D.C.-Md. Still in Running for High-Speed Train

By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 19, 2001 ; Page B01

The Washington-Baltimore corridor was named one of two finalists yesterday in the race to win federal approval to build the country's first ultra-high-speed rail link.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater selected the 40-mile, $3.4 billion Maryland-D.C. project and a 47-mile, $2.7 billion Pittsburgh proposal from among entries states seeking millions of dollars in federal aid.

"These two projects . . . will allow us to demonstrate the technology that may become the backbone of intercity passenger transportation in our most densely populated corridor -- and corridors -- around the country," Slater said yesterday in a briefing packed with members of Congress, rail industry lobbyists and labor union leaders.

The announcement was a milestone in the multibillion-dollar sweepstakes to deploy the super-fast trains and represents a potential civic and economic bonanza for the winner. Initially, the Department of Transportation will split $14 million between the D.C.-Maryland and Pittsburgh projects for environmental impact studies and preliminary engineering, due late next year. A winner is to be chosen by the next transportation secretary in 2003. Construction is projected to take place from 2004 to 2010.

Drawing on new technology, the trains use magnetic current to levitate and propel cars carrying as many as 1,000 people at speeds of up to 240 mph. The Maryland Department of Transportation has said such a train could whisk travelers between Washington's Union Station and Baltimore's Camden Yards in 19 minutes -- plus the time it takes to stop at Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

The announcement, two days before the Clinton administration leaves office, was tinged with political considerations. All four Maryland and Pennsylvania senators, five of Maryland's representatives, the District's nonvoting delegate in Congress and the mayors of Baltimore and Washington were in attendance.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) acknowledged that the Democrat-dominated Maryland-D.C. area was the front-runner to win federal approval, because the region is part of the northeastern corridor and home to 150 million people, not to mention Congress itself.

But Specter, chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on transportation, added that while Congress has earmarked $950 million for the eventual winner, "it will be a battle" to actually approve spending it. He said he planned to seek support from the Bush administration.

Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) said the state's entry is linked to the region's quest to beat out seven other U.S. cities for the 2012 Summer Olympics, in which transportation congestion is a prime concern.

"The maglev train and the Olympics are closely intertwined," said Townsend, a likely 2002 candidate for governor. The Games "will help fund the technology . . . because obviously when you win the Olympics, you get funds with it."

No nation has yet introduced maglev trains commercially. Japan is testing a 25-mile track west of Tokyo, at a cost of more than $3 billion. Last year, Germany canceled a $5.8 billion plan to transport 40,000 passengers a day between Berlin and Hamburg.

Slater said the United States is working with German designers, while Japanese and German companies are pursuing contract construction of a maglev line in China.

Losing projects in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Southern California and Nevada will receive $879,000 for further development.