Tracks being ripped up in SE Washington

Today on WTOP's traffic report they were announcing potential delays on the Sousa Bridge, because CSX was ripping up railroad tracks on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Details may be found at http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency ... ease/13343

This effectively cuts rail access from Bolling AFB; just what we need with today's escalating fuel prices. Weren't these same tracks going to be used for a light-rail line?

These tracks were written out of any light rail plans some time ago after DC discovered that CSX, which was to receive a large sum of money for the line, didn't own all of the right-of-way. In fact, some of it was owned by the city already, but CSX would have been happy to take their money. The city then started looking at running the line down Anacostia streets, but I haven't heard any more about it and don't know if it'll ever become a reality.

Certainly a light rail ride down the ex-CSX/B&O line would have provided interesting scenery. A CSX locomotive engineer described to me the sight of junkies along the right-of-way who were injecting themselves with needles into frontal parts of them normally covered with trousers (and therefore not easily viewed by police). Didn't they care about being seen, I asked. No, he said, they didn't care, they just wanted to get high.

"RailMike"Today on WTOP's traffic report they were announcing potential delays on the Sousa Bridge, because CSX was ripping up railroad tracks on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Details may be found at http://newsroom.dc.gov/show.aspx/agency ... ease/13343

This effectively cuts rail access from Bolling AFB; just what we need with today's escalating fuel prices. Weren't these same tracks going to be used for a light-rail line?

The last customer on that line was the District of Columbia's Water and Sewer Authority sewage treatment plant at Blue Plains. Rail deliveries to Blue plains ended years ago.

There are plans to use part of the easement but not the existing track for part of the Anacostia light rail route.

These two Washington Post articles from 2005 note the city's displeasure with CSX and its decision not to use CSX's tracks.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02078.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01293.html