D.C.-to-Baltimore Maglev Finds Likely Terminus

Luz Lazo at the Washington Post delves into a new environmental report on the proposed Northeast Maglev line from Washington, D.C. to New York.

The report deals with the first leg of the system, a planned 40-mile route from D.C. to Baltimore. One notable update is that project officials have identified the Mount Vernon Square area as the possible end point on the D.C. side. Multiple locations are still under consideration on the Baltimore end, including Camden Yards in the Inner Harbor and the Cherry Hill neighborhood in South Baltimore. Lazo writes:

"The Cherry Hill site offers opportunity for development in an area that hasn’t seen much investment and would be more easily accessed by riders getting to the station by car because it is less congested than downtown. The site would have a direct connection to the Maryland Transit Administration’s Cherry Hill light-rail station, and project officials say there is opportunity for a shuttle service to downtown as well as a water ferry to the Inner Harbor."

The high-speed system is expected to transport commuters from Washington to New York in an hour. The trip between D.C. and Baltimore would take 15 minutes, according to the report. That leg has a projected cost of up to $12 billion. It has secured $5 billion from Japan, where magnetic levitation technology is being developed, and $28 million from the Federal Railroad Administration.

The federal environmental review process is scheduled to be completed in early 2020, Lazo reports. The project is currently on track to begin operations in 2027.