Post by Logan on May 2, 2016 21:39:06 GMT -6
As Amtrak trains whisk passengers hundreds of miles along the East Coast between Boston and Washington, they're forced to slow down at four pinch points in Maryland, where ancient railroad infrastructure can't accommodate the high speeds and capacity of modern train technology.
Officials have begun planning to fix two of the bottlenecks, the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge, which opened 110 years ago, and the even older Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, built under the city in the decade after the Civil War.
Eliminating those choke points would speed up travel along the Northeast Corridor, officials say, bringing Amtrak closer to its goal: a two-hour trip between New York and Washington.
Paying for it, however, is another issue.
While Congress has funded the relatively inexpensive planning studies, replacing the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge project could take up to a decade and cost between $800 million and $1 billion, according to Amtrak estimates. The B&P Tunnel is a $4 billion project. Neither has been funded for construction.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-amtrak-bridge-20160502-story.html
Officials have begun planning to fix two of the bottlenecks, the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge, which opened 110 years ago, and the even older Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, built under the city in the decade after the Civil War.
Eliminating those choke points would speed up travel along the Northeast Corridor, officials say, bringing Amtrak closer to its goal: a two-hour trip between New York and Washington.
Paying for it, however, is another issue.
While Congress has funded the relatively inexpensive planning studies, replacing the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge project could take up to a decade and cost between $800 million and $1 billion, according to Amtrak estimates. The B&P Tunnel is a $4 billion project. Neither has been funded for construction.
Read more: www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-amtrak-bridge-20160502-story.html