STrRedWolf wrote: ↑Fri May 10, 2024 10:15 am
TheOneKEA wrote: ↑Thu May 09, 2024 6:02 pm
The problem with running a passenger service on the Old Main Line is that the average speeds are rather low (30mph?), and increasing them would require extensive earthworks inside of the state park and the surrounding areas. Also, there would be a big-time challenge finding places to build suitably sized parking lots for stations between Sykesville and Ellicott City (of which there would be only two in this scenario - Marriottsville and Woodstock).
A quick check of an old CSX Baltimore Division timetable shows that the OML from Frederick Junction to the Baltimore Terminal is 48.3 miles long. Assuming an average speed of 30mph, plus 2-3 minutes for a station stop, a through journey from Frederick Junction to St. Denis would be approximately 90 minutes. I don't know if that's competitive with a journey by car or by carpooling.
Just double-tracking them will require extensive tunneling/bridging/construction/etc. I doubt we'll have that service for a long while.
On one hand, the entire route was at one time double tracked. When I was a kid, I think I walked most of it from avalon to mt airy.
On the other hand, it's never going to compete with I70 speeds.
Having hourly buses (half hour, for rush hour) running in the break down lane, with stations with walkways tunneled/ bridged over to lots for park and ride (and maybe level 4 AV trams or similar micromobility to nearby areas with population) at New Market, Mt Airy , Hunt Valley golf resort , Howard county fair grounds, and Frederick would get more use.
Maybe integrate it with one of the proposed MTA plans for dedicated BRT lanes in US40 from Baltimore to "Ellicott city " (Which is essentially the entire top 1/4 of Howard county) . It'll be a lot cheaper than rail.
Now, taking the engineering studies for the I270 monorail, and using that for MARC service to Frederick from DC would be worth the money. Especially if DMU or similar trains were used for more frequent service, at least to silver spring.
This would go well with the
https://s3.amazonaws.com/mta-website-st ... 202023.pdf
Brunswick line Master Plan.
Except building in 270 would cut at least 30 minutes off the trip, if not more, and would take a bit of traffic off that route.
Sadly, Camden line trains seem to be the best positioned for Virginia run throughs, for now.