$10B D.C.-Baltimore bullet train narrows down to two routes

There are now two possible routes narrowed down by the Federal Railroad Administration in the hopes to build a high-speed, magnetic levitating train between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland. If constructed, a trip between the two cities would be just 15 minutes.

According to the Washington Business Journal, both proposed routes run next to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and under Anacostia Park in order to avoid the National Arboretum. Washington Business Journal further reported:

“One of the routes, called ‘Alignment J,’ includes an extended tunnel under Washington until after the Capital Beltway. It then follows the Baltimore-Washington Parkway above ground on the east side through the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Patuxent Research Refuge and Fort Meade. It then returns to tunnel near the BWI/Marshall Airport station continues underground into Baltimore.

The other route, ‘Alignment J1,’ includes an extended tunnel under Washington until after the Capital Beltway before transitioning to an elevated guideway on the west side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. It would go through the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and then east into a tunnel to the to BWI/Marshall Airport station and continuing underground to Baltimore. This alignment avoids the Patuxent Research Refuge and would be in tunnel under Fort Meade.”

The station that would be located in the District would either be in the NoMa or Mt. Vernon Square neighborhoods. When it comes to the cost of the project, it will total over $10 billion with approximately $28 million coming from the federal government. Japan’s ambassador to the U.S. also provided $2 million for a feasibility study.

The magnetic levitation, or maglev, train is able to reach a record speed of 603 kilometers per hour. The fastest speed that the U.S.’s Acela Express train has reached is 240 kilometers per hour.

• Feds reveal finalists for maglev train route between Baltimore and D.C. [Washington Business Journal]