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Baltimore, Maryland: Light Rail

Description

Baltimore's 30-mile light rail system is operated by the Mass Transit Administration of the Maryland Department of Transportation. The Central Light Rail Line extends from Cromwell/Glen Burnie in the south, through central Baltimore, to Hunt Valley in the north. A short spur extends to Penn Station in central Baltimore, and a somewhat longer spur extends from near Linthicum to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

The first 22.5 miles (comprising the Central Line between Cromwell/Glen Burnie and Timonium) opened in 1992. The extensions to Penn Station, BWI Airport and Hunt Valley opened in late 1997.

The light rail line does not connect directly with the Metro subway, but the two Lexington Market stations are separated by only a short one-block walk.

The light rail system was originally built with long sections of single track, which saved money but restricted the frequency of operation to awkward minimum of 17 minutes. The MTA is in the middle of a program to add a second track in most places, and as of spring 2005 had just finished upgrading the southern half of the system. Work on the northern half is now underway.

Pictures

These pictures were taken in March 1998.

[picture] A train waits for departure at Baltimore-Washington International Airport. On the opposite track is a small diesel locomotive used for maintainance.

[picture] The end of the other branch of the southern leg of the line, at Cromwell/Glen Burnie.

[picture] A northbound train to Hunt Valley passes through the Linthicum station. This is on the former route of the Baltimore and Annapolis electic interurban railroad. Here (as in most of the outer sections) the line is single-track.

[picture] A southbound train to Cromwell/Glen Burnie crosses Camp Meade Road in Linthicum.

[picture] Trains operate along Howard Street through central Baltimore. They do not actually mix with traffic, but operate in separate lanes. They do have to stop for traffic signals at cross streets, which slows them down considerably. Here, at the Government Center station, the tracks occupy the west side of the street, with one northbound lane for automobiles.

[picture] At the Lexington Market station on Howard Street, the tracks are on opposite sides of the street, with a single automobile lane in between.

[picture] In Hunt Valley, the line runs in single track along the side of the road, through a district of light industry and office parks. This picture is just "south" (actually west) of the McCormick Road station (which is actually on Schilling Circle). The northbound train has just turned from Gilroy Road (behind the camera location) to run eastward along the north side of Schilling Circle. The crossing gate will go up in a second or two.

[picture] Just "north" of the McCormick Road station, the line crosses McCormick Road and turns north to run along its east side. From the station platform we get a sweeping view of a southbound train making the turn in the other direction.

[picture] After heading north alongside McCormick Road for a short distance, the line turns east to run along the south side of Schilling Road (not to be confused with Schilling Circle :-). Here, a southbound train rounds the curve in the other direction.

This page was last updated on 9 May 2005, and reviewed on 14 September 2007.

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