Baltimore’s Red Line to be light rail – again
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Photo by Elijah Pittman.
Gov. Wes Moore’s charge to resurrect an east-west transportation line in Baltimore took another step forward Friday with the announcement that the state will seek to build a second light rail line through the city.
Moore, a Democrat, made building the Red Line project a central focus of his campaign and first year in office. The announcement today, which included a new logo for the project, is another early step toward fulfilling that goal, which could stretch out beyond Moore’s current term.
“This is the right choice for Baltimore. It’s the fair choice for Baltimore, and it’s the right and the fair choice for the state of Maryland,” Moore said.
“It’s going to have a direct impact on the everyday lives of our neighbors. It will help the single parent who needs to commute across town to get to work,” Moore said. “It will help the high school student who needs to get to school in another part of the city. It will help Marylanders of all backgrounds travel from where they live to where opportunity lies.”
Moore estimated that when the state finally begins construction the project will bring 5,000 jobs in its initial phase. He said construction will “drive over $10 billion in economic activity” and $6 billion in income for local workers.
Moore’s announcement Friday resolves only the question of which mode will be used. Officials considered several options including bus rapid transit, light rail and subway, and a mixture of those.
Moore and Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld hope to deliver the project by 2028. Even so, a lot of work remains including finalizing the path of the line and funding it.
Costs for the newly envisioned Red Line are not yet public. But state officials said last year they expected the cost of a resurrected Red Line to be in the billions.
“It’s in the three-to-four-year time frame, right?” Wiedefeld said in response to questions about a timeline for breaking ground and getting riders on trains. “That’s, obviously, if things go very well.
“It’s based on building consensus on the next phase of this, which will take some time, and then getting the federal dollars lined up. But we are going to be very, very aggressive in getting this shovel in the ground,” he said.
Wiedefeld said he expects the federal government could pick up as much as 50% of the costs. The balance would be split by the state, Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The state might also consider some private investment.
“We’re going to get the next phase of this done, and then we’re going to get the federal money, and then we’re going to build this thing,” Wiedefeld said.
Moore vowed to build the Red Line project axed and dismissed as a “boondoggle” by his Republican predecessor.
Klaus Philipsen, president ArchPlan Inc. and a consultant on the original Red Line plan, said a new line will be more expensive than the one nixed nine years ago by former Gov. Larry Hogan (R).
“Well, relative to the time when we did it the first time around, costs are higher,” said Philipsen. “I mean, disproportionately higher, not just like regular inflation, the construction costs move at a more rapid clip.”
Philipsen added that federal funding for transit projects has become more scarce and more competitive.
“We are looking into pretty scary times for public financing,” he said.
Ridership declines during the COVID-19 pandemic have not fully recovered. That has resulted in service reductions in many cases, he said.
“Any transit expansion faces an uphill battle against that backdrop,” Philipsen said. “That doesn’t mean you can’t do it, or it shouldn’t be done, that there is no city that will build any transit. It’s just even more competitive than it used to be.”
Maryland also faces a transportation funding problem. Late last year, Moore and Wiedefeld announced a gap of $3.1 billion in the state’s six-year transportation plan. The lack of funding means the state would not be able to keep up maintenance of existing systems much less fund new, big-ticket projects.
Lawmakers and the governor solved the issue for one year but continue to work on modernizing the Transportation Trust Fund.
Moore expressed confidence.
“We know that we have the resources we need for the phase we’re in right now and we’re excited to properly utilize those resources to continue moving us forward,” said Moore.
Moore’s hopes are also tied to the 2024 election and the re-election of President Joe Biden.
“I do think it is important to remind people that elections do have consequences,” Moore said just a day after Biden’s dismal debate performance against Donald Trump, the former president and presumed Republican Party nominee for president again this year.
Proposals for an east-west rail line date back two decades.
The state was on the verge of beginning work on a proposed $2.9 billion, 14.1-mile line connecting the medical center to Woodlawn as Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) closed his second term. Hogan, a Republican, won the 2014 election and in short order canceled the project.
In 2015, Hogan killed the project the he called a “boondoggle.” He cast doubt on projected ridership numbers. Cost projections for a tunnel under a portion of Baltimore were underestimated, Hogan said at the time.
The decision cost the state $900 million in funding for the project.
Hogan opted to continue with the Purple Line light rail project connecting Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. That project, still years away from opening, languishes from mismanagement, construction delays and billions in cost overruns.
Hogan’s decision also left some leaders and communities in Baltimore angry.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said Hogan’s decision had a “crippling effect” on the city. The restoration of a Red Line project represents the next step in the city’s renaissance.
“We need this kind of investment,” Scott at Friday’s event. “We need accessible transit that makes life easier for those who live, work and play here.”
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“Because it’s what we were promised,” Lewis said. “It’s what we worked for to develop, and what was stolen from us. So, I’m absolutely thrilled to have the promised light rail that was stolen from us restored.”
Lewis, a Baltimore resident who is one of two lawmakers who do not own a personal vehicle, said she was “agnostic” on the corridor that the line would use. Instead, she said she is focused on how the state will fund its share of the project.
“The engineers and planners and the residents and stakeholders — they’ll figure out the alignment and the design at the stations,” said Lewis. “My job is to raise the money to pay for it. So, I’ll be focused like a laser on finding smart, effective ways to raise revenue to pay for the state’s construction contribution.
“The state of Maryland has to step up in a bold and sensible way to demonstrate to the Federal Transit Administration and the US DOT, that we are ready to compete for construction funding, and we’re going to do our part,” she said.
Lewis, citing national polling data on transit ballot initiatives, floated the idea in December of a dedicated sales tax increase. Proposed legislation didn’t move amid larger discussions about how to bolster the state’s Transportation Trust Fund.
A February survey released by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media found six out of 10 voters opposed Lewis’ proposal.
Lewis, speaking Friday, said numbers in that poll showed that a majority of Democrats, Black respondents and Baltimore City residents would support dedicated funding for transit.
“Without any prompting, activation, education, Maryland’s base voters, Democratic registered voters and Black voters are ready to pay their share, or to contribute or find a creative way to build the infrastructure we need,” Lewis said. “So, I’ll be working on a campaign to mobilize public support, to engage with colleagues, stakeholders and decision makers on the best way to raise revenue.
“But we have to talk honestly about it. And then we have to work diligently together to accomplish what the governor wants to happen,” she said.
– Maryland Matters reporter Elijah Pittman contributed to this report.
The post Baltimore’s Red Line to be light rail – again appeared first on Maryland Matters.
