The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) recently released a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) concerning the new Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) rail-station project.
The publication was released after the officials received the final environmental review, enabling Maryland to find funds for the design and building of the rail station.
“A new BWI rail station will allow both airline and rail passengers to get to their destinations safely, reliably and efficiently,” FRA Administrator Sarah Feinberg said. “Today’s announcement is a significant step toward achieving that goal.”
Building the new station means adding a fourth track to the Northeast Corridor, which already has 9 miles around BWI. The project also includes reconfiguring the current platforms so that there can be boarding at all four of the tracks.
Experts estimate that there will be 70 million more U.S. residents using public transportation in the next 30 years. The entire Northeast mega-region is expected to increase by another 18.4 million people during the next 30 years, 35.2 percent more than in 2010. These figures emphasize the importance of improving transportation infrastructure in the U.S.
“The current rail station and BWI infrastructure were built more than 30 years ago and do not support today’s needs or the region’s expected growth,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said. “The completion of the environmental review for this project brings BWI one step closer to a safer rail station, reduced rail congestion and increased reliability.”
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