Light Rail

Preakness transit service Light rail service * Take Light Rail to the Cold Spring Lane stop. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return service begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Metro subway service * Take Metro Subway to the Rogers Avenue Station. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return shuttle bus service to Rogers Avenue Station begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Local bus service * Nos. 27, 91, 44 lines, plus No. 54 via Park Heights Avenue all stop near the track.

Seminary Avenue at the light rail crossing in Lutherville is scheduled to be closed for five days beginning 10 a.m. Friday for track and road improvement work, the Maryland Transit Administration announced. Local businesses will remain open and all side streets and residential driveways will remain open. Through traffic along Seminary Avenue in Historic Lutherville will be detoured using Falls Road, the Baltimore Beltway, Charles Street and Bellona Avenue. During track work, MTA will provide shuttle bus service between the Timonium and Falls Road stations beginning Friday at 8 p.m. The rubberized rail crossing is being replaced to improve safety for light rail passengers and motorists on Seminary Avenue.

Light Rail service * Take Light Rail to the Cold Spring Lane stop. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return service begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Metro Subway service * Take Metro Subway to the Rogers Avenue Station. * Take the connecting shuttle bus to the track. Shuttle bus service ends at 2 p.m. * Return shuttle bus service to Rogers Avenue Station begins at approximately 6:15 p.m. and operates until 7:30 p.m. * $3.50 day pass required Local bus service * Nos. 27, 91, 44 lines, plus No. 54 via Park Heights Avenue all stop near the track.

After earlier incidents on interstates in Baltimore County and Baltimore City, area traffic moved without incident-related lane closures at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, according to the state Department of Transportation. The Maryland Transit Administration is reporting minor delays on the Metro subway and light rail at 8:30 a.m. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

Beleaguered commuters from southern Pennsylvania to Maryland will have a new alternative to driving down Interstate 83 starting today: hopping on a bus from York that connects with Baltimore's light rail system. York County's public transportation system, rabbittransit, will run six round trips each weekday day between York and Shrewsbury, Pa., and the Timonium/Hunt Valley area. The rabbitEXPRESS service, a three-year demonstration project funded by the federal government's Congestion Mitigation Air Quality fund, comes at a time when Maryland has been shedding commuter routes in response to budget problems.

A medical emergency disrupted service on the light rail between North Avenue and Falls Road late Saturday, according to tranportation officials. The nature of the medical emergency wasn't immediately clear. The Maryland Transit Administration reported the disruption around 9:30 p.m. Customers were advised to board shuttle buses on Falls Road at Union Avenue, Cold Spring Lane and Kelly Avenue. ywenger@baltsun.com twitter.com/yvonnewenger

Before he wrote "Ehrlich's stance opposing light rail could backfire" (June 17) Michael Dresser should have contacted the businessmen who had businesses in the Cromwell Shopping Center at the Glen Burnie end of the present Baltimore light rail system when it opened. His research may have taken a while, because the majority of those no longer have businesses there — the crime increase drove them away!! It was just too easy to climb on a light rail train, in a car where no driver observes the boarding passengers, and get away easily.

In the midst of the fracas over whether Shepherd Pratt can run a home for psychiatric patients ("Discrimination in Ruxton," April 25), isn't everyone forgetting Ruxton's intransigence when a light rail stop was proposed 20 years ago? Not only does the light rail conveniently bestride the Ruxton commercial district, but trains stopped there for many years when there were few if any black passengers on them. But although the MTA more or less begged Ruxton to acquiesce to a light rail stop, the community refused to have any access via the light rail.

I was disappointed to read in The Baltimore Sun that former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. has come out in strong opposition to the proposed Red Line and Purple Line light rail projects ("Ehrlich's stance opposing light rail could backfire," June 17). I was a public transportation official for more than 40 years and directly involved in mass transit projects in Baltimore, Boston, Stockholm and Washington. I believe that the Red Line, which I am more familiar with, is an urgently needed transportation improvement for the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.

As of 5:30 p.m., no significant delays because of traffic accidents were reported on area roadways. There were minor delays on light rail. From the Maryland Transit Administration: " light rail is experiencing a  service delay from Hunt Valley to Cromwell and BWI. Passengers can expect delays to last throughout the day due to equipment problems. Light rail will be single tracking [throughout] the day from Gilroy Station to Texas Station as repairs are made. " For the most up-to-date traffic information,  visit The Baltimore Sun's traffic map .

A one-vehicle crash in Baltimore County on the outer loop of Interstate 695 at the Providence Road exit has closed one of two outer loop shoulders at 9:16 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation. Also, the city Department of Transportation says it will close lanes along Pratt Street for construction beginning on Monday morning. Two lanes of Pratt Street will be closed to through traffic at the intersection of Eutaw Street from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Then at 3 p.m., a single lane of through traffic will remain closed along Pratt Street throughout the night, officials said.

Backed by an affirming legislative session and soon to be flush with transportation money, state officials went to Washington on Monday to assure the administration that Maryland has both the means and the will to build two light rail systems. "Timing is everything," said Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, after a meeting with U.S. Deputy Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari and the deputy administrator for the Federal Transit Administration. "Maryland has the resources to move forward.

Three collisions on area roadways forced lane closures toward the end of Monday morning's commute, according to the state Department of Transportation. Westbound traffic on MD 32 in Howard County was closed due to a collision at West Linden Church Road at 8:19 a.m. In Baltimore City, a collision on Interstate 95 North prior to the US 1/Caton Avenue exit has closed one of two northbound shoulders at 8:49 a.m. In Baltimore County, a single-vehicle crash on the inner loop of Interstate 695 past the North Point Boulevard exit has closed one of two inner loop shoulders at 8:55 a.m. The Maryland Transit Administration reported that morning-long delays on the light rail continued at 9:05 a.m. Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

A 49-year-old man is recovering from multiple broken bones and fractures after being struck by a light rail train in North Baltimore on Saturday night, according to a Maryland Transit Administration spokesman. Emergency responders were called to the tracks just south of the Woodberry station about 8:45 p.m. Saturday and found the injured man, who has not been publicly identified, said Terry Owens, administration spokesman. The man had been "walking on or near the tracks" when he was struck by a northbound train, Owens said.

A medical emergency disrupted service on the light rail between North Avenue and Falls Road late Saturday, according to tranportation officials. The nature of the medical emergency wasn't immediately clear. The Maryland Transit Administration reported the disruption around 9:30 p.m. Customers were advised to board shuttle buses on Falls Road at Union Avenue, Cold Spring Lane and Kelly Avenue. ywenger@baltsun.com twitter.com/yvonnewenger

MARC train and commuter bus patrons can purchase tickets online, the Maryland Transit Administration announced Friday. The consolidated ticketing service, http://MTA.CommuterDirect.com , will begin April 1. It will accept SmartBenefits, vouchers and employer-sponsored credit cards as well as split credit card payments and renewable orders. Weekly and monthly passes for MARC and commuter bus service will continue to be accepted for rides on MTA local bus, Metro subway, light rail, express bus and neighborhood shuttle service.

Judging from the June 17 front page article ("Ehrlich's stance opposing light rail could backfire"), it appears the media intends to make light rail a point of contention in the governor's race. Well, I say, bring it on! We taxpayers are smart enough to know that the existing Baltimore light rail system does not even cover half of its operating cost. And, "operating costs" do not include any of the original construction costs. If the government was paying debt service on the original capital costs of the light rail, the sum would be over $100 million annually.

Beaver Dam Road in Cockeysville has reopened after a light rail train collided with a vehicle at Warren Road, police said. No injuries have been reported, according to police. iduncan@baltsun.com twitter.com/iduncan

Three traffic incidents, including two in Anne Arundel County, forced lane closures toward the end of Wednesday's rush hour, according to the state Department of Transportation. The transportation authority reported two incidents on US 50 in Anne Arundel County. A two-vehicle collision occurred on US 50 west past Exit 32 at 8:57 a.m., said DOT, which offered no additional information. Two eastbound off-ramp lanes have been closed on US 50 at MD 450 at 8:27 a.m., because of police activity, DOT said.