Rail Line

It's a good thing the folks at the Mass Transit Administration don't take their cues from their boss, Gov. William Donald Schaefer.MTA officials who oversee the Central Light Rail Line that runs between Timonium and Glen Burnie were alarmed at the increase in crime statistics along the line: 71 incidents of assaults, robberies and car thefts on or near the light rail system from June to December last year. On top of that was a sharp rise in shoplifting at some stores near the line. The MTA, to its credit, admitted that it underestimated the vulnerability of the light rail system it unveiled two years ago and now is taking corrective measures.

An article in the April 19, 1913, edition of The Argus announced the return of familiar face on the rail cars . Not content with sitting on a slow-moving auto truck, Charles Bujac of Catonsville, one of the oldest motormen in the employ of the United Railways, is back again on the cars and will probably remain in that position for the rest of his active days. The lure of the old "Speeders" proved too strong for "Uncle Charlie," as he is known by all the men on the line, and so, to the great delight of his many co-laborers and friends, he may be seen traveling to and from Towson to Catonsville Junction on the back of a United States mail car. He is no longer guardian of the brakes which he so greatly loved, but rides on the back of the car in charge of the bell.

The light rail line connecting Timonium with Glen Burnie was stopped in downtown Baltimore yesterday after a block of concrete fell from an old Howard Street department store onto the sidewalk near the rail, Mass Transit Administration officials said.Trains were halted at the Lexington Market stop between 11:25 a.m. and 2:25 p.m. after a piece of the former Stewart & Co. store building fell.Officials said they wanted to make sure there was not more structural damage that could affect the nearby rail line.

Even though there's no promise of construction money, the state is pushing ahead to draft blueprints for Baltimore's $2.2 billion Red Line light rail project. The Maryland Transit Authority has asked a regional transportation panel to approve $55.6 million in federal funds for preliminary engineering — a request that was put on hold last year until congressional passage of a two-year, $105 billion transportation package. The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is scheduled to vote on the request Nov. 27 and will accept public comments at a meeting Thursday afternoon at Baltimore Metropolitan Council headquarters.

CONGRATULATIONS on your editorial on "Putting the 'mass' in mass transit" (Jan. 6). You were right on target on almost everything said.One important point you missed is the strong need for extending the central light rail system through Penn Station and down Guilford Avenue/South Street to serve the office areas that flank the east side of the central business district.Extending light rail to the eastern part of downtown would greatly increase the viability and utility of the line, because it does not serve where most people work.

Plans to expand the Central Light Rail Line received a major boost yesterday with a pledge of $85 million in construction funds from the federal government.The money will cover 80 percent of the cost to extend light rail to Hunt Valley, Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Pennsylvania Station. The remaining $21 million of the $106 million project will come from the state.Federal Transit Administration (FTA) officials yesterday also pledged $37 million for improvements to the Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC)

As of 9 a.m., traffic was slow on Route 295 southbound at Route 195 in Anne Arundel County, due to an accident involving three vehicles. Debris in the road was slowing traffic on Falls Road near Shawan Road in Baltimore County. The Maryland Transit Administration is warning passengers to expect delays on the light rail line from Cromwell to Hunt Valley. The 9:28 a.m. trip from Cromwell has been canceled. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work.

Federal immigration authorities announced today that they have charged a Delaware contractor with employing an illegal alien while laying track for the Baltimore area's light-rail line.The Immigration and Naturalization Service is seeking $22,100 in fines from Metroplex Corp. of Dover, Del.INS says the company employed an illegal alien and failed to properly verify the identities and employment eligibilities of its workers, according to an INS news release.Metroplex, a specialized construction firm, can pay the fine or challenge the charge before an administrative law judge, the INS reported.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, traffic was slow on I-83 southbound near Old Pimlico Road, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on Route 100 westbound near Oakwood Road in Anne Arundel County and Putty Hill Avenue and Goucher Boulevard in Baltimore County. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. Otherwise, there were no major delays reported on Baltimore area transit systems.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland's MARC commuter rail line will receive $23.5 million under an agreement by House and Senate negotiators hammering out the $14 billion federal transportation budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.But working late Friday, the negotiators shut out Baltimore's light-rail line in the scramble for federal dollars, aides to Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland said yesterday.State officials were delighted with the MARC financing. They also said the absence of federal money this year for the light-rail extensions will have no impact because much of the money LTC already has been approved by Congress but has yet to be spent.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, traffic was slow on I-70 westbound near I-695 in Baltimore County, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on Route 97 near Hook Road in Westminster, Park Heights Avenue near Devonshire Drive in Baltimore City, Old Stockbridge Road near Meadowridge Road in Ellicott City, and Fort Smallwood Road near Cloverhill Road in Anne Arundel County. Traffic signals were malfunctioning on College Parkway at Green Holly Drive in Annapolis. A disabled vehicle was blocking traffic on I-895 northbound near the Harbor Tunnel in Baltimore City.

I've lived in Baltimore most of my life and own a house in the city, but I travel for work, and when I go to Portland I stay at a hotel along the streetcar line, in Seattle along the streetcar line, in San Francisco along one of their streetcar lines, and in New Orleans at a hotel with the streetcar out front. When people who don't know Baltimore come to visit, I tell them to find a place along the light rail line, usually in the county. Begin to see a theme here? Why, because you always know where it is going.

After the frost lowers the mosquito population, a dedicated group of park builders will be clearing a path through the middle of Catonsville. They are reclaiming the old right of way of the Catonsville Short Line Railroad, a route that has been overtaken by weeds and trees since the last train left for good in the spring of 1972. The summer's storms, including the June 29 derecho, felled tree limbs along what had been a tidy gravel walking path, which is now being expanded through several neighborhoods within greater Catonsville.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, traffic was slow on U.S. 50 westbound at Md. 450, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on the outer loop of I-695 near Security Boulevard in Baltimore County, Hollins Ferry Road near Hammonds Ferry Road in Baltimore County, Route 32 eastbound near I-95 in Howard County, the Belair Bypass near Route 24 in Harford County, Carroll Island Road near Eastern Avenue in Middle River, and Mayfield Avenue near Windsor Mill...

Loved ones and friends prepared to say goodbye to the two young women who perished in a train derailment in Ellicott City as the first of the viewings began Thursday evening. Cars lined both sides of the quiet residential street leading up to the Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City for the viewing for Elizabeth Conway Nass. At 6 p.m., about 100 people stood queued down a brick stairway of the Roman Catholic church from a sprawling parking lot where most of the spots were filled.

- Is it any wonder that a city renowned for its lofty skyscrapers has created a stunning park in the sky? The High Line Park, a 1930s-era elevated rail line, has been transformed into vibrant green space, perched some 30 feet above Manhattan. There aren't many spots in a bustling city where the cacophony of horns and rushing traffic below melds with the Zen-like peace of an urban sanctuary up above. Yet the High Line, which was opened in 2009 and bills itself as the first public park of its kind nationwide, manages to achieve that feat.

The $446 million Central Light Rail Line's first steel rails were tamped into place over the weekend near the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium during a 40-hour marathon work session."

As of 9 a.m. Monday, traffic was slow on I-95 northbound at Washington Boulevard, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on Route 24 at Route 40 in Harford County and U.S. 50 westbound at Patuxent River Road. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. The Maryland Transit Administration is reporting minor delays in light rail service from Timonium to Cromwell and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, traffic was slow on I-95 northbound at Washington Boulevard, due to an accident. Accidents were slowing traffic on Route 24 at Route 40 in Harford County and U.S. 50 westbound at Patuxent River Road. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. The Maryland Transit Administration is reporting minor delays in light rail service from Timonium to Cromwell and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.