Maryland Legislators Override Governor’s Veto to Support Regional Rail Investments

“Maryland passed legislation to expedite rail projects and expand commuter train operations, as state lawmakers on Saturday overrode the veto of Gov. Larry Hogan (R),” reports Luz Lazo for the Washington Post.

“The measure, the Maryland Regional Rail Transformation Act, moves forward a plan that aims to extend MARC trains past Union Station in the District and into Virginia in coming years, and it requires Maryland to advance design of rail projects that could use federal infrastructure money,” adds Lazo.

As reported in an article by Lazo in March 2020, The larger regional plan for rail transit in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. first won support from Maryland Legislators at the end of a legislative session cut short by the public health crisis at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Planetizen also shared news about the vision’s support from regional transit advocates in February 2021.

Gov. Hogan has been no friend to public transit ambitions during his tenure, infamously rescinding a plan to build rail transit in Baltimore (and attracting civil right scrutiny in the process) and most recently championing a major expansion of interstate capacity in the state.