Md. to study viability of rail route joining region, Washington

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008

Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles), a longtime advocate for Southern Maryland rail transit, lobbied for the study, which will examine potential operating scenarios and station locations, the challenges of securing rights of way and ridership projections that will determine whether rail service is justified.

‘‘As the need to move people between St. Mary’s County and the Washington region continues to evolve, it is important that we explore the variety of transportation options that may be available to us,” Porcari said in a statement. ‘‘This initial look at the possibility of commuter rail will generate valuable information as important decisions are made in the years ahead.”

The analysis will also incorporate findings of prior studies and an assessment of how much such a massive undertaking will cost. It will be conducted concurrently with the ongoing Southern Maryland Mass Transportation Analysis that is looking at possible alignment for future bus rapid transit or light rail service along the U.S. 301⁄ Route 5 corridor between White Plains and the Branch Avenue Metro Station.

The study itself is expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars, and the money will come from the Transportation Trust Fund. Work will begin this spring and take about six months to complete.

‘‘Right now there are no alternatives” to the area’s traffic problems, Dyson said. ‘‘The closest thing we have to mass transit is the commuter buses and they’re good, but they too have to funnel into the highway system.”

West Virginia has mass transit into Washington, D.C., and Southern Maryland doesn’t, he noted.

MARC commuter rail service runs two lines between Baltimore and Washington and another western track between Martinsburg, W.Va., and Washington. A planned expansion of MARC designed to triple ridership by 2035 does not include an examination of a new line to St. Mary’s, because it focuses on boosting existing service or adding new service on facilities already suitable for passenger rail service.