DC to Baltimore in 15 Minutes: Maryland Awarded $27.8 Million to Study Maglev Train

• November 9, 2015
• 2 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

Back in 2011, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman was hopeful a high-speed rail could be in place by 2040, which would among other things, reduce travel time between DC and New York City from 162 minutes to 96 minutes.

This weekend, that idea came a little closer to becoming a reality.

On Saturday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded a $27.8 million grant “to support ongoing efforts by the private sector to bring Superconducting Magnetic Levitation (SCMaglev) trains to the Northeast region.”

Maglev trains in Japan can achieve speeds of over 300 miles per hour, using magnetic forces to accelerate.

“The ability to travel between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. in only 15 minutes will be absolutely transformative, not just for these two cities, but for our entire state,” Governor Hogan said in a statement. “This grant will go a long way in helping us determine our next steps in this transportation and economic development opportunity.”

The prospect of bringing that type of train speed to the east coast will not be cheap. The line between DC and Baltimore alone is expected to carry a $10 billion price tag.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc_to_baltimore_in_15_minutes_maryland_awarded_27.8_million_to_study_maglev/10560

2 Comments

1. Zestious said at 5:58 pm on Monday November 9, 2015:
   $10 Billion???? This is a Boondoggle; why is this needed? It's redundant, in that Amtrak and MARC already have routes and Amtrak takes about 40mins. This is like the ICC and the Purple line, total waste that doesn't produce the desired effect. This money would be better spent extending Metro to National Harbor and investing in Baltimore City infrastructure projects.

1. pglistener said at 9:44 pm on Tuesday November 10, 2015:
   How, exactly, is the Purple Line a total waste that didn't produce the desired effect? IT HASN'T BEEN BUILT YET. Re: the maglev project, the money wasn't offered for any of the uses you offered; it was offered for this. Plus: "Pursuing Federal Railroad Administration funding did not require state funds or matching state funds from the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund, nor does it come at the expense of other planned projects in the Maryland Department of Transportation’s six-year capital program." This isn't money that would've gone towards anything else. It's a study.