Rail Service

A light rail train driver and five passengers were taken to hospitals with minor injuries after the train and a tractor-trailer truck collided yesterday in Hunt Valley, authorities said. The train was derailed by the collision, leading to an interruption of service in the area. The truck driver was traveling south on Gilroy Road near Schilling Circle about 10:45 a.m. when he made a left turn to cross the tracks, according to Maj. Stanford Franklin, a Maryland Transit Administration police spokesman.

The remnants of Hurricane Jeanne saturated Maryland today, closing several roads in Western Maryland, snarling rush-hour traffic for many and slowing rail service in Baltimore. Light rail service between the Warren Road and Hunt Valley stations was interrupted because of downed power lines at the Gilroy Station, said Richard Scher, a Maryland Transit Administration spokesman. MTA buses at the Warren Road station will provide transportation to each of the five stations up to Hunt Valley, Scher said.

Amtrak, long one of the favorite whipping boys of fiscal conservatives, is getting another thrashing from Mitt Romney and the Republicans. From all the attacks, one might think that the nation's bargain-basement passenger rail system was the cause of the federal deficit. The reality is that Amtrak is attracting record ridership: 30 million passengers last year, and every month in the current fiscal year has been a record-setter, too. Amtrak ridership has increased more than 40 percent over the past decade, and that's not counting the millions more who ride commuter rail lines that depend on Amtrak infrastructure.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department officials say a shuttle bus at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport overturned Sunday morning, injuring three people and temporarily interrupting light rail service in that area. The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m., and the shuttle overturned near the intersection of Route 170 and Terminal Road, fire officials said. Three people were hurt, fire officials said. One refused medical treatment and the other two were taken via ambulance to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center with minor injuries, officials said.

Should you drive or ride the new light rail connection to the airport? It depends on what's more valuable to you: time or money.From Hunt Valley, you're apt to save 30 minutes by car, but you'll spend at least $14 more for the privilege.That's the result of a test by The Sun this week. Two reporters set out from the Hunt Valley light rail stop about 7: 45 a.m., one by car and the other by light rail. Their goal: to reach the TWA ticket counter at Baltimore-Washington International Airport the recommended hour before a 10: 15 flight to New York.

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. Wednesday, traffic was slow on Route 543 at Prospect Mill Road in Harford County, due to an accident. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. There are no other delays reported on Baltimore area transit systems.

Absolutely. Amtrak, the nation's passenger rail system, isn't about to expire. Efforts by congressional conservatives to kill its $1 billion federal subsidy have run into unexpected opposition from unexpected sources. Two rounds of steep cuts, including one last week, improve Amtrak's immediate outlook. Yet the long-term picture isn't rosy.The basic problem is that members of Congress want to have it both ways: They crave a first-rate rail system but they don't want to pay for it. Ever since Ronald Reagan targeted Amtrak for elimination, the railroad's fiscal situation has gotten progressively worse.

In Baltimore County Man uses bomb threat to rob Allfirst bank in Hunt Valley Mall HUNT VALLEY -- A man who claimed to be carrying a bomb robbed an Allfirst Bank at the Hunt Valley Mall of an unknown amount of money yesterday morning. The man entered the bank on Shawan Road about 11:30 a.m. and told a teller that he had a bomb in his shopping bag and would set off unless the teller gave him cash, said Baltimore County Police Officer Norris McKee. Once the man was given money, he left on foot, leaving the bag at the bank, McKee said.

WASHINGTON - The House voted yesterday to authorize $60 million in federal funding to study a way around a 135-year-old rail tunnel that imposes speed and height restrictions on modern passenger and freight trains as they pass through Baltimore. Lawmakers approved the money as part of a $14.9 billion bill to reauthorize Amtrak for the next five years. The 311-104 vote far exceeded the two-thirds necessary to override a veto threatened by the White House, which said the bill lacked "basic measures" to hold the national passenger rail service accountable for its spending.