Trains Favored Over High-Tech Gridlock Buster

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DALLAS -- More frequent commuter trains would negate the need for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's proposed $100 million high-tech solution for congestion relief on heavily traveled Interstate 270, a transit advocacy group said Monday.

Traffic on I-270 ranges from 79,000 vehicles per day at the northern end to more than 260,000 near the Capital Beltway that surrounds Washington, according to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Those volumes are expected to reach 107,000 vehicles per day and 290,000 per day, respectively, by 2035. The Action Committee for Transit (ACT) wants Hogan to devote the $100 million set aside for the technology program to expand MARC commuter train service between Frederick, Md., and Washington's Union Station to five per day from the current three.  The MARC system is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration.

It would be more efficient to spend the $100 million to buy more rail cars, build a short parallel track along one segment so that slow freight trains would not block the faster commuter service, and add a second passenger platform at one station, said transit committee member Miriam Schoenbaum.

"Gov. Hogan asked for proposals for innovative solutions for reducing congestion on I-270 without adding pavement and we think that the most innovative, cost-effective solutions is to put the $100 million into the MARC train to start working towards the goal of all-day, two-way service," said Schoenbaum.

The state issued a worldwide call in July for innovative, high-tech solutions for how to handle the 300,000 vehicles a day expected on some segments of the road by 2035.

"The winning proposer will move the most vehicles, the fastest, the farthest," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn.

Tolled lanes on I-270 would not be considered, he said.

"If we do not get ideas that are truly innovative, that we believe can make a difference, we are not going to award the contract," Rahn said.

The rail lines owned by CSX Corp. and used by the MARC trains provide the best option for expanding capacity in the I-270 corridor, ACT said in its proposal letter to the state.

"MARC carries nearly 8,000 passengers a day, the same as two lanes of I-270 in each peak direction during rush hour, with less pollution, less energy consumed, fewer accidents, more trip time predictability and less stress," ACT said.

Adding two trains could add another 700 passengers in each direction during rush hour by 2025, the proposal said.

The expansion of the Virginia Railway Express commuter train system has been more cost-effective in reducing highway congestion than either the high-occupancy toll lanes on I-495 in Virginia or Maryland's Intercounty Connector, a tolled freeway in Montgomery and Price George's counties, said ACT board member Ben Shnider.

"We're submitting this proposal to show that there's a better way to spend the money. We can't afford to waste $100 million on consultants' speculation," Shnider said. "They're hoping that some consulting company will figure out a way to fit more cars on the same amount of asphalt on I-270."

The $100 million congestion management project is a search for the best ideas with real solutions, Hogan said in July.

"We are putting up $100 million to try to attract the best ideas from transportation innovators and companies from all across American to come up with the best ideas," said Hogan. "We are calling on the most creative minds in the transportation industry to step forward."

The deadline for the proposals is Jan. 5.

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