Maryland Governor Moore Announces Baltimore Red Line Relaunch

Flanked by local, state, federal and community leaders, Governor Wes Moore on June 15 announced the historic relaunch of Baltimore’s Red Line, a major investment in transit to significantly enhance east-west connectivity across the Baltimore region. Governor Moore made the announcement at the West Baltimore MARC Station joined by Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller; Maryland Department of Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld and Maryland transportation officials; elected representatives from Maryland’s congressional delegation, the Maryland General Assembly, Baltimore City, Baltimore County; as well as agency partners, community advocates, and transit stakeholders representing a wide range of businesses and organizations.

Beginning two decades ago, the Baltimore Red Line proposal sought to improve transit efficiency, fill an east-west transit gap, increase access to work and activity centers, provide connections to existing transit and other transportation modes, offer more commuter choices, and support economic development and community revitalization.

In the coming months, the Maryland Transit Administration will lead the next development phase, building on community participation to update and modernize the Red Line plan to meet the region’s needs and aspirations. Key considerations include:

Transit mode: Both light rail transit and bus rapid transit options were evaluated in the prior Red Line Environmental Impact Survey and in the East-West Feasibility Study.
Tunneling: Options to reduce or eliminate tunneling downtown through on-street alignments to assess cost, benefits and drawbacks to tunneling.
Highlandtown/Bayview alignment: Due to recent development in the Highlandtown area.
Environmental changes: Assessment to reflect any conditions that have changes since 2013 and integration with other projects

The Maryland Transit Administration will request entry into the federal Capital Investment Grants program in 2024, which requires Federal Transit Administration oversight and would make significant federal financial assistance available to advance the project to full implementation.

The Maryland Transit Administration will also launch the Eastern Baltimore County Access Study to evaluate alignments for further expansions east into Baltimore County. This future phase of the Red Line will seek to connect the current alignment to the job centers in eastern Baltimore County.

-via Press Release