Parking garage is putting maglev train project in the D.C. area in a bad spot

Written by RT&S Staff
high-speed maglev
Example of a Maglev Train
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Opposition for a high-speed maglev train line in the Washington D.C./Baltimore area is beginning to stack up.

The city of Baltimore already opposes such a project, which calls for the construction of a tunnel, and just this week D.C. officials are saying a parking garage will cause a huge and long impact to traffic in what is already a congested area on and around New York Avenue. They want the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to consider making changes or reject the project entirely. FRA and the Maryland Transit Administration are working on the environmental study for the project, and if approved work on the 40-mile route could begin as early as next year. The magnetic-levitation system, which is currently expected to cost as much as $16 billion, could be operational by 2030.

At the center of D.C.’s objections is a five-level, 1,000-space underground parking garage for the Mount Vernon Square station. The site already has 30 parking facilities and 3,000 parking spaces within a three-block area, and the District Department of Transportation said another parking garage would add more traffic to an area that already is fighting congestion. The seven-year construction period also would close one side of New York Avenue and add detours.

Northeast Maglev and Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail are the two private companies behind the project and have locked in financial commitments. Baltimore-Washington Rapid Rail said it has reviewed the comments from D.C. officials and that more information will be available about the project impacts when the environmental review is complete.

The maglev high-speed train will make a trip from D.C. to Baltimore just 15 minutes long. Opponents of the project believe the region should make additional investments in existing rail lines used by Amtrak and MARC commuter trains.

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