Plans for new West Baltimore MARC station offer hope for riders with disabilities

Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun
·4 min read

On his former commute to Washington, D.C., retired transportation engineer Bob Reuter said, he had to board trains at Penn Station or Halethorpe. The West Baltimore MARC station doesn’t have a ramp or an elevator for his wheelchair.

Andrew Johnson Sr., 72, who walks with a cane and lives around the corner, said he takes the bus instead of the train.

“With the station the way it is, I think everyone has just learned to adjust to it knowing some people can’t use it,” Johnson said.

Amtrak and Maryland Transportation Administration officials hosted an open house Wednesday night at Mary Ann Winterling Elementary School to share renderings and plans for a new West Baltimore MARC station that meets Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The new station, which is also set to eventually be a stop on the Red Line, has potential to connect West Baltimore to the city and state across multiple modes of transportation.

“The existing station, I struggle to call it a station. It’s a low-level platform. This is the reality. I hope we’re going to build this as quickly as we can,” Luigi Rosa, an Amtrak executive and civil engineer, said.

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The station opened in 1984. While the ADA, which protects disabled people from discrimination in part by mandating accessibility requirements, was passed in 1990, some public infrastructure was not required to be upgraded to standards.

Amtrak said earlier this month that the station is expected to be completed by 2035. Upgrades include elevators, ramps, level platforms and bathrooms that meet ADA standards, as well as public art and widened, protected and illuminated sidewalks.

Currently, the 13-stop MARC Penn Line, which travels from Union Station in D.C. to Baltimore’s Penn Station and on to Baltimore and Harford counties, has two stations without ADA accessibility, West Baltimore and the Martin State Airport in Middle River. The 12-stop MARC Camden Line, which runs from the stadium to D.C., has five stops without ADA accessibility: St. Denis in Southwest Baltimore and Jessup on the Howard and Anne Arundel County line and Laurel Racetrack, as well as the University of Maryland-College Park and Riverdale Park Town Center in Prince George’s County. The MTA contracts with Amtrak to operate MARC trains.

“We need to have all stations accessible. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in America. I think accessibility is maybe the most important aspect of this program,” Rosa said.

Amtrak spokesperson Kyle Anderson said while Amtrak has ADA-compliance responsibility at 385 stations, 190 are either compliant or waiting on additional work to passenger platforms. The rail company brought 20 stations to ADA compliance in fiscal year 2023 and is planning to add 30 more this fiscal year, Anderson said, and Amtrak has set a goal of finishing compliance for all 385 stations by 2029.

Construction of the new station on Franklin Street in the Penrose/Fayette Street Outreach neighborhood is part of Amtrak’s broader Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program, which has been estimated to cost $6 billion. The rail company is replacing the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, which passes beneath the Bolton Hill, Upton and Sandtown-Winchester neighborhoods.

Fred Lippert, director of Baltimore regional planning for the MTA, said the West Baltimore MARC station currently serves as an important hub for city and regional buses.

“Anytime you can interconnect networks, that unlocks mobility, and that means you’re able to reach a greater number of people,” Lippert said about bus lines, light rail and MARC trains converging. “Now in Baltimore, our workhorse system is really the bus network. We move a ton of folks on that system. So making those connections to other modes, that’s when you will really start to see increased value.”

Johnson, who attended the elementary school that hosted the meeting, said he relies on buses to reach most of the city but is excited about the prospect of light rail connections.

“The bus does link up with the different parts of the city. I’m worried about the construction noise and damage to nearby homes, but I do see a benefit in the near future,” Johnson said.

Alethia McCullough, a Reservoir Hill resident, said she is accustomed to taking light rail, walking long distances and catching a bus in one trip.

“We need continuity in public transportation because there are a lot of people who can’t afford to drive cars,” McCullough said.

Gov. Wes Moore last month announced light rail as the mode of transit for the new Red Line to connect East and West Baltimore, but that construction will take nine to 12 years. The route, which has yet to be finalized, is expected to start in western Baltimore County near Woodlawn before passing into West Baltimore.

Reuter, who said he first attended a meeting about the Red Line in 1972 and has been arrested multiple times while obstructing non-ADA-compliant MTA buses, is skeptical until the trains are finally running.

“I’ll believe it when I’m riding it,” Reuter said.