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A proposed $150 million CSX train cargo transfer facility the state considers vital to Baltimore's port won't be built in Elkridge, according to Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, but Gov. Martin O'Malley is resisting calls from residents to remove the community from a list of four possible sites. "I've been very clear to CSX and Maryland Department of Transportation that I will only support a site if it has no impact on existing neighborhoods," Ulman said this week. "This [Elkridge]

Elkridge residents are organizing an aggressive campaign to remove their area from consideration for a proposed rail container transfer facility that has also thrown a monkey wrench into Howard County's plans for a new elementary school nearby. "We want to see if our elected officials can get this site taken off the list today," said Howard Johnson, president of the Greater Elkridge Community Association. Residents working under his group's umbrella have created a Facebook page on the issue and written a nine-page letter to elected officials detailing their opposition.

Two CSX freight trains -- one passing through Baltimore, the other through Baltimore County -- struck pedestrians within 35 minutes in separate incidents early Sunday, a spokesman for the train line said. The first incident occurred at 3:10 a.m. when a 23-car train transferring from the Curtis Bay rail yard to Bayview struck an unidentified pedestrian near M&T Bank Stadium, according to Robert Sullivan, regional spokesman for CSX. The accident occurred in the 1200 block of Russell St. The injured person was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

State transportation officials have narrowed their list of potential sites for a $150 million truck-to-rail CSX container transfer facility along the main Camden rail line from 12 to four finalists, including two in Howard, one in Anne Arundel and one in Prince George's counties. One of the four sites is stirring controversy because its location — at Hanover and Race roads in Elkridge — is near a potential site for a much-needed new elementary school. The school, if built, would sit next to Coca Cola Drive in a planned 1,000-apartment, mixed-use development called Oxford Square, on the north side of Route 100 near the Dorsey commuter train station.

State transportation officials met last week with a group of Howard County residents and school officials to discuss concerns that a possible container transfer facility might affect plans for a new school in the area. The Maryland Department of Transportation is considering a dozen potential rail facility locations — including two in Howard County — for a CSX facility that would allow trucks to transfer cargo to and from rail cars 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The facility is slated be moved from the port of Baltimore to free up space for international cargo.

Howard County officials have postponed a decision about a site for a new school in Elkridge this week, citing concerns among neighbors that the state is eyeing their backyard as a site for a new rail transfer facility. Howard's school board delayed voting Thursday night on a plan to build a badly needed elementary school on a 20-acres donated by a developer next to Coca Cola Drive, where big trucks carrying cargo containers could rumble 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if an adjacent parcel is chosen for the transfer facility.

Service on MARC's Camden Line was restored Tuesday afternoon between Washington and Baltimore while Anne Arundel County firefighters investigated possible chemical leaks on a mile-long CSX train, fire and transit officials said. MTA spokesman David Clark said Train 853 is departing Dorsey operating about 45 minutes late. Passengers should expect 5-10 minute delays between Savage and Dorsey, Clark said. The CSX train was stopped at Montevideo Road at the Anne Arundel-Howard County line about 1:40 p.m., said Division Chief Michael Cox, an Anne Arundel fire spokesman.

Maryland has canceled the bidding on a contract to take over the operations of the MARC Camden and Brunswick lines from CSX, saying its bid solicitation had failed to generate sufficient competition for the work. "We were not happy with the competition or lack of competition," said state Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley. Swaim-Staley said the Maryland Transit Administration would revise its request for proposals in an effort to make it more attractive for bidders.

CSX Transportation's newly retrofitted, $1.4 million, low-emissions, fuel-conserving diesel locomotive gleamed as it was put on display for visiting dignitaries at Camden Yards Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, it will be hard at work at the grunt labor of pulling trains apart and pushing them together at the gritty CSX rail yard in Curtis Bay. CSX officials said it might not get another visit to the ballpark for a long time. "It will go to work," said CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan.

As she looked at the freshly painted benches and leafy new trees, Betty Bland-Thomas said she felt a little more alive. "People need space," said the South Baltimore community leader, watching her neighborhood park receive a rapid facelift Saturday morning. "We can't always be surrounded by concrete. You need your bread and butter and running water, but you also need grass and trees to have real quality of life. " Bland-Thomas had an unlikely source to thank for the dose of green renewal.