Craig W. Barrett, Hughesville, REALTOR (r)
Hughesville, MD Real Estate
I've been following an interesting subject that affects the quality of life for residents of Hughesville and Southern Maryland. The subject is the addition of Commuter rail cars on existing CSX rail lines. This is an excellent opportunity to provide a valuable service to the residents of Hughesville and all of Southern Maryland.
Maryland Senator Roy Dyson has been trying for years to get some traction on this issue and it appears we may have some. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer apparently contacted Governer Martin O'Malley and Transportation Secretary Porcari to urge them to include Southern Maryland in MARC Train plans. Following are excerpts from an October 1, 2007 article in St. Mary's Today.
"We got our transportation study commission in place and we have seen some reports and officials visiting the area and right away we have ridiculous talk about examining the Rt. 5 corridor from Waldorf to Clinton for a right of way to connect Waldorf to Metro," said Sen. Dyson. "That option is no option at all and all it does it take valuable time and money away from the possible while holding out hope for the impossible. We will never be able to afford the bill for that option, not with the current fiscal crisis we are in and the state of the economy. I have never seen the time when the state or federal government would fund a potential $3 billion project like that, why not do what is affordable?"
"We can, however, work with CSX to add commuter trains to the existing rail lines, they want double tracking and at least the right-of-way is in place and using the rail system in place gives us a chance to link our region with the rest of the state," said Sen. Dyson.
CSX has rail lines which extend from the two power plants in Charles County, one at the Potomac River at Morgantown and the other at Chalk Point on the Patuxent River. The CSX rail line straddles part of the Prince George's and Charles county line through Hughesville.
"We can add locomotives and passenger cars, we can work with the railroad to make improvements to accommodate passenger service and we can work to get a lot of vehicles off the road, save on gasoline, save on emissions from traffic and save on a lot of people’s nerves," said Sen. Dyson.
Dyson pointed to the rail line right-of-way which extends from the CSX line at Gallant Green in Hughesville to Lexington Park as an easy way to further extend rail service to the region.
"They never sent light rail to Glen Burnie because they didn’t have a right-of-way, there from Baltimore and couldn’t afford to buy it," said Dyson. "We still have our right-of-way 95 percent intact and we had a feasibility study conducted by the Department of Transportation 7 years ago which called for this valuable asset to be protected from further encroachments and easements and I am concerned that the recommendations of the feasibility study be followed."
"We need to set priorities and concentrate on the possible," said Dyson.
Delusional Duck has blogged about the issue and apparently Commissioner Gary Hodge has an opposing view he expressed to the Washington Post. Commission Hodge proposed light-rail similar to trolley-type cars because he fears the growth will be more rapid than with another rail solution. I assume the trolley-type car is smaller and will carry less people. I think this solution is short-sighted and will not be able to handle the current and future needs of the entire Southern Maryland region.
I think Senator Dyson and Representative Hoyer are right. We need a quality solution that will serve the transportation needs of the current and future residents of the entire Southern Maryland region. Growth in Hughesville and Southern Maryland is unavoidable, the growth will come and all agree controlled growth is best. Progressive, local solutions enhance quality of life. The solution of using existing CSX lines for commuter rail makes sense.
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Great Post Craig! SOMD NEEDS something like this to better connect it to D.C. I think the distance from the city is the single largest complaint I head from out of town clients, and we as a county need to do something about that! I have thought a rail line would be ideal for some time now, but I worry about the cost-effectiveness. I suppose time will tell.
Jonathan - Thanks, you're absolutely right, Southern Maryland needs something. I do think that something is commuter rail. The infrastructure largely exists and right-of-ways are something like 95% intact. The CSX lines largely run parallel to commuter routes 5, 301, and Route 231 and would be able to service a greater community. It's a realistic and viable mass-transit solution.
Building something, like an extension of Meto to Waldorf, will take a lot of money (billions) and a lot of time (15-20 years). Northern Virginia's Dulles extension is years 10-15 years away from completion and they planned that years ago. We need a solution that serves the entire Southern Maryland region now and I believe that solution is commuter rail.
Shelly - Thanks for the comment. That's what I think might happen. I think everyone agrees a mass-transit solution is needed for the Southern Maryland region, but lets not sell ourselves short by offering an inadequate solution that will service only one part of the region. It doesn't make any sense.