Washington, D.C. Railroads- Part 1: The Network

From Greater, Greater Washington:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=3353

Washington's rails, part 1: The network

Photo by the author.

by Matt Johnson

When the railroad first reached Washington in 1835, the Capital was a very different place. Over the next century and a half, urbanization, alternative transportation, and major shifts in commerce have dramatically changed the situation facing railroads. Yet the railroad infrastructure in the Washington-Baltimore area seen little change since the turn of the century.

The Washington region sits along some of the busiest rail tracks in the United States. Unfortunately, our rail network includes some of the oldest track in the country. The B&O's Old Main Line, running from Baltimore to Point of Rocks, southwest of Frederick, was one of the first railways constructed in America, and the Carrollton Viaduct in Baltimore City is the oldest operating railroad bridge in the world.

Today's trends bring new challenges and new opportunities for our railroads, but major upgrades are needed. With a new administration in the White House and stimulus dollars looking for projects, the prospects are good that we will soon see some improvements to the rail network.

A couple of rail projects are on the horizon. These undertakings will improve the flow of passengers and freight through the region. Before describing these projects, however, it is necessary to put the network in context.

Washington sits at the intersection of the main freight route from the south along the East Coast meets the main freight route traveling from Mid-Atlantic ports to the Mid-West. Additionally, Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor (NEC) starts in Washington and runs through Baltimore on its way to New York and Boston.

Trains from the south approach Washington on CSX's RF&P Subdivision, traveling through Richmond and Fredericksburg. South of Alexandria, the line meets the Norfolk Southern (NS) Washington District, which approaches from Lynchburg and Manassas.

While CSX's main East Coast line runs through Washington, NS sends trains far to the west of the region. Trains on CSX's RF&P Subdivision continue northward along the Potomac, crossing the river on the Long Bridge, which sits adjacent to the 14th Street Bridges and Yellow Line bridge. At Third Street NW, the CSX line meets the Amtrak tracks leading to Union Station from the First Street Tunnel.

Freight trains, however, do not pass through the First Street Tunnel. Instead, they continue along Virginia Avenue in a southeasterly direction. After passing through the single-track Virginia Avenue Tunnel, trains cross over the Anacostia River, and turn northeast to parallel Minnesota Avenue. After passing the Deanwood Metro stop, the CSX line turns north, crossing the Orange Line and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Passing through Bladensburg, the line intersects CSX's main east-west route from the Mid-Atlantic at Hyattsville.

Freight trains originating northeast of Washington travel south from Baltimore through College Park on CSX's Capital Subdivision. At Hyattsville, trains can turn south or continue toward the Midwest. Trains continuing toward the Midwest head from Hyattsville down to Ivy City, just north of Union Station. At this point, Midwest-bound trains turn northwest along CSX's Metropolitan Subdivision and pass through Silver Spring and Rockville.

(see original for continuation about Baltimore)

Will the HAZMAT Railroad Relocation Succumb to Resentment Politics?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/04/05/GR2007040500186.html

Maryland officials oppose the two southerly route options for transferring the Washington, D.C. burden to significantly longer routes through Maryland.

The position of Virginia (if there is one) is not reported, AFAIK.

Washington, D.C. officials favor any choice amongst these three options, whether the 2 significantly longer options through Maryland, or the new tunnel through D.C. along the south (east) side of the Anacostia River.

According to the statement (PDF) given by Joseph Passonneau, the people there will not tolerate this through their community, even though involving an already existing railroad and highway corridor. This suggests that the people there already see their area as having a disproportionate portion of the burden; they have suggested that D.C. spread the burden.

This status quo reminds me of Ben Franklin's statement that "we can hang together or separately," with our Nation's Capital being ruled by a spirit of parochialism.

Maryland Officials Oppose Longer HAZMAT Rail Routes through their state

The Two Long Routes Through Maryland

href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.rail06apr06,0,1273945.story?coll=bal-local-headlines">http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffic/bal-md.rail06apr06,0,1273945.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

There's a difference of opinion between Washington, D.C. and Maryland officials regarding the newly released HAZMAT railroad relocation study, with Maryland officials strongly opposed to two route options that significantly lengthen the route segment in Maryland. From The Baltimore Sun:

The report was praised by the District of Columbia government, which commissioned the report. "This study shows that it is possible to eliminate a serious security threat to the nation's capital," said Emeka Moneme, director of the District's Department of Transportation.

But Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said two of the proposed routes were "simply unacceptable" and expressed skepticism about the third.

District leaders have long been concerned that the CSX freight line through Washington, which runs just blocks from the National Mall and the Capitol, could pose an inviting target for terrorists. Among other cargoes, the railroad line has carried tank cars with such hazardous contents as chlorine.

The report also ran into political trouble on Capitol Hill, where the No. 2 leader in the House of Representatives expressed concern that two of the proposed routes would run through the growing Southern Maryland counties he represents.

"While I remain supportive of efforts to secure the National Capital Region by reducing the threats posed by hazardous cargo, I would be strongly opposed to any plan that would only shift the potential risk to other parts of the region or that would come at the expense of the communities along the alternative routes," said Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in a statement issued by his office.

The report suggested three routes -- each costing billions of dollars and involving a new crossing of the Potomac River -- to bypass the current bridge near the Jefferson Memorial:

• A tunnel running from the Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Va., to the Anacostia region of Southeast Washington.

• A crossing from Stafford County, Va., to western Charles County, connecting to an existing railroad in Waldorf.

• A route across the Potomac near the U.S. 301 bridge, passing through La Plata on its way to Waldorf.

Porcari, who was briefed on the report last week, fired off a blunt letter accusing the Washington planning commission of ignoring the potential dangers of diverting hazardous cargo through Southern Maryland.

"You have not solved the security problem, but have simply displaced it," Porcari wrote.

Bill Dowd, the commission's director of project planning, rejected Porcari's criticism. He called the objections from Maryland "premature" and denied that Southern Maryland residents would face the same level of threats as District of Columbia now do.

Here's an interesting thread at misc.transport.road

D.C. Area Freight Railroad Future?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/04/05/GR2007040500186.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040402623.html

Yesterday the Washington Post reported, in an article "Study Proposes Rerouting Hazmat Trains to Maryland" on a new proposal for re-routing rail freight - including HAZMAT - away from downtown Washington, D.C.

Two would re-route entirely around Washington, D.C., while the 3rd option would re-route through a new tunnel from Potomac Yards in Virginia, through Washington, D.C. along the south (eastern) bank of the Anacostia River next to I-295/DC 295 Kenilworth Avenue SE.

Maryland officials are displeased with the two options to go around Washington, D.C.

D.C. Mayor Fenty is currently undecided.

This idea scraps the earlier idea of running such freight into a new north-south railroad tunnel near 1st Street SE connecting to the railroads behind (north of) Union Station.

This may be an answer to criticisms, including mine (see comments following Rodney Slater), against the future juxtaposition of said tunnel all too close to the poorly placed Nationals Stadium (which appeared in planning after this north south tunnel was proposed in the 1997 "Extending the Legacy: Planning America's Capital for the 21st Century").


USNCPC Press Release, April 5, 2007

According to Joseph Passonneau, whose work on the SW/SE Freeway I detailed here:

http://www.ddot.dc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=/ddot/lib/ddot/information/studies/anacostia/pdf/South/1_Preface.pdf

Third, the proposal to relocate the railroad south of the Anacostia River would not be tolerated by that neighborhood, and WMATA plans to use the present, abandoned railroad right-of-way for public transit. But the railroad could be carried, continuously with the passenger railroad, to reach the marshalling yards north of New York Avenue. As part of the freeway building mania after the Second World War, an underpass was created on South Capitol Street, at South M Street. NCPC has also recommended that this underpass be eliminated and that South Capitol Street be recreated as a tree-lined boulevard.