Dulles obsolete.

by Steve on Feb 25, 2008 2:25 pm • link • report

awesome! well done. :-)

by Toby on Feb 25, 2008 2:25 pm • link • report

This is growing like some computer program that has evolved and has learned how to grow. Soon it will be devouring the scientists who created it.

But it's totally awesome. Let this be a call for the folks in charge of the individual systems to have a summit and plan for the future together.

I assume the thin purple/yellow/blue lines are trollies, and the pastel green/orange/grey lines are trains? The trolly lines are looking a bit complicated; I suppose these are the routes proposed by DDOT?

And is there a need for transportation west of Georgetown? Your proposed lines all end there... would it be efficient to have a Potomac crossing there, perhaps through Glen Echo, then into Clarendon?

by Michael on Feb 25, 2008 3:29 pm • link • report

OK, I've fixed Josh's corrections: the Red Line in Baltimore is now light rail, and the Yellow Line intersects the extended Camden Line at 25th Street/Charles Village.

Steve: Rail trails are valuable too—we need recreation and transportation alike to make a livable city.

Michael: Yes, the thicker lines with bold stations are heavy rail and the thinner lines are light rail.

by David Alpert on Feb 25, 2008 4:04 pm • link • report

Consider light rail along US 29 to Burtonsville. All the bridges over US 29 are designed to allow light rail to pass underneath in the median. There are several options for connecting from White Oak to the Purple and/or Red Lines - Colesville Road to Silver Spring, New Hampshire Ave, Colesville and then University, or maybe you have another idea.

by Ben Ross on Feb 25, 2008 4:27 pm • link • report

Yes, rail trails are valuable...but the question is how to quantify one value compared to the other, and can they possibly coexist? http://tinyurl.com/yr9e8c

No matter what, SOMEONE will scream bloody murder over trail reclamation (or non-reclamation).

I also wonder about the poor unwitting European who happens upon this glorious (that's not sarcasm) map while researching a trip to Washington, DC. It could lead to a vast misunderstanding of the region's transit infrastructure.

by Steve on Feb 25, 2008 5:11 pm • link • report

Ben: I'd love to include a line "just up the Pike" from Silver Spring. Is there any government proposal anywhere, or are they all too old to be online? I'm trying not to make up my own desired alignments unless it's absolutely necessary, so any info about where some planning study decided to put it would be helpful.

by David Alpert on Feb 25, 2008 5:33 pm • link • report

I hate to pick nits when you've done an excellent job, but two proposed refinements for Virginia:

1) The MWCOG pdf mentions an "I-66 Metrorail Extension from Vienna to Centreville." If this were to continue down the I-66 right of way, some obvious places for stops would be:

a) Chain Bridge Rd/Fairfax City, b) Fair Oaks/Gov't Center, c) Fair Lakes, d) Rte. 28/Centreville

2) You've got Manassas south of the Four Mile stop on the Columbia Park streetcar line, when in fact it's far west and a little south of the Orange Line's Vienna stop. To make sense of transit options in western Fairfax and northern Prince William, the Culpeper/Haymarket branch of the MVX in reality would need to be much longer and to be oriented far north and west of where you have it.

by karl on Feb 25, 2008 5:41 pm • link • report

Glorious.

by BeyondDC on Feb 26, 2008 12:21 pm • link • report

Love the map. One comment would be on the feasibility of the King Street link over the WW bridge. The ability to link up with King Street would be a nightmare infrastructural and politically, however a better station to link up would be Eisenhower Ave as it is right by 495 and would be able to link up fairly easily.

by RJ on Feb 26, 2008 1:02 pm • link • report

RJ: Even for light rail? Is there no desire to run a trolley from King Street Metro down King Street, turning right on Washington Street or something, and down to the Beltway? That would make it so much easier for visitors to patronize the many businesses on King, many of which are a hike from the Metro.

I'm sure there is lots of NIMBYism in Alexandria, but from the times I have visited, my reaction to King was always that it should be turned into a pedestrian mall with streetcars. The adjacent streets are one-way and designed to carry most of the traffic anyway.

by David Alpert on Feb 26, 2008 1:09 pm • link • report

The 1981 Fairland Master Plan, which covers eastern Montgomery County, proposed a light-rail line from Wheaton to Burtonsville along MD 193 and US 29. The line would follow a "US 29 spur" between 193 near Northwood High and 29 at Burnt Mills, bypassing traffic in the Four Corners area. It was scrapped because of the perceived high costs of putting the line underground south of New Hampshire Avenue (which is why it went to Wheaton instead of continuing down Colesville to Downtown Silver Spring) and a lack of ridership, despite the thousands of apartments in the White Oak and Briggs Chaney areas built in anticipation of increased transit.

Long story short: the plan is not online, but the route (from Wheaton to Burtonsville or from Silver Spring to Burtonsville) is pretty straight-forward.

See this map I drafted six years ago proposing light-rail to Columbia Town Center, hooking up with the proposed MTA line to Baltimore.

By the way, David: great blog and great maps! keep 'em coming.

-Dan Reed

www.justupthepike.com

along US 29. It would go south from Burtonsville along 29, turn west in Burnt Mills on a "Route 29 spur" between 29 and 193 (thus avoiding traffic in Four Corners, but it was never built) and then follow 193 to the Wheaton metor

by dan reed on Feb 26, 2008 2:36 pm • link • report

[url=http://www.beyonddc.com/features/transit/fairfax.html]Here[/url] and [url=http://www.beyonddc.com/features/transit.shtml]here[/url] offers some insight.

by NikolasM on Feb 26, 2008 5:11 pm • link • report

The route out US 29 was last studied before the Purple Line extended east from Silver Spring. So the only option studied was straight out Colesville Road from Silver Spring. If you don't go underground at great expense, you lose road capacity and there are also difficult design issues about how the light rail interacts with traffic when you cross the Beltway. With th Purple Line now clearly established (certainly for purposes of this kind of map!) you have new options. They all have pluses and minuses - pick what you like best.

I really like the rest of this map. Especially the idea of continuing the Columbia Pike Streetcar along Route 7 into Tysons - Is that your idea or did it come from somewhere else? But, really, the ACT version of the Corridor Cities Transitway makes more sense than what you have - witness the recently released low ridership numbers for the current design.

Another thought: What about extending the Green Line north from Waterside Mall under 4th Street to connect to Federal Center SW and Judiciary Square and/or Union Station? (With a pedestrian connection to the Yellow Line at L'Enfant Plaza.) This would effectively double the capacity of the Yellow Line bridge over the Potomac and free up capacity for the Silver Line by allowing more Blue Line trains to use the bridge.

About RJ's suggestion: There is a rail spur into Old Town Alexandria from the north. If you go from the Wilson Bridge into Old Town, you might consider continuing on the rail spur rather than up King Street.

by Ben Ross on Feb 27, 2008 1:35 pm • link • report

Maybe this might be a better question to ask MARC, but why is there no plan for a Frederick - Baltimore connection? There is already a rail line between those two (via Camden Yards -- I think the split is near St Denis, or so says Google Maps), so starting service should not be too expensive aside from station construction.

Also: kudos on your use of the ReCAPTCHA system. It's a brilliant idea that I haven't seen anybody actually use.

by Adam on Feb 27, 2008 6:54 pm • link • report

Another, completely random thought: At the ends of the light green (heavy/formerly commuter rail) lines, maybe indicate Amtrak connections?

Also, just noticed that the three stops at the upper right corner (what looks like a MARC Penn line extension) appear improperly ordered. If I'm not mistaken, one arrives at Perryville, then enters Delaware, at which point you would arrive at Newark, followed by Wilmington. This is coming from Washington or Baltimore, btw.

by Adam on Feb 27, 2008 7:19 pm • link • report

One other thing. The Purple Line, on this map, should be extended from New Carrollton to Largo Town Center and then to Prince George's Community College. This is a real live proposal that has been endorsed by the Prince George's County Council.

by Ben Ross on Feb 27, 2008 10:26 pm • link • report

Here's a suggestion for an extension of light rail in Prince Georges County. Extend the purple line from New Carrollton and link it to Branch Ave. The stations in between would include (Going from north to south): Glenarden, Landover Gateway/Woodmore Towne Centre, FedEx Field, Largo Town Center, Forestville (located at Centre at Forestville), and Branch Avenue.

(the planned Landover Gateway development is taking the place of the former Landover Mall and Woodmore Towne Centre is being planned as well)

by MacGyver on Feb 28, 2008 1:31 am • link • report

Matt Johnson, one of my fellow grad students at the planning program at the University of Maryland just created this regional rail plan for Baltimore/Washington area:

http://tracktwentynine.blogspot.com/2008/02/make-no-little-plans-ii.html

Its slightly different than what you've done here; rather than try to combine LRT, Metro, and Regional all into one map, Matt has focused on regional rail only. Its a thoughtful analysis...check it out.

by Chris Loos on Feb 28, 2008 9:36 am • link • report

Northern Virginia is badly badly under-served by Metro/light rail, and mass transit in general. Looking at a map it is obvious that there are three corridors where there should be Metro lines: U.S. 50 from the Pentagon area out to Fairfax City; Braddock Road from Alexandria out into western Fairfax, and I-395/95 from the Pentagon area to at least Woodbridge.

It also boggles my mind that there is no mass transit whatsoever from Annapolis to Washington along the US 50 corridor.

by Patrick Startt on Feb 28, 2008 10:19 am • link • report

Dan: thanks, that is helpful. I'll add something on 29 to the next version (but it might be a little while since I have a big backlog of other non-map stuff to do).

NikolasM: I'll look into these. If you can find anything with more detail that would help.

Ben: I thought the ACT plan (with the routing along 270) might be unnecessary if MVX ran frequent, transit-like service on the MARC line which basically serves the same areas as the ACT recommended line. Or would that not do it?

Adam: I'll look into Frederick-Baltimore (the Track Twenty-Nine map has that). Thanks regarding reCaptcha! It made my spam problem go away almost completely. And about the northeast stops: oops, you're right. I'll fix that.

Ben again: is there anything online from the PG Co. Co. about the Purple Line extension?

by David Alpert on Feb 28, 2008 4:09 pm • link • report

In addition to the infill station for the Jefferson Memorial, I'd like an infill station between Foggy Bottom and Rosslyn. Call it Georgetown / Watergate and have an exit right by the Thompson Boat house. There is already an air shaft there. Yes, it is where the tunnel is angling down but look at Boston's Aquarium Station to see that it is doable.

by md 20/400 on Feb 28, 2008 8:30 pm • link • report

The issue addressed by the Shady Grove-Met Grove direct connection in the ACT alignment for the CCT is the poor travel times from Germantown and Clarksburg. The station near Old Town Gaithersburg is a bonus. Using the MTA alignment, the light rail travel time from Germantown to Shady Grove will be 29 minutes. The current express bus travel time for the identical trip on the I-270 HOV lanes is 12 to 14 minutes in the am.

The idea of transit-like service on the MARC line is attractive, but it would require either adding tracks all the way into DC for which right of way does not now exist, or building an entirely new bypass freight line around the city. Either option is likely to be much, much more expensive than any version of the CCT. (Yes, lesser service upgrades on MARC are possible without overcoming such daunting obstacles, but they would not compare to the level of service expected on the CCT.)

I don't know the answer to your question about Prince George's.

by Ben Ross on Feb 29, 2008 4:57 pm • link • report

I did up a fantasy map a while ago that has a couple lines connecting to Annapolis in Google Maps:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=105879709890582843761.000434c02d86118a247d2

I think that Ritchie Hwy (MD2) could easily support light rail lines running along it and is easily accessible by foot from the surrounding communities and shopping centers. Feel free to use, take sections, bits, or pieces, be inspired, ect.

by BK on Feb 29, 2008 5:07 pm • link • report

Awesome job on the map! I know there is probably no ROW, but I have always dreamed of a light rail extension from Glen Burnie south to Annapolis, somehow along MD Rt. 2 or by reclaiming the rest of the B & A Trail. (The neighbors would probably scream) A metro extension somehow from New Carrollton out route 50 would then complete the loop to Annapolis. Unlikely I know, but how great it would be!!

by John V. on Mar 3, 2008 4:57 pm • link • report

Getting from this fantasy to reality might be doable by replacing the Metrorail world's-most-expensive-metro design with monorail/monobeam design still in development but already in use around the world. This would cut per mile cost to about one quarter of Metrorail extension costs and would avoid loss of motor vehicle right of way and mixing of traffic required by "light rail".

by J. Kohout on Mar 3, 2008 5:44 pm • link • report

I would second the call for a line to Annapolis. There was once a train there and it could be done again. Is there such a thing as a light rail/heavy rail hybrid? I could imagine a light rail down West Street in Annpolis (especially inside Annapolis, not Parole) with a heavy or at least high speed link from New Carrollton or BWI to Annapolis (or preferably, both...)

by Daniel Sturgeon on Mar 3, 2008 7:49 pm • link • report

Wow. Awesome map. One thing though I know of is missing... they are in the works down here in St. Mary's to secure the right a way that was once a railroad that branched off the still existing tracks that CSX uses to move coal to Chalk Point, down to where Patuxent river air station is now...

by Jody on Mar 3, 2008 8:56 pm • link • report

Awesome. Recommend adding Potomac Mills or combining it with the Dale City station. Also, I like the idea of going as far south as Richmond, how about southwest to Charlottesville?

by R. Dyleson on Mar 3, 2008 11:54 pm • link • report

A link to this Blog page and posts will be in the March 5, 2008 issue of Regional Community Development News. It will be on-line March 6 at http://regional-communities.blogspot.com/ Please visit, check the tools and consider a link. Tom

by Tom Christoffel on Mar 4, 2008 12:30 am • link • report

The map is a nice try, but please give up on Tysons already. What about serving the most people instead of special intrest. What about extending the Orange Line to west Fairfax, Chantilly, Centreville and Manassas or even all the way to Front Royal? Rush hour on 66 is all the proof you need for it's necessity. I don't know that a stop in Old Town Alexandria is needed either. It would be an isore, and there's already a stop at King St, which is in Old Town. Just a thought.

by Tom on Mar 4, 2008 9:28 am • link • report

This is amazing, but please extend the orange line out to Fairlakes (Fairfax County Government Center), as was proposed/ planned about a decade ago. Thank you! and Good work!

by Meghan on Mar 4, 2008 9:31 am • link • report

I second the Baltimore-to-Frederick line, using CSX's existing track called the "Old Main Line", connecting to your system at Saint Denis and Monocacy. Stations that come to mind, from east to west, could be Ellicott City, Sykesville, and Mount Airy.

Also, check your spelling of "Linthicum".

by soars on Mar 4, 2008 10:30 am • link • report

How about a streetcar line down Route 123 from Tysons Corner to GMU??

by Wade on Mar 4, 2008 10:49 am • link • report

Awesome map! I have long been dreaming of a metro line roughly under Glebe Rd from Ballston/Falls Church to Alexandria, and woppa, you've got it!

I would add some interconnectivity on the NOVA side of things. Some lines near the Fairfax and PW County Parkways for instance.

And you could pull the purple line from Bethesda over the bridge to Tyson's/Falls Church

Oh, and why stop at Culpepper. Why not go al the way to Charlottesville or the I-81/I-64 intersection?

Does anybody have the phone number of Warren Buffet for some financing?

Now the next step of the plan please. How do we get this financed?

by Jasper on Mar 4, 2008 11:43 am • link • report

some nice ideas, but a large empty space from dntn Bethesda to the River. As that's where I grew up, either I want back the Cabin John/Glen Echo streetcar line, or at least a link to both Bethesda Metro and Wisconsin/Western.

Continuing the "purple" ex B&O Georgetown Branch w/ a spur to the west would do.

As to Frederick to Baltimore on the existing trackage, this is the oldest RR route in the US, and even with the upgrades over the years wiggles like a snake. Much better would be to take over the median of I 70 with gentler curves and better grades.

by david vartanoff on Mar 4, 2008 1:05 pm • link • report

David, what program do you use to draw this (or your sci-fi HSR map)? I would like to try something like this as well. Thanks.

by NikolasM on Mar 4, 2008 2:53 pm • link • report

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! I am not able to spend quite as much time on the map as before but I'll have another version soon.

NikolasM: I made it in Microsoft Visio.

I agree Frederick-Baltimore, Baltimore-Annapolis, and Annapolis-Washington would be great. Maybe it's fodder for another separate map which would have some new rail lines, since there isn't a good ROW for them now except Frederick-Baltimore which is very wiggly.

by David Alpert on Mar 5, 2008 1:51 pm • link • report

David,

Very interesting thought. However, it does not address the single most significant shortcoming to transportation around this region - lack of ability to cross the Potomac River. Sure, the new Wilson Bridge will help and I see your line by the 14th Street bridge. But there is nothing northwest of the city - where the highest demand is and arguably, the greatest need. Additionally, the argument for Tysons is that it will help suburb to suburb commuting - but you don't connect many of the lines, instead, rely upon hub and spoke via DC, which is unreasonable for capacity reasons.

My fantasy line - I would like to see the Orange line continue down I-66 to route 28, then turn north and cross the Potomac over to Shady Grove, with stops at 7100 Fair Lakes, Centreville (28 and 66), Westfields, Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum, IAD, Dulles Town Center, Aventiene, then Shady Grove.

Too many stops (like much of the graphics you show) only impede people from taking public transportation as it greatly increases the amount of time to go point to point. As soon as you start saying "only 3 more minutes" you immediately have a 10 minute problem, if not more - think of how the metro trains now struggle to not crowd each other.

Good thoughts, keep the imagination going and some day hopefully fantasy will become reality.

by Steven on Mar 6, 2008 10:23 am • link • report

True, the existing CSX ROW between Baltimore and Frederick is filled with curves and is single tracked. Furthermore, CSX probably would not be too willing to allow transit on its only remaining line in the region that is not affected by it.

Interstate 70 has quite a wide median between the Baltimore beltway and Frederick — how about there? (Don't know if the wide median was intentional for future mass transit or what, but it doesn't really matter in the end...) It could either connect to — or be an extension of — the Baltimore Red Line at its I-70 station, and connect to the MARC line at Frederick (which crosses right under I-70 there).

by soars on Mar 6, 2008 12:35 pm • link • report

You should extend to Georgetown light rail/streetcar line across Key bridge to at least Rosslyn, if not all the way down to the Pentagon and hooking in with the light rail you show there.

by NikolasM on Mar 6, 2008 12:51 pm • link • report

Vaughn: Good idea about extending across the Key Bridge.

Steven (& Ben from earlier): Clearly making the Purple Line a complete circle is something we need to do!

by David Alpert on Mar 6, 2008 1:37 pm • link • report

The US 29 rail idea is a poor use of limited transit funds to achieve very limited goals. US 29 corridor in Montgomery County is the edge of the greater I-95 corridor which is much more important and should see a Green line extension to BWI and Konterra. Lots of money has already been invested in converting 29 into a freeway that is very functional. With futher upgrades below New Hampshire Avenue the need for light rail there is nonexistant. RideOn is a first-rate public transportation system that serves that part of Montgomery County very well.

by Jeeves on Mar 7, 2008 6:16 pm • link • report

I've never quite understood the rationale for extending the Green Line past Greenbelt: you have the existing MARC Camden Line with a genourously-sized station right there at Greenbelt (complete with passing siding tracks!), why on earth would we spend money to build something separate and parallel to something that already exists?! Just increase frequency on the Camden Line, and pony up for a third or fourth track where reqired. Not only would that keep the WMATA and their design-by-committee mentality out of it, but we could implement it quickly using existing equipment on existing infrastructure! And a third or fourth track would benefit CSX freight movements at the same time. Metrorail is OK for closely-spaced stations in the city and inner burbs, but I just don't think it scales to inner-city scenarios such as this.

by soars on Mar 11, 2008 9:56 am • link • report

Fantastic map!! Very thoughtful. I would add to your purple line serving upper Montgomery and lower Frederick counties by adding an Urbana station (in between Clarksburg and Frederick), and by adding two or three more Frederick stops including one serving the Ft. Detrick/Hospital/colleges area (Frederick Medical Research Center) and one that is more accessible immediately off of a major highway (the 2 current MARC stops that are there now require use of the local street system for access).

by Nick on Mar 15, 2008 1:07 pm • link • report

You should add the following:

- Silver Line to Leesburg

- Orange Line to Centreville or Chantilly

- Blue Line to Potomac Mills Mall/Dale City

- VA 28 Light Rail

- VA 123 Light Rail from Tysons Corner to Fairfax City/GMU/Burke Center VRE

Or what about this?

Have the Blue Line take over the Yellow Line from Pentagon to L'Enfant Plaza. Have the line track left and eventually follow the current proposed route for the Silver Line. As for the track between Pentagon and Rossyln, convert it to either Light Rail or just tear it up.

by Zac on Mar 24, 2008 2:42 am • link • report

I agree with all the proposals to have the MARC go from frederick to baltimore. Or, at the very least, have a commuter bus option!

by Meghan on Apr 26, 2008 7:57 am • link • report

What is the point of the gray line in Baltimore? I would think it pretty unnecessary, since Rosedale and Rossville are already served by White Marsh and Perry Hall green line stops, and the remaining stops are pretty sparsely populated.

Also, why do the yellow and purple light rail lines end at each other in Columbia? Is this to discourage through traffic along the routes, or some other reason?

I don't mean to nitpick; I'm incredibly impressed and would love to see this happen in the future. Well done! *claps*

by Mike T on May 16, 2008 10:57 pm • link • report

With all the various grand ideas here, I'm surprised you haven't done more to take care of more problems in the Tysons and I270 to Legion Bridge area. I think another transit crossing accross the Potomac between Chain Bridge or probably closer to Legion bridge would help a lot. Espeically a way to get from the Red line to Tysons.

by Wriiight on Jun 10, 2008 4:43 pm • link • report

I wonder whether it would be possible to send a spur up to Mt. Pleasant and use the old DC Transit Route 42 (now Metro Bus 42) turn-around there. It's got such a streetcar-suburb character to it that I think it would benefit greatly from its own connection.

by Reid on Jun 11, 2008 2:24 pm • link • report

The Grey line in Baltimore is actually purple. It is a proposed line which runs at grade with Amtrak, but uses LRV and makes more stops. It is grade seperated. It is probally the most expensive of all the proposals in Baltimore.

Commuter rail to Frederick from Baltimore would be very difficult. It is single tracked all the way from Baltimore to Frederick and the grades are not the best. CSX also sends almost all of their slow moving coal trains over this route since they have an ore pier in Baltimore.

One thing that I feel is missing is rail transit north of DC.

Of course, none of this should be built until Metro is triple tracked.

by Greg on Jun 17, 2008 9:00 pm • link • report

Is there any future plans of expanding the Baltimore Subway (MTA-Maryland) from Johns Hopkins to Morgan State to White Marsh? I think that would be a great idea. Also, I think another great idea would be to expand the 150 Express Bus from LongGate to Columbia Mall, making this a permanent regularly scheduled bus.

by Derrick on Jul 9, 2008 6:16 pm • link • report

Neat map, but the basic fact remains -- the metro area needs another east-west heavy rail route, or the Dulles extension and Orange Line are going to be cataclysmically gridlocked.

by DBX on Aug 12, 2008 10:47 am • link • report

The idea is perfect but the most simple is that the WMATA bring up two metro subway lines to Columbia Town Center and BWI Airport as an transfer point to MTA Maryland`s light rail Yellow Line expansion to make it the easiest, smartest and largest plan for travel between Central Maryland with 2 large populated cities and 2 suburban cities growing.

by MJofBaltimore on Sep 28, 2008 1:24 pm • link • report

One thing that's missing on this vision, and a major hole in the present transit picture is connectivity from I-66 West (Manassas, etc.) to Tysons. After hitting the I-66 West towns, the VRE cuts east toward I-95, missing Tysons and Arlington.

At the very least, there needs to be some connection from downtown Manassas at the train station to your proposed Centreville Orange Line station. That's a distance of only about 8 miles, but it makes everything on the Orange line (and future Silver Line) in NoVa accessible to commuter rail travelers (as well as residents of the densifying and underrated downtown Manassas).

At the same time, it would provide an alternate express route for I-66 West residents who otherwise might drive in a bit to take the Orange Line to the Pentagon (via Rosslyn) or the western sections of downtown.

by Joey on Sep 29, 2008 10:57 am • link • report

I have always wondered why there was not a line up US 29. The area is ripe for devolpment, and as of now everyone just takes 29 down to the silver spring metro anyway. It makes the four corners intersection a mess in the morning.

Plus it could very effectivly be built in phases. The first phase would only make it to Briggs Cheny Road and cutting the drive in half for columbia folks, plus with all the recent road improvements to 29 there is some extra capacity to handle the traffic.

Eventualy a line would head all the way to columbia, but at that distance there would need to be a 3rd line for express train.

by matt on Sep 3, 2009 12:19 pm • link • report

Extend the light rail line (from Pentagon City) one more stop, to Wolf Trap. Move the western split so it goes out from Gainesville through Warrenton, which will be the big development zone, or plan a light-rail connection from Warrenton to Gainesville. You might as well make the pale green line parallel the Yellow Line in VA, they'll never build a second track there. Move the Supreme Court to SW to match the actual DC plan. The walkway between the Farraguts will never happen. Extend Blue Line to Rehoboth Beach - thanks! :-)

by Charles on Jan 4, 2010 8:00 am • link • report

How about sending rail to Ocean City,MD,then Virginia Beach,VA, then toward Kitty Hawk,NC?

by Alex on Feb 28, 2010 3:36 pm • link • report

matt,could you see that there will be a light rail up US 29?

by Alex on Feb 28, 2010 3:59 pm • link • report

how about a rail service to waldorfand southern md.

by priscilla on Mar 5, 2010 4:37 pm • link • report

Send rail to Philadelphia,PA and expand the Purple Line to Potomac,MD

by Alex on Mar 7, 2010 11:27 am • link • report

You could try to expand to reach Gettysburg.
I had recently made something on Google Maps called "Purple Line,Silver Line".

by Alex on Jul 13, 2010 10:27 am • link • report

This is all skeptic... None of this is aproved for construction atleast to public knowledge.

by Jon Hartsock on Jul 13, 2010 11:08 am • link • report

First of all, let me preface this by saying I'm a college student and IDK enough about the cost or the effect on traffic or anything, these are just suggestions. Now then, I love that NE Baltimore would get rail service in this plan. I used to live up in Overlea with my parents (and I still stay with them every so often but mainly live in an apartment in D.C.), and the service up in that section of town is pretty much nonexistant, the nearest stop being Martin's Airport, which is a good 5 or so miles away from my house. Having a station right in Overlea station would be a huge convenience since it's only a few blocks away. I'm kind of wondering if there should be a Purple Line equivalent in Baltimore, though, maybe something that starts from I-95 Station (where are you putting that anyway?), runs parallel to the other new line (you seriously need to mark this map a little better to show what metro lines are represented here), splits off at Hamilton and heads to Towson, passes by the Light Rail perhaps at Mt. Washington, and then terminates at Owings Mill. Your plan for the Baltimore metro suffers the same problem as the current WMATA metro, that it's hard to get around town without going through it, and I personally have spent much more time in the surrounding areas of the city than downtown, so it'd be a huge convenience for me. Other than that, I like what you've done to Baltimore and the Baltimore/Washington corridor.
As for D.C., I've already made some comments on what you did for the other map, so I'll try not to repeat myself unless necessary. As I was saying there, I don't think extending the Yellow Line or any sort of existing line out to Columbia is a good idea, Light Rail seems like a good alternative. It's probably better that it temporarily be serviced by Baltimore, maybe even having another line connecting that and the red line in Baltimore sometime in the future. Another thing I did mention in the other post that I think needs mentioning is that I think the Purple Line should at least extend to Tyson's Corner, if not circle around the entire D.C. area. Also, up in the Rockville/Gaithersburg area, it might be better to extend the Red Line to Metropolitan Grove instead of having two Light Rail lines diverge and both end at Shady Grove. Seems kinda redundant IMO.

by Alex on Jun 15, 2012 11:47 am • link • report

I created a petition to Maryland Governor, House and Senate to ask that they set aside funding to start planning for a system/set of systems like this. It's available at the link if anyone is interested in signing. Thanks so much for the vision!

by Tina H on Feb 10, 2013 7:51 pm • link • report

This is great as it is, but it would be even better if there was a connection (passing through Ellicott City) between the red line from Baltimore that ends at the I70 station and the purple line from DC that ends at Columbia Town Center

by Harry on Feb 14, 2013 4:20 pm • link • report