Video here (music, at least, is nice):
Richardson's Railroad Video
Posted on 04/10/2006 10:20:25 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
As Virginia moves closer to extending Metrorail to Dulles International Airport, Maryland officials are ramping up plans and support for their own multibillion-dollar extension to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
The General Assembly late last month approved a $1 million study of the proposed 20-mile extension of the Green Line, the latest sign that the project -- long considered a pie-in-the-sky transit wish -- has increasingly become a top priority for key transportation planners in Annapolis.
"Clearly, we're racing the clock, because they are going to start building that rail up to Dulles," said Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Prince George's), a strong proponent of the project. "If we don't connect Metro to BWI, we're not going to remain competitive."
Maryland Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan said the project is also needed to handle the explosive growth at Fort Meade called for by the Pentagon's base realignment plan. Some officials said the plan will bring as many as 50,000 residents to the area.
"You don't want the growth to occur and then to try to catch up with it. That ties your hands," Flanagan said. "We need to anticipate growth that we know is going to occur and plan the subway and the growth together so that they work in unison."
The project would fulfill a decades-old goal of connecting the transit systems in Washington and Baltimore, which are quickly merging into one metropolitan area.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
BTTT for later reading
Complete waste of money. BWI is already served by commuter trains and Amtrak. Baltimore and DC are already connected by those, also. In fact there are two commuter rail lines between the cities, which could be upgraded for faster and more frequent service for about 1/40th of the cost.
Zero federal dollars to such duplicative waste.
BUMP
Ah, yes, one bad idea begets another.
They already have a cheap bus that goes from Greenbelt to BWI every 20 mins and is never full. No need for this at all.
I wouldn't count on that Metro to Dulles ever coming on line, either. The Metro tunnel from VA to DC is already running at max capacity and it can't handle additional traffic. So they will not only have to dig up a huge swath of Tyson's Corner, but they will also have to dig another tunnel to get it to happen.
White Collar workers simply do not ride the bus.
Amtrak and MARC trains already run from New Carrollton to BWI. MARC runs from Greenbelt to BWI. With the "National Agricultural Research Center", "Patuxent Reseach Center", and Fort Meade, there is almost no population between Greenbelt and BWI. Why in the world do we need a Metro line going through the woods?
Video here (music, at least, is nice):
Richardson's Railroad Video
Metro is a high density train so it would make sense to have an expansion stock in housing between Greenbelt and BWI, and if that area is connected then there will be a lot of development.
Seriously, that picture is funny. Looks like a rooster there.
They did when I lived in DC.
When did u live in DC?
1986 - 1994 (actually lived in Arlington, worked in DC)
I had a lot of "white collar" friends and associates that rode the bus.
I live in Pasadena, Md and I take the Green line into DC during rush hour about 3 times a week.
I think that they should make the MARC train parking lots bigger and run more regularly during rush hour. I think that would be a better usage of money.
The problem with the bus is that you can get stuck in traffic for hours on 295 or I-95 trying to get to either Greenbelt or BWI. And I agree that most white collar workers would not ride a bus.
I had a lot of "white collar" friends and associates that rode the bus.
It is a bit different now, mostly blue collar workers and immigrants ride the bus. But back in the '80s, my father, a lawyer, did ride the bus.
You are probably right. But one problem is that even if people do know about MARC, usually they are not willing to use it. So I think there's is a huge need to have more advertisement and encouragement done regarding MARC.
The problem with the bus is that you can get stuck in traffic for hours on 295 or I-95 trying to get to either Greenbelt or BWI. And I agree that most white collar workers would not ride a bus.
That's why rail is the way to go.
Fair enough.
Are you saying that you don't like the way the feds spend their money? You should worry about your own finances and keep your nose out of the feds.
Pedro should be here any moment now to cut my lawn. I must go.
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