Rachel DiCarlo, editorial assistant
|
|
ONE BENEFIT of the $1.7 billion budget deficit in Maryland is that it has forced Gov. Bob Ehrlich to slash state budgets and eliminate wasteful and inefficient projects. The proposed Baltimore to Washington "magnetic levitation train" would be a good place to start.
Maryland is currently competing with Pittsburgh for a $950 million federal grant to build the nation's first MagLev train. A decision from the Federal Railroad Administration is expected in the fall. If chosen, cash-strapped Maryland will be expected to throw in $475 million for the construction costs, with the first bills due next year.
The prospect of MagLev is alluring for its novelty and its potential to closely link Baltimore and Washington. The 200-mph train would carry passengers from one city to the other in just 18 minutes, with one stop at the BWI Airport along the way. The trip sounds unbeatable. (Normally the commute takes about 75 minutes driving, 50 minutes on the commuter train, or 35 minutes on Amtrak.) But when you look at the details, MagLev becomes much less appealing.
Amtrak offers $28 roundtrip tickets between Baltimore and Washington and the MARC commuter train roundtrips are just $10.25. The MagLev would cost $48.
How many people would pony up nearly $50 per commute? The Maryland Transit Administration estimates 30,000 to 33,000 people every day. To determine these figures, MTA photographed cars traveling on I-95 between Baltimore and Washington. Then they surveyed drivers who lived within a few miles of each town's train station and asked them how much they'd
be willing to pay for a super-fast train that would get them out of traffic. According to the Baltimore Sun, the consultants working for the administration that came up with the figures say they "used proven techniques to determine the total number of trips made between the two cities, the likelihood those travelers would use the train, and their proximity to the train station."
Transportation expert Wendell Cox sees a number of reasons to doubt these figures. First, he says, the consultants are not describing the actual trip. For example, someone who lives in Guilford, Roland Park, or Homeland, three upscale Baltimore neighborhoods about four miles from downtown, and wishes to use MagLev to go to Washington, would still have to drive 20 minutes to Camden Station, walk through security (a 200 mph train that crosses state lines will likely have airport-level security), take the MagLev to Union Station, and then spend another 15 to 20 using taxis or mass transit to get to their destination. In other words, the trip from Baltimore to Washington would still take well over an hour.
"This method is dishonest," Cox says. "This train is only a better option for people who live right at Camden and Union Stations."
In Baltimore most of the area around Camden Station consists of bars and restaurants, bordered by the harbor. The closest residential neighborhoods, Federal Hill and West Baltimore, are farther away than the quarter mile most people are willing to walk to a transit stop.
But ease-of-ride issues aside, the numbers don't add up. According to the 2000 census, only 3,038 people a day commute from Baltimore City to Washington; only 3,700 come from Baltimore County; and only 1,500 come from Anne Arundel County (near the airport). And a mere 830 people commute from D.C. to Baltimore. (These numbers include people using all forms of transportation.)
|
