Passenger Trains > Amtrak's New Baltimore Tunnel

Properly dedicated in name to Frederick Douglass:     https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21227570/amtraks-new-bp-tunnel-to-be-named-after-abolitionist-frederick-douglass



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/24/21 10:19 by Molino.

To make such a dedication is nice and proper.  But did the latest infrastructure bill contain the money to build it??

I see they mention that MARC promises to use electrics in the tunnel to mitigate emissions...so did they reach an agreement with Amtrak on the electric power rates?  My understanding was MARC was running diesels at one time on the Penn Line because the electric utility costs were too high.

-Sean

Back in the day of MARC AEM-7 locomotives, Amtrak claimed that MARC's electric locomotives ran only in "peak" demand periods, therefore it cost Amtrak more for electricity, thus MARC had to pay more for their electricity.   Amtrak wasn't interested in actually billing MARC for power used, it was pro-rated, because it was easier for Amtrak.  Now they want to swing the pendulum the other way from diesels and go all electric...  At least electric locomotives can take advantage of the 110 mph NEC trackage.  Recent MARC diesels aren't rated for that kind of speed, as were their earlier ones. Oh well, nothing ever stays the same...

In my experience of making plenty of railfan trips to MARC's Penn Line and this was after the MARC Toasters were retired, I noticed most of the time their electrics have operated mainly during rush hour. With this brand new tunnel coming, it will be great to see MARC now looking at purchasing electric locomotives. Even if they are dual mode, it's also great to note that they will run on electric power. The catenary is there so let's use it. This will help provide more MARC frequencies and this is critical, especially if and after MARC crosses into Delaware to serve Newark and Wilmington. For the service to Delaware, all of the trains should make very few stops between DC-BAL like NCR and BWI, and north of BAL, it's fine to probably make every stop. For the BAL-DC stops, have trains only run between BAL-DC. This added tunnel capacity will help. It's great that the original tunnels are staying as MARC will probably still use straight diesels on the Penn Line. It's also possible that Amtrak may need them for straight diesel trains as well. The older tunnels will have to get rehabbed.