by orulz
Read the article here.
This is IMO the ultimate "state of good repair" project for the NEC. Those tunnels are in terrible shape and were inadequate almost from the day they were completed in 1870.
In my opinion, this would probably be the single wisest investment of federal money in passenger rail that this country could possibly make. Maryland's gov. O'Malley wants money for some other things as well: three new bridges (Bush, Susquehanna, and Gunpowder Rivers) - also a very wise investment. Next is a third track between Perryville and Elkton, which would be nice but IMO not as essential as the "state of good repair" projects listed above, and then some additional projects that I would not classify as anywhere near as vitally important.
As much as I would like my home state of NC to get some of that money (we only need about $200 million to bring trains to downtown Charlotte!), even if NC gets none, I would still be quite ecstatic with the result if Maryland got everything it needed in order to replace the tunnels.
This is IMO the ultimate "state of good repair" project for the NEC. Those tunnels are in terrible shape and were inadequate almost from the day they were completed in 1870.
In my opinion, this would probably be the single wisest investment of federal money in passenger rail that this country could possibly make. Maryland's gov. O'Malley wants money for some other things as well: three new bridges (Bush, Susquehanna, and Gunpowder Rivers) - also a very wise investment. Next is a third track between Perryville and Elkton, which would be nice but IMO not as essential as the "state of good repair" projects listed above, and then some additional projects that I would not classify as anywhere near as vitally important.
As much as I would like my home state of NC to get some of that money (we only need about $200 million to bring trains to downtown Charlotte!), even if NC gets none, I would still be quite ecstatic with the result if Maryland got everything it needed in order to replace the tunnels.