Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line -- Second Time A Charm?

"Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line is getting its second chance to win the hearts of commuters."

"The light rail will assume its full role in the region's transportation network tomorrow as the 14-year-old transit system operates for the first time as a two-track line for virtually all its route from Hunt Valley to Anne Arundel County."

"The renovation will increase the system's capacity and eliminate the delays caused by single-track bottlenecks."

"Still up in the air is whether double-tracking is the charm that will make Baltimore finally embrace light rail - a system that critics contend was built 'on the cheap' -- with the same fervor that such cities as Denver and Portland, Ore., have. At station after station along its route, abundant empty parking spaces in free lots tell a story of an underused transit resource."

"But aboard a near-empty light rail train heading south from Timonium last week, lawyer Paul Hazlehurst said the double-tracking project is already paying big dividends in terms of reliability. He said he used to have to wait 20 to 30 minutes for a train. But no more."