CSX played host Tuesday as up to 150 first responders from fire departments throughout the region took part in drills simulating several disaster scenarios at the railroad's Washington Boulevard rail yard.

A Baltimore Fire Department spokesman, Capt.  Kevin Cartwright, said oorganizers were pleased with the "fluid" response of the multiple agencies that participated in the train wreck simulation.

Firefighterrs fromBaltimore, Anne  Arundel, Howard, Harford, Carroll and Cecil countiies joined thhose from the cities of Baltimore and Annapolis in the practice session. Cartwright said the first responders dealt with scenarios including an engineer trapped in a locomotive who needed extraction, a chlorine leak, a liquid propane gas release and an ethanol spill.

About 150 observers were on hand from the Environmental Protection Agency Region III Emergency Preparedness and Prevention & Hazmat Spills Conference, now taking place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Also there was The Sun's Algerina Perna, who took video of the exercise.

Cartwright said the drill went well. "Everyone was pleased -- especially EPA and CSX," he said.

 

 

Csaba Hanyi of Towson sent along a well-written, reasoned critique of my Oct. 26 column on high-speed rail -- or the lack of it -- in the United States. I though it was worth posting in its entirety, though I disagree with its conclusions.

I read your column about high speed trains with great interest, since I
have been interested in rail travel most of my life. However,
considering some of the facts, I must disagree with some of your
observations.

You probably know that all European governments subsidize their rail
systems by handicapping truck traffic on their highways in order to
force more freight to rail, since the rail needs the revenue to enable
inexpensive commuter traffic.

Similarly, Maryland subsidizes MARC to remove some motor vehicles from
the road between Baltimore, Montgomery county and Washington.
Therefore, MARC is much cheaper to use than Amtrak on the same line.
MARC trains on the Penn Line do exceed 100 mph om some stretches.
The Camden line has obsolete track which prohibits high speed.

High speed rail requires ridership which is willing to pay premium
rates for the comfort, speed and convenience of traveling between
main city centers. This is only possible between major cities with
moderate distances between them. You get that in Europe, Japan, and
China by having high population densities.

In the US you can get the same thing along the Boston - Washington -
Richmond corridor, and we have a reasonably fast train service on
this corridor. When you travel further south or west the cities
get smaller and the distances much greater.

Continue reading "Reader dissents on high-speed rail" »

Amtrak got its share of bad publicity lately when it lost the contract to operate Virginia Railway Express trains to a French company. Now, with a big win under its belt, Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm thinks it's only proper that the media recognize its successes.

Happy to, Steve.

Amtrak, which lost its contract with Southern California's Metrolink system in 2005, has regained that business and will take over operations of its commuter trains next July. The nation's largest passenger rail company reached an agreement on a four-year contract, with a possible two three-year extensions, with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority.

In 2005, the SCRRA decided to dump Amtrak in favor of Veolia Transportation. That didn't work out so great for the Metrolink system. In 2008, a Veolia engineer who was later found to have been texting while on the job ran a signal and collided with a Union Pacific freight train. The crash killed 25 people, including the engineer. Metrolink has been dealing with the legal and public relations fallout ever since.

 

Maryann here, providing spot support this week while Mike's on vacation.

Maryland is seeking $360 million in federal funds for rail upgrades, Tim Wheeler (of B'more Green) wrote for today's paper. The state is hoping to use stimulus funds for improvements to replace the aging passenger tunnel (not the freight tunnel that caught fire years ago), expand the BWI Marshall airport rail station, and make improvements on passenger rail in the area.

However, one of the most interesting tidbits lies farther down in the story. The Federal Rail Administration will open up bids in October for greater infrastructure improvements, which could possibly include the first maglev train in the U.S. (The train pictured at left is Shanghai's maglev.) But problems are afoot, Wheeler reports:

Any bid for maglev funding faces a potential hurdle. A preliminary study of a maglev train between Washington and Baltimore halted after state lawmakers barred Maryland officials from studying, developing or building such a system in response to constituents' vocal fears about the safety and potential disruption of super-high-speed trains in their communities.

Call me daft, but wouldn't a high-speed rail be a boon for the Baltimore-Washington area? Are we so consumed with NIMBYism that we can't even study and consider the option?

Personally, I would love to have a quicker, more convenient route to and from D.C., especially on days when the B-W Parkway is closed both ways. But that's just my non-homeowner perspective. I'd like to know your opinion: Would you be down with a maglev train connecting Baltimore and Washington, or are you firmly against?

Photo by kanegen @ Flickr

Charlie Pyles of Cold Spring, Ky., has a request that may be of interest to Maryland railroad and history buffs: “I was wondering if you would ask your readers to share information and photos they may have of the Western Maryland Railroad. I have a project started that revolves around the Elkins Yard down in Elkins, W.V., but I’m seeking unpublished photos of Western Maryland trains and stories with photos of Western Maryland people. All material will be scanned or photographed and promptly returned to the donor in the same condition received. Any materials are intended to be used on the web site http://www.shakylake.com/wmrr.htm. The purpose of the project is to keep the memory of the WM alive for future generations. Information can be mailed to: Charlie Pyles, 238 Misty Cove Way, Cold Spring, KY 41076-8513. Phone calls are welcome 859-442-7334 or e-mail cpyles@shakylake.com.”  Sounds like a worthy project to me. Feel free to copy this blog on any particularly fine pictures.