Subway of Baltimore

The urban rail network of Baltimore includes/understands a single line of Métro inaugurated in 1983, a tram line (Exchange light rail line)] several time, startup in 1992 prolonged, and three suburban lines, the MARC network.

History and construction

Partly to make revive the old and devalued central districts, a study financed by the town of Baltimore proposed in 1968 the establishment of a network of six lines of rail-bound transport. In 1971, was created the Département of Transport of the Maryland in load of the whole of transport on the territory of the State. Public transport of Baltimore is of this fact managed by the Farmhouse Transit Administration, which depends on an administration of State, which is rare with the the United States. In 1972, Maryland decided the construction of the first phase of the network envisaged, an underground line of 45 km. But, taking into account financial means the concerned ones, only an initial section of the north-western line, between the downtown area with Charles Center and Reisterstown Plaza, called section has, accepted the federal authorization. The funds were to come from the federal funds (80%) and the funds of Maryland (20%). The building work began in December 1976 and the line was brought into service the November 21st 1983.
La section has is in tunnel starting from the district of business in Charles Center until the exclusive right of way of the Western Maryland Railway, then passes into air parallel to the railway line until Reisterstown Plaza. The course includes/understands nine stations, six in underground and three air; on the 12,8 km of course, 7,2 km are in tunnel (5 km of drilled tunnel and 2,2 km in distinct glaze), 4,8 km above the ground and 0,8 km on the surface. The total costs of the design and the construction of the section have rose to $800 million.
La section B is an extension towards the North-West to Owings Mills, of 9,6 km and three stations. It is entirely surfaces some borrowing the median section of a highway built simultaneously. Its cost reached $250 million. Its construction started in 1981 and it was inaugurated in July 1987.
In May 1995 the section C added to the subway two additional stations and 2,4 km, entirely in tunnel. The new section went from Charles Center towards the hospital Johns Hopkins, one of the largest employers of the city. The cost of this section was evaluated to $340 million.
Au total the single underground line of Baltimore includes/understands 24,8 km, 14 stations (9,6 km in underground, 4,8 km into air, 10,4 km on the surface).

Stations

Stations of the subway of Baltimore of west in east:

Owings Millets
Short Old
Milford Millet
Reisterstown Plaza
Rogers Avenue
West Cold Spring
Mondawmin
PEN North
Upton/Which occurred Market
State Center/Cultural Center
Lexington Market (station tram distant from 180 m)
Charles Center
Shot Tower/Market Places
Johns Hopkins Hospital

Technology

The vehicle fleet is composed of 100 stainless steel cars built by Budd Company of Philadelphia. The first 72 vehicles ($57 million) were delivered between July 1982 and October 1984, with delay compared to the time envisaged. This batch constitutes part of the joint order of 208 vehicles placed for the subways of Baltimore and Miami. One second ordering of 28 vehicles was delivered in 1987 at the time of the startup of the section B. the vehicles were entirely renovated in 2003-2004.
Les cars is air-conditioned because of the hot and wet summers of Baltimore. Each vehicle is long 22,8 m and broad 3,2 m, equipped with three doors on each side. Each vehicle has 76 sitted places and can accommodate 90 passengers upright.
Les cars is formed in permanent doublets which can constitute trains of one, two or three doublets. The quays of the stations reach a 137 meters length to be able to accommodate trains of six vehicles.
Les vehicles is fed in D.C. current under a tension of 700Vcc thanks to a third rail, the rail of traction.
Les oars is exploited in semi-automatic mode, a device regulating the speed and the interval of the oars, the driver being given the responsability to actuate the mechanism of opening and closing of the doors. The minimal interval authorized between two trains is two minutes.

Exploitation

The subway is used 5:00 of the morning at midnight in days of week. The interval between two trains is of 8 mn at the rush hours and 10 mn at the off-peak hours, 15 to 20 mn late in evening and saturdays/Sundays.
Le price of the ticket is of $1.6, the chart day laborer costs $3.5, monthly the $64.
Because of long interstations, 1,8 km on average, and of the relatively high speed of the vehicles for a subway, 112 km/h, all the course is carried out in half an hour, at the mean velocity of 48 km/h.
Bon year, badly year, from 13 to 14 million voyages is carried out in the subway of Baltimore, for a hundred million traveller-km (range of 7 km). The average daily frequentation in day of week reaches 48.000 passengers.
In order to encourage the inhabitants to give up the individual vehicles, of the parking spaces of several thousands of places is close to the most important stations. The stations of the underground line are well coordinated with the lines of bus, but there does not exist any correspondence between the subway and the other lines of the rail network.

Projects

The old project to build six underground lines in Baltimore did not resist the budgetary restrictions. The tram line mainly takes again one of the corridors of circulation proposed.
Aujourd'hui an extension of the underground line, starting from Johns Hopkins Hospital towards Morgan State University and beyond, is considered.
Une red line, of is in west, is being studied but no concrete decision was still made as for its technology.

External bond

Article in English of Scott Kozel on the subway of Baltimore

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