Washington’s rails, part 1: The network

When the railroad first reached Washington in 1835, the Capital was a very different place. Over the next century and a half, urbanization, alternative transportation, and major shifts in commerce have dramatically changed the situation facing railroads. Yet the railroad infrastructure in the Washington-Baltimore area has seen little change since the turn of the century.

The Washington region sits along some of the busiest rail tracks in the United States. Unfortunately, our rail network includes some of the oldest track in the country. The B&O’s Old Main Line, running from Baltimore to Point of Rocks, southwest of Frederick, was one of the first railways constructed in America, and the Carrollton Viaduct in Baltimore City is the oldest operating railroad bridge in the world.

Today’s trends bring new challenges and new opportunities for our railroads, but major upgrades are needed. With a new administration in the White House and stimulus dollars looking for projects, the prospects are good that we will soon see some improvements to the rail network.

A couple of rail projects are on the horizon. These undertakings will improve the flow of passengers and freight through the region. Before describing these projects, however, it is necessary to put the network in context.

Washington sits at the intersection of the main freight route from the south along the East Coast meets the main freight route traveling from Mid-Atlantic ports to the Mid-West. Additionally, Amtrak’s high-speed Northeast Corridor (NEC) starts in Washington and runs through Baltimore on its way to New York and Boston.

Trains from the south approach Washington on CSX’s RF&P Subdivision, traveling through Richmond and Fredericksburg. South of Alexandria, the line meets the Norfolk Southern (NS) Washington District, which approaches from Lynchburg and Manassas.

While CSX’s main East Coast line runs through Washington, NS sends trains far to the west of the region. Trains on CSX’s RF&P Subdivision continue northward along the Potomac, crossing the river on the Long Bridge, which sits adjacent to the 14th Street Bridges and Yellow Line bridge. At Third Street

NW

SW, the CSX line meets the Amtrak tracks leading to Union Station from the First Street Tunnel.

Freight trains, however, do not pass through the First Street Tunnel. Instead, they continue along Virginia Avenue in a southeasterly direction. After passing through the single-track Virginia Avenue Tunnel, trains cross over the Anacostia River, and turn northeast to parallel Minnesota Avenue. After passing the Deanwood Metro stop, the CSX line turns north, crossing the Orange Line and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor. Passing through Bladensburg, the line intersects CSX’s main east-west route from the Mid-Atlantic at Hyattsville.

Freight trains originating northeast of Washington travel south from Baltimore through College Park on CSX’s Capital Subdivision. At Hyattsville, trains can turn south or continue toward the Midwest. Trains continuing toward the Midwest head from Hyattsville down to Ivy City, just north of Union Station. At this point, Midwest-bound trains turn northwest along CSX’s Metropolitan Subdivision and pass through Silver Spring and Rockville.

Baltimore presents a significant bottleneck for both freight and passenger trains. Amtrak trains on the Northeast Corridor pass through the B&P Tunnel, which has a 30 mph speed limit. The B&P Tunnel is located immediately west of Baltimore Penn Station (between Washington and Baltimore). It only has one track in each direction and presents a significant capacity constraint. The tunnel is also nearing the end of its lifespan.

Freight traffic through Baltimore uses the single-track Howard Street Tunnel, which runs north from Camden Yards to Mount Royal. The tunnel presents an obstacle because it is a long stretch of single-track, forcing trains to wait long periods. Additionally, because of its profile, it presents a barrier to taller freight cars.

Another major obstacle to freight is Washington’s Virginia Avenue Tunnel. Located under Virginia Avenue (and now the Southeast Freeway), this is another single-track facility which stops trains moving north and south through the region. The Alexandria Extension is the name of the line, operated by CSX, linking the Long Bridge with Hyattsville. Its section between Deanwood and Hyattsville is single-tracked. Together, these two hurdles delay freight and commuter trains. Southbound freight trains can often be seen waiting for clearance to proceed onto the Alexandria Extension on the southbound track at College Park, blocking the MARC platform and crosswalk, and holding up commuter trains.

In addition to freight and inter-city passenger trains, the Washington-Baltimore region is served by commuter rail trains operated by VRE and MARC. Commuter trains operate on all five rail lines operating from Washington. Two of these continue to Baltimore. The MARC Penn Line continues even further north after passing Baltimore, terminating on the north bank of the Susquehanna at Perryville.

Freight operator CSX recently started working to achieve a multi-million dollar initiative to open the Mid-Atlantic region to double-stack freight trains. They have the support of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine. They recently asked for the support of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments for assistance in 13 clearance projects in the area.

I’ll discuss this project in more detail in the next installment. Additionally, I’ll cover some of the innovations Railroads are trying to accommodate in the region.

Earlier this week, Maryland announced it was asking for $360 Million in stimulus dollars for improvements to Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor which will speed inter-city and commuter trains in the region. We’ll discuss those proposals and some other commuter rail and Baltimore rail improvements in the third installment.

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