Baltimore Grand Slam
Ameristar Rail interviewed on “Rail Group On Air”
Railway Track & Structures Editor-in-Chief Bill Wilson talks with AmeriStarRail's Scott Spencer about the proposed Grand Slam project that would run through downtown Baltimore.
Proposal
February 16, 2022
Ms. Holly Arnold
Administrator
MDOT Maryland Transit Administration
6 St. Paul Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Dear Administrator Arnold,
AmeriStarRail (ASR) has developed a private sector initiative to improve Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor services with expanded high-speed, higher frequency, high performance service asdetailed on our website www.AmeriStarRail.com.
Bringing faster Northeast Corridor service to a new downtown Amtrak Baltimore station is an important strategy for growing Amtrak ridership. For this reason, AmeriStarRail has been studying solutions to replace Amtrak’s current circuitous, Civil War era tunnel route and the inconveniently located Baltimore Penn Station with new crosstown high-speed rail tunnels to bring Amtrak and MARC rail service to the Charles Center area of Baltimore.
In conjunction with Skarda and Associates, Inc., a Baltimore based structural engineering firm and Century Engineering, LLC, (a Kleinfelder Company) an engineering firm with headquarters in Hunt Valley, Maryland, we are pleased to propose an innovative solution to bring Amtrak and MARC service to the heart of Baltimore to dramatically improve rail access to downtown Baltimore and create an east - west transit line linking 6 of the 10 largest employers, including the four largest in Baltimore.
Called the Baltimore Grand Slam, it will create a winning solution for Baltimore’s future with four high capacity, high-speed railroad tunnels for passenger trains only. Freight trains would continue to use existing railroad routes through the city. As illustrated in the attached drawings, the Baltimore Grand Slam will replace Amtrak’s Penn Station and its 19th Century tunnel infrastructure with the Baltimore Crosstown Rail (BCR) Tunnel, a new four-track, intercity, commuter rail and metro tunnel through the heart of Baltimore, built for 125+ mph high-speed rail operation with a new central station — the Frederick Douglass Freedom Station — sited within walking distance of Charles Center and other businesses, sports and tourist venues, and the Baltimore Convention Center as well as transit connections with the Metro, Light Rail, MARC’s Camden Line and the Baltimore Water Taxi.
All MARC Penn Line trains will be routed through the Baltimore Crosstown Rail Tunnel and extend eastward to directly serve both of the Johns Hopkins main and Bayview campuses and a new 2500-car park-ride station at I-895 in Bayview.
A new urban rail transit line will also use the BCR Tunnel—the Baltimore Crosstown Metro (BXM) —running between the Bayview/I-895 park-ride and two other park-ride lots at I-695 and I-195 in Baltimore County, adding 2700 more parking spaces. The new high frequency, high performance East-West metro rail service will operate every 10 minutes from 5 AM to Midnight, 7 days-a-week, using self-propelled, electrically powered railroad passenger cars equipped with high capacity transit-type seating and doorways.
The Baltimore Crosstown Rail Tunnel will consist of four tubes. The tunnels will be bored deep enough to avoid construction impacts on streets, utilities, and building foundations. On the lower level, two single track tunnel bores will be dedicated for Amtrak trains. On the upper level, two single track tunnel bores will be shared by MARC and BXM trains.
For added resilience during a disrupted service condition, however, Amtrak trains could safely operate via any BCR Tunnel track.
The BCR Tunnel offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Baltimore to step away from the limitations of 19th Century compromises. It is a Baltimore Bold solution to start over with a new highspeed, high-capacity crosstown connector serving Baltimore’s current and future transportation needs. Spending limited capital resources on a single-purpose B&P Tunnel bypass will leave more problems unresolved than it fixes, such as the deteriorating 1873 Union Tunnel, Baltimore’s Penn Station more than a mile from downtown destinations and a two-track bottleneck on the mostly four track Northeast Corridor for generations to come.
The Baltimore Crosstown Rail Tunnel will have a profound and positive impact on how passengers arrive, depart and travel through the city for the next 150 years, well into the 23rd Century, fueling the economic engine of Baltimore's future.
Now—when the National Agenda is focused on improved infrastructure—it is the time to consider bold and transformational investments that will carry Baltimore and the Northeastern US into a new, dynamic future with a world-class high-speed rail, commuter rail and metro route. ASR has begun discussions with concerned Baltimore neighborhood groups to detail how the AmeriStarRail Baltimore Grand Slam solution will revolutionize Amtrak, MARC and mass transit access to downtown Baltimore and city neighborhoods, reduce car traffic, increase transit connectivity and generate more jobs and economic development than Amtrak’s proposed replacement of the B&P Tunnels. We understand that neighborhood participation and support is key to the success of this proposal.
The Baltimore Grand Slam system solution is the result of significant time, effort and resources and are the intellectual property of AmeriStarRail. ASR, Skarda and Associates and Century Engineering would be technical advisors for MDOT and the MTA in connection with the development and completion of the AmeriStarRail Baltimore Grand Slam solution on terms to be discussed and agreed.
This letter is simply an introduction to the AmeriStarRail Baltimore Grand Slam solution. We recognize that this proposal contemplates a complex, forward-thinking infrastructure project that will take time to analyze and consider. In that regard, we are available to discuss it in greater detail with you and your staff, MDOT, MTA and Baltimore city officials. We look forward to hearing from you and working with all stakeholders to implement this project.
Sincerely,
Scott R. Spencer
Chief Operating Officer
