BWI rail station platform renovation nears completion

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) said that the entire northbound platform at the BWI MARC/Amtrak Station would be open for passengers at 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 24, 2010. A portion of the northbound platform has been closed to MARC commuters and Amtrak passengers during construction, but barriers will be removed Wednesday morning, Nov. 24, and crews will complete final detail work after the holiday. The improved, longer platform will open in time to ease the expected rush of Thanksgiving holiday travelers.

The rail station near BWI
Thurgood Marshall Airport serves the MARC Penn Line and is part of Amtrak’s
Northeast Corridor. The renovation rebuilt and lengthened the rail station’s
1,050 feet northbound and southbound platforms. The new platforms are 700 feet
longer, allowing passengers to use all doors on longer nine-car trains. The
project also upgraded other services for commuters, including new signs,
lights, shelters, and benches. The old platforms were replaced with high-level
precast concrete segments.

"The upgrade of the BWI
MARC/Amtrak Station is a critical component of our MARC Growth and Investment
Plan," said Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley. "This plan will increase our
ability to move people more efficiently by rail and reduce our dependence on the
automobile." 

The BWI Thurgood Marshall
Airport Rail Station was dedicated on October 23, 1980 as the first intercity
rail station built to serve an airport in the United States. MARC ridership has
grown steadily since then. The BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station now
serves more than 1,800 passengers on a weekday. That is a 50 percent increase
from just five years ago.

The platform renovation is
just one in a series of improvements MTA and Amtrak are making to the BWI Rail
station. Two existing elevators will also be replaced in order to provide more
reliable and easier access to the pedestrian bridge. The elevator project is
expected to be complete by early 2011.