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87-641: The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel (or B&P Tunnel ) is a double-tracked , masonry arch railroad tunnel on the Northeast Corridor in Baltimore , Maryland, just west of Pennsylvania Station . Opened in 1873, the tunnel is used by about 140 Amtrak and MARC passenger trains and two freight trains every day, as of 2008. The 7,669-foot (2,338 m) tunnel, which passes under the Baltimore neighborhoods of Bolton Hill , Madison Park, and Upton , consists of

174-565: A single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lines were built as double-track because of the difficulty of co-ordinating operations before the invention of the telegraph . The lines also tended to be busy enough to be beyond the capacity of a single track. In the early days the Board of Trade did not consider any single-track railway line to be complete. In

261-532: A spiral . At Saunderton , England, what became the London-to-Birmingham main line of the Great Western Railway in 1909 was initially part of a single-track branch line from Maidenhead . Down trains follow the route of the old branch line, while up trains follow a more gently graded new construction through a tunnel. This scheme avoided the cost of a new double-track tunnel. Directional running

348-521: A connection across the Potomac River at Washington, D. C., to the southern railroads. The massive Pennsylvania main line carried most traffic to the northeast. By the 1970s, however, both railroads were failing financially. The PRR had been merged into Penn Central in 1968, and two years later the new company declared bankruptcy. The B&O became part of the Chessie System in 1973, which in turn

435-416: A double line might have to be shut down to avoid collisions with trains on those adjacent tracks. These are a form of crossing loop, but are long enough to allow trains approaching each other from opposite directions on single-track lines to cross (or pass) each other without reducing speed. In order for passing lanes to operate safely and effectively, trains must be timetabled so that they arrive at and enter

522-520: A horseshoe curve at 1 in 75 gradient, while the shorter downhill track follows the original single track at 1 in 40 grades. A similar arrangement to Frampton could not be adopted between Rydal and Sodwalls on the Main Western railway line because the 1 in 75 uphill track is on the wrong side of the 1 in 40 downhill track, so both tracks follow the 1 in 75 grade. Another example is at Gunning . Between Junee and Marinna, New South Wales , Australia

609-663: A key link in what has now become the principal rail freight line from Baltimore to Philadelphia and beyond. This segment of the CSX network is considered a chokepoint for freight train service from the Port of Baltimore to East Coast and Midwest markets. See Baltimore Terminal Subdivision . On July 18, 2001, a 60-car CSXT freight derailed in the Howard Street Tunnel, sparking a fire that burned for six days and blocked traffic for much longer. The Howard Street Tunnel fire called attention to

696-555: A lower profile than wood crossties. The Maryland Department of Transportation subsequently applied for a $ 155 million FY2016 FASTLANE grant to help fund a project based on this lower-cost plan, but the grant was not received. In December 2016, MDOT reapplied for a FASTLANE grant of the same amount in the FY2017 round of funding. In addition to the federal funds expected from the grant, the State of Maryland would contribute $ 145M, and CSX $ 125M, towards

783-606: A major bottleneck. For Berlin Stadtbahn the two northern tracks are local S-Bahn and the two other for faster trains. The most notable example of quadruple track in the United States, and perhaps the only four-track section of mainline therein, was the Pennsylvania Railroad 's main corridor through the heart of Pennsylvania around the famous Horseshoe Curve . This line is now owned by Norfolk Southern. Other examples include

870-576: A second tunnel. An exception is the Hoosac Tunnel , which was duplicated by enlarging the bore. To reduce initial costs of a line that is certain to see heavy traffic in the future, a line may be built as single-track but with earthworks and structures designed for ready duplication. An example is the Strathfield to Hamilton line in New South Wales , which was constructed as mainly single-track in

957-442: A single tube with two tracks. It is punctuated by two open-air cuts for ventilation of exhaust fumes and smoke—Pennsylvania Avenue Opening and John Street Opening—that divide the main tunnel into three "sub-tunnels", designated (from south to north) Gilmor Street Tunnel, Wilson Street Tunnel, and John Street Tunnel. Constructed by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad under Winchester Street and Wilson Street in Baltimore ,

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1044-545: A third track signalled in both directions, so that two tracks are available in the peak direction during rush hours. Triple track is used in some parts of the New York City Subway and on the Norristown High-Speed Line to add supplemental rush-hour services. The center track, which serves express trains, is signalled in both directions to allow two tracks to be used in the peak direction during rush hours;

1131-412: A third track was opened between Whittingham and Branxton in 2011 and Branxton to Maitland in 2012 to equalize the headway in both directions for heavy coal traffic. Triple track could be a compromise between double-track and quad-track ; such a system was proposed south of Stockholm Central Station , but was cancelled in favor of Citybanan . In Melbourne and Brisbane several double track lines have

1218-428: A train failure, or for a fast train to overtake a slow train. Most crossing loops are not regarded as double-track even though they consist of multiple tracks. If the crossing loop is long enough to hold several trains, and to allow opposing trains to cross without slowing down or stopping, then that may be regarded as double-track. A more modern British term for such a layout is an extended loop. The distance between

1305-415: Is an example of a duplication line that was reduced to single-track in most locations, but has since undergone re-duplication in many places between Baltimore and Philadelphia when CSX increased freight schedules in the late 1990s. Also: Some lines are built as single-track with provision for duplication, but the duplication is never carried out. Examples are: When the capacity of a double-track railway

1392-955: Is called duplication or doubling , unless the expansion is to restore what was previously double track, in which case it is called redoubling . The strongest evidence that a line was built as single-track and duplicated at a later date consists of major structures such as bridges and tunnels that are twinned. One example is the twin Slade tunnels on the Ilfracombe Branch Line in the UK. Twinned structures may be identical in appearance, or like some tunnels between Adelaide and Belair in South Australia , substantially different in appearance, being built to different structure gauges . Tunnels are confined spaces and are difficult to duplicate while trains keep on running. Generally they are duplicated by building

1479-487: Is in excess of requirements, the two tracks may be reduced to one, in order to reduce maintenance costs and property taxes. In some countries this is called singling . Notable examples of this in the United Kingdom occurred on the Oxford–Worcester–Hereford, Princes Risborough–Banbury and Salisbury–Exeter main lines during the 1970s and 1980s. In all these cases, increases in traffic from the late 1990s have led to

1566-515: Is quadruple tracked in most portions south of New Haven, but also has a few triple-track segments. The Metra Electric District is quadruple-tracked on most of the main line north of Kensington/115th Street station , with local trains running in the center two tracks, and express trains on the outer two tracks. Outside the United States the Chūō Main Line is an example of a modern, heavily utilized urban quadruple track railway. Quadruple track

1653-550: Is two separate lines operationally combined to act as a double-track line by converting each line to unidirectional traffic. An example is in central Nevada , where the Western Pacific and Southern Pacific Railroads , longtime rivals who each built and operated tracks between northern California and Utah , agreed to share their lines between meeting points near Winnemucca and Wells , a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 km). Westbound trains from both companies used

1740-585: Is used in rapid transit systems as well: throughout the New York City Subway , the Chicago "L" 's North Side Main Line , and SEPTA 's Broad Street Line in the United States, and on the London Underground in the United Kingdom. The two tracks of a double-track railway do not have to follow the same alignment if the terrain is difficult. At Frampton, New South Wales , Australia, the uphill track follows something of

1827-479: The California Zephyr along these routes. Baltimore Belt Line#Howard Street Tunnel The B&O's original connection to New York in Baltimore was through surface street transfers to the old Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), with passenger / freight cars (also known then as rail carriages) pulled by horses along the east–west running East Pratt Street route, first between

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1914-662: The Baltimore City Council in 1831 prohibiting the use of early steam locomotives within the city limits on downtown streets in the more primitive years of early American railroading. In 1884, the PW&;B was purchased and absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the growing dominant regional line in the Northeast states and a major rival of the B&;O, and the PRR cut off the connection to

2001-650: The Boyne Viaduct , a bridge just north of Drogheda railway station in Ireland ). The bridge over the Murray River between Albury and Wodonga is double-track, but because of insufficient strength in the bridge only one train is allowed on it at a time. The bridge has since been singled as part of the North East Line Standardisation with the old broad gauge track now disconnected but remains in place on

2088-541: The Canadian National main line in the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario are triple track to facilitate high traffic density of freight services, intercity , and suburban passenger trains sharing the same lines. India, through its state-owned Indian Railways, has initiated the construction of a third track between Jhansi and Nagpur via Bhopal (approximately 590 kilometres (370 miles)) for reducing

2175-569: The Hudson and New Haven Lines, both of which are shared between Metro-North and Amtrak in New York and Connecticut. The New Haven Line is quadruple track along its entire length, while the Hudson Line is only quadruple tracked along the shared portion from Riverdale to Croton–Harmon and along the shared track from Grand Central Terminal to Yankees–East 153rd Street . Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor

2262-565: The Jones Falls stream, which opened on September 1, 1896. Lower-level platforms were added later at the east end of B&O's Camden Street Station in 1897. The Howard Street Tunnel , originally a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) long tunnel under Howard Street in downtown Baltimore, took four and a half years to build (1890–1895) and was the longest tunnel on the B&O's system. Its construction cost $ 7 million (equivalent to more than $ 200 million in 2018) and required 2,400 workers. In

2349-651: The Main Western Railway between Wallerawang and Tarana , and between Gresham and Newbridge were singled in the 1990s. A new passing loop was opened on part of the closed track at Rydal in the Wallerawang–Tarana section during 2019. A double-track tunnel with restricted clearances is sometimes singled to form a single track tunnel with more generous clearances, such as the Connaught Tunnel in Canada or

2436-450: The signalling systems, especially where the signalling is mechanical (e.g. semaphore signals ). Where the signals and points (UK term) or rail switches (US) are power-operated, it can be worthwhile to provide signals for each line which cater for movement in either direction, so that the double line becomes a pair of single lines. This allows trains to use one track where the other track is out of service due to track maintenance work, or

2523-426: The 1880s, with full duplication completed around 1910. All bridges, tunnels, stations, and earthworks were built for double track. Stations with platforms with 11-foot (3.4 m) centres had to be widened later to 12-foot (3.7 m) centres, except for Gosford . The former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) line between Baltimore and Jersey City , now owned by CSX and Conrail Shared Assets Operations ,

2610-437: The B&O's old Pratt Street Depot at Pratt and South Charles Streets, then later using the new terminal and B.& O.'s general headquarters of Camden Street Station (built 1857–1865) to the PW&B's President Street Station (built 1849–1850) at President and Fleet Streets, east of the harbor past the waterfront piers from the early 1830s to early 1870s. This transfer process was also used because of ordinances passed by

2697-543: The Belt Line in southern Charles Village collapsed after a heavy rainstorm, sending part of East 26th Street and a number of cars onto the tracks. No one was injured but the tracks were blocked by debris, shutting down railroad operations as well as the city block directly above them. On May 2, 2014, freight trains once again began running through the tunnels along this stretch of the Baltimore Belt Line. East 26th Street

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2784-422: The Belt Line, both as a risk to the surrounding structures and as a link in rail traffic. CSXT has implemented various improvements to increase the integrity of the link, but is limited by the shallow depth of the bore (only three feet or 0.91 meters below the surface at the south end) and the instability of the surrounding soil. On April 30, 2014, a block-long portion of a retaining wall in a below-grade stretch of

2871-502: The East Coast route. The cost of construction drove the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad into bankruptcy shortly after the line opened in 1895, 68 years after the line was founded in 1827 as America's first passenger / freight railroad. Initially there were plans to build three new stations in Baltimore, but concern for interference with freight haulage and expense eventually reduced this to a single station at Mount Royal Avenue, just west by

2958-667: The East Coast seaboard's main line. The B&O then proceeded to build its Philadelphia Branch (formally known as the Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad ) to connect to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad , in turn connecting with the Central Railroad of New Jersey for B&O's New York service across the Hudson River to Manhattan . The combination also provided a connection to the Staten Island Railway , which served as

3045-524: The Northeast Corridor and its maintenance is costly: Collectively, the tunnel's height, speed, and capacity limitations threaten the ability for the Port of Baltimore to be competitive with increased shipping volumes. In June 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to support a study of the environmental impacts of different possible replacement tunnels. On January 28, 2010, $ 60 million in funding

3132-426: The PRR electrified its New York City –Washington main line in 1935, the poorly ventilated tunnel filled with smoke from steam locomotives. The smoke also was a nuisance to the residential neighborhoods above the tunnel. In preparation for the electrified operation, the tunnel was lined with gunite to waterproof the arch and prevent icicles from shorting out the catenary wires . Financial considerations prevented

3219-579: The PRR from constructing a new passenger tunnel on the Presstman Street alignment, for which it previously had acquired rights. The PRR's plan had envisioned using the new Presstman Street tunnel and the original bores of the Union Tunnel for passenger operations, while the old B&P Tunnel and the newer bores of the Union Tunnel (completed in the 1930s) would have been used for freight operations. In

3306-704: The Southern Pacific's Overland Route , and eastbound trains used the Western Pacific's Feather River Route (now called the Central Corridor ). Crossovers were constructed where the lines ran in close proximity to allow reverse movements. This was necessary as while for most of this run the tracks straddle opposite sides of the Humboldt River , at points the two tracks are several miles apart and some destinations and branch lines can only be accessed from one of

3393-537: The Tickhole Tunnel in New South Wales , Australia. In the case of the Tickhole Tunnel a new single-track tunnel was built and the two tracks in the original tunnel were replaced by one track in the centreline of the tunnel. Another case where this was necessary was the Hastings Line in the United Kingdom, where the tunnels were eventually singled to permit the passage of standard British-gauge rolling stock. Before

3480-577: The bridge. Railways that become especially busy in wartime and are duplicated, especially in World War I, may revert to single track when peace returns and the extra capacity is no longer required. The Flanders campaign saw duplication of the Hazebrouck – Ypres line, amongst other works. Severe gradients can make the headway in the uphill direction much worse than the headway in the downhill direction. Between Whittingham and Maitland, New South Wales ,

3567-528: The broad gauge declined, the lines were converted to bi-directional double track 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) gauge lines. Quadruple track consists of four parallel tracks. On a quad-track line, faster trains can overtake slower ones. Quadruple track is mostly used when there are "local" trains that stop often (or slow freight trains), and also faster inter-city or high-speed "express" trains. It can also be used in commuter rail or rapid transit . The layout can vary, often with

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3654-606: The built-up nature of the area traversed and the hilly terrain, much of its line through town was in tunnels, which posed severe ventilation problems. Large chimneys were constructed above the Pennsylvania line, in a not entirely successful attempt to disperse the fumes from the coal-fired locomotives . However, by 1890 electric locomotion was beginning to appear possible, and in 1892 the B&O thus contracted with General Electric (GE) for electric locomotives, powerhouse equipment, and an electrical distribution system. This equipment

3741-504: The center of town was politically impossible and prohibitively expensive. Building around the outskirts of town would have required massive regrading and bridging, as the terrain is extremely hilly and the line would cut across every watershed flowing into the harbor. As a temporary expedient, traffic was handled through Baltimore on carfloats across the Patapsco River / Baltimore harbor and port from Canton to Locust Point , but it

3828-520: The choice of which side the driver should sit is less important. For example, the French SNCF Class BB 7200 is designed to use the left-hand track and therefore uses LHD. When the design was modified for use in the Netherlands as NS Class 1600 , the driving cab was not completely redesigned, keeping the driver on the left even though trains use the right-hand track in the Netherlands. Generally,

3915-400: The classic lines of the former German Alsace and Lorraine), Sweden (apart from Malmö and further south), Switzerland, Italy and Portugal for example, the railways use left-hand running, while the roads use right-hand running. However, there are many exceptions: Handedness of traffic can affect locomotive design. For the driver, visibility is usually good from both sides of the driving cab, so

4002-504: The cost of the project. In expectation of the grant funding, CSX is investing $ 25M in the tunnel – $ 21M to improve its water discharge system, and $ 4M for engineering and design of the clearance improvements. The project, which would also increase the clearance at nine bridges north of the tunnel, would last 4–5 years (due to having to be scheduled around active rail traffic), create about 500 construction jobs, and would result in 178,000 containers per year being moved by rail from

4089-492: The different tracks is called the "six foot". It is not safe to stand in the gap between the tracks when trains pass by on both lines, as happened in the Bere Ferrers accident of 1917. When one track of a double-track railway is out of service for maintenance or a train breaks down, all trains may be concentrated on the one usable track. There may be bi-directional signalling and suitable crossovers to enable trains to move onto

4176-520: The earliest days of railways in the United States most lines were built as single-track for reasons of cost, and very inefficient timetable working systems were used to prevent head-on collisions on single lines. This improved with the development of the telegraph and the train order system. In any given country, rail traffic generally runs to one side of a double-track line, not always the same side as road traffic. Thus in Belgium, China, France (apart from

4263-625: The former I-170 right of way), as well as several that reused one or more of the three existing tunnel sections. In November 2016, Alternative 3B (Great Circle) was chosen as the preferred alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) over Alternative 1 (No Build) and two other variations of the Great Circle Alternative (Alternatives 3A and 3C). Highlights of Alternative 3B are: The Federal Railroad Administration released its Record of Decision on

4350-444: The late 1950s, the tunnel became a hindrance to the growth of PRR's Trailer-on-Train service, which required additional vertical and horizontal clearance to accommodate semi-trailers on top of railroad flatcars . The curve at Pennsylvania Avenue was the biggest constraint. The PRR modified the tunnel walls and ceiling for a distance of 2,200 feet (670 m) to improve clearance and enable high cars and piggyback trailers to traverse

4437-517: The left/right principle in a country is followed mostly on double track. On steam trains, the steam boiler often obscured some of the view, so the driver was preferably placed nearest to the side of the railway, so that it was easier to see the signals. On single track, when trains meet, the train that does not stop often uses the straight path in the turnout, which can be left or right. Double-track railways, especially older ones, may use each track exclusively in one direction. This arrangement simplifies

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4524-490: The length and width of trains is contingent on the minimum railway curve radius of the railway. Increasing the width of track centres of 6 metres (20 ft) or more makes it much easier to mount signals and overhead wiring structures. Very widely spaced centres at major bridges can have military value. It also makes it harder for rogue ships and barges to knock out both bridges in the same accident. Railway lines in desert areas affected by sand dunes are sometimes built with

4611-423: The lines. There is a grade separated crossover of the two lines in the shared track area near Palisade, Nevada , which results in trains following right hand traffic in the eastern half of the shared track area, but left hand traffic in the western half. The Union Pacific Railroad has since acquired both of these lines, and continues to operate them as separate lines using directional running. Amtrak also runs

4698-523: The local train stations, the express trains can pass through the station at full speed. For example on the Nuremberg-Bamberg railway , which is quadruple track for most of its course, the inner two tracks are used by the S-Bahn Nuremberg whereas the outer tracks are used for regional express and Intercity Express trains. The section in northern Fürth where the line is "only" double track creates

4785-548: The loop with close time tolerances, otherwise they will need to slow or even be brought to a complete stop to allow the oncoming train to pass. They are suited to lines with light to moderate traffic. An example of where passing lanes have been installed in order to improve travel times and increase line capacity is the 160-kilometre (100-mile) section of the Main Southern railway line in Australia between Junee and Albury . This

4872-440: The mid-1980s, the tunnel's original length of 1.4 miles or 7,340 feet (2,237 m) was extended an additional three-tenths of a mile (480 m) further south of its original Camden Station portal when the B&O successor CSX Transportation 's mainline track east of the Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards was covered over for construction of Interstate 395 . The tunnel is brick-lined with iron-arched centerings. At

4959-523: The new tunnel, the final step in the NEPA process, in March 2017. In June 2021, Amtrak and Maryland announced that they would be moving forward with design and construction of the new tunnel, albeit with several significant changes from the previously announced plan (Alternative 3B): The changes were made to reduce the project's cost by $ 1 billion and to address concerns about diesel exhaust fumes from communities near

5046-434: The north, to the Baltimore and Potomac's new spur, which ran to Washington, D.C. Between 1916 and 1917, the PRR expanded the tunnel to accommodate larger trains. The railroad lowered the tunnel floor about 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (0.76 m), underpinned the side walls, installed a concrete invert slab, and rebuilt the track structure. The bases of the tunnel walls were chipped away to improve horizontal clearance. Before

5133-659: The other track expeditiously (such as the Channel Tunnel ), or there may be some kind of manual safeworking to control trains on what is now a section of single track. See single-line working . Accidents can occur if the temporary safeworking system is not implemented properly, as in: From time to time, railways are asked to transport exceptional loads such as massive electrical transformers that are too tall, too wide or too heavy to operate normally. Special measures must be carefully taken to plan successful and safe operation of out-of-gauge trains . For example, adjacent tracks of

5220-442: The outer tracks use bi-directional running and serve local trains exclusively in one direction. During service disruptions on one of the two outer tracks, trains could also bypass the affected sections on the center track. The Union Pacific Railroad mainline through Nebraska has a 108-mile (174 km) stretch of triple track between North Platte and Gibbon Junction, due to a high traffic density of 150 trains per day. Portions of

5307-695: The partial reinstatement of double track. In New Zealand the Melling Line was singled to the Western Hutt Railway Station in Lower Hutt in 1958 after it became a branch line rather than part of the main Hutt Valley Line . Kirkby railway station (until 1977) and Ormskirk railway station (until 1970) were double-track railway, when they were converted into single-track railway with cross-platform interchange . In New South Wales, Australia,

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5394-543: The singling, narrow-bodied stock, specially constructed for the line, had to be used. As part of the Regional Fast Rail project in Victoria, Australia , the rail line between Kyneton and Bendigo was converted from double- to single-track to provide additional clearance through tunnels and under bridges for trains travelling at up to 160 km/h (99 mph). A similar process can be followed on narrow bridges (like

5481-523: The steam locomotive closed its cylinder cocks, took up the load, and the electric locomotive uncoupled on the fly, accelerating ahead to a pocket siding between the tracks. General Electric installed rotary converters in B&;O's powerhouse near Mt. Royal Station, having a combined capacity of 5,000 kW to convert 13,200-volt, 3 phase, 25-cycle AC to 675 volts DC . In 1936, these rotary converters were replaced by mercury arc rectifiers . Initially power

5568-536: The study published the Preliminary Alternatives Screening Report , in which four alternatives from 16 were selected to be carried forward for further consideration and study: Among the criteria used to evaluate the alternatives was the ability to accommodate double-stack container cars . The 12 eliminated alternatives included several that varied greatly from the existing alignment and bypassed Pennsylvania Station entirely (including one using

5655-448: The terminal switching company for the B&O's New York freight service across the Hudson River or Upper New York Bay to Manhattan . New B&O president Charles F. Mayer made the Belt Line a priority by the 1870s, and recruited young railroader Samuel Rea to work on it as Chief Engineer. Connecting the new Philadelphia Branch to the rest of the B&O system was a considerable engineering challenge. A new surface line across

5742-549: The time of completion it was considered innovative for its use of electricity for illumination and powering of locomotives . Inside the tunnel, there was an underground platform for trains serving Camden Station. The Howard Street Tunnel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . By this time the Pennsylvania Railroad line through Baltimore and points south had been in operation for twenty years. Due to

5829-626: The tracks' centres makes a difference in cost and performance of a double-track line. The track centres can be as closely spaced and as cheap as possible, but maintenance must be done on the side. Signals for bi-directional working cannot be mounted between the tracks, so they must be mounted on the 'wrong' side of the line or on expensive signal bridges . For standard gauge tracks the distance may be 4 metres (13 ft) or less. Track centres are usually further apart on high speed lines, as pressure waves knock each other as high-speed trains pass. Track centres are also usually further apart on sharp curves, and

5916-400: The traffic load and delays in passenger train arrivals. The construction between Bina and Bhopal and between Itarsi and Budhni had been completed by April 2020. The Melbourne to Albury railway originally consisted of separate 1,600 mm ( 5 ft 3 in ) gauge and 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) gauge single track lines, but when traffic on

6003-494: The tunnel lining, upgrading the track structure, installing a new gauntlet track, and rehabilitating the tunnel drainage system. No fundamental change was made in the tunnel's difficult geometry. Eventually, the gauntlet track was removed, due to freight traffic largely shifting to the ex-Baltimore and Ohio route through the Howard Street Tunnel . The tunnel has long been one of the worst bottlenecks for rail traffic along

6090-858: The tunnel on Amtrak between Wilmington and Washington during his time as Senator from Delaware, remarked that "you wonder how in the hell [the B&P Tunnel] is still standing". Amtrak was awarded $ 4.7 billion in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds in November 2023. Amtrak and Maryland MTA will contribute an additional $ 1.2 billion. Amtrak awarded a construction contract in February 2024 and demolition of several buildings began later that month. 39°18′11″N 76°38′07″W  /  39.303°N 76.6352°W  / 39.303; -76.6352 Double track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to

6177-423: The tunnel opened on June 29, 1873. The construction of the tunnel required 13 million bricks and the waste dirt was used to shore up several areas of the city allowing for the construction of more homes and buildings. The B&P tunnel allowed the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) direct access to Washington, D.C. , for the first time by connecting its Northern Central Railway affiliate, which arrived in Baltimore from

6264-408: The tunnel without damaging their roofs. Additionally, a 928-foot (283 m) gauntlet track was installed on southbound Track 3 to shift trains 17 inches (430 mm) closer to the middle of the tunnel. However, the gauntlet track effectively created a single-track tunnel: trains could not use Track 2 while a train was using the gauntlet track, and if a train using the gauntlet track became disabled,

6351-555: The tunnel would be shut down until the disabled train was moved. In addition, even with the gauntlet track, the tunnel could not accommodate cars that were taller than 16 feet 3 inches (4.95 m) or exceeded the Plate C loading gauge . In the early 1980s, the tunnel underwent rehabilitation as part of the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project . The repairs included replacing the existing invert, repairing

6438-472: The tunnel, Mount Royal was constructed between 1891 and 1896. The track then curved around the northwest corner of the center city going east, passed through six other (much shorter) tunnels, continuing across the northern outskirts of downtown, curving around the Northeast corner of the old City, finally heading southeast to meet the already constructed line just north of the Canton neighborhood and connecting with

6525-419: The two outer tracks carrying the local trains that stop at every station so one side of stations can be reached without staircase; this can also be reversed, with express trains on the outside and locals on the inside, for example if staffed ticket booths are wanted, allowing one person for both directions. At other places two tracks on one half of the railway carry local trains and the other half faster trains. At

6612-481: The two tracks are at different levels, with the original southbound and downhill track following ground level with a steep gradient, while the newer northbound and uphill track has a gentler gradient at the cost of more cut and fill . At the Bethungra Spiral , Australia, the downhill track follows the original short and steep alignment, while the uphill track follows a longer, more easily graded alignment including

6699-404: The two tracks separated, so that if one is covered by sand, the other(s) are still serviceable. If the standard track centre is changed, it can take a very long time for most or all tracks to be brought into line. On British lines, the space between the two running rails of a single railway track is called the "four foot" (owing to it being 'four foot something' in width), while the space between

6786-425: The varying distance to the third rail. The electrification was finally discontinued in 1952 when dieselization made it unnecessary. Throughout much of its history until the end of passenger trains in 1958, the line had relatively low passenger traffic, averaging six daily New York– Washington trains each way. Freight traffic was also limited by the scarcity of online industry east of Baltimore and B&O's lack of

6873-533: The ventilation facilities. The changes did not trigger the need for a new Environmental Impact Statement. The new tunnel, which will be named for Frederick Douglass , is scheduled to open in 2035. Amtrak started the process to procure construction services in June 2022. On January 30, 2023, President Joe Biden visited the tunnel to kick off the project and promote the $ 1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Biden, who had taken "a thousand trips" through

6960-663: Was awarded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to conduct the study, but not the money that would be required for a replacement tunnel. Estimates in 2013 put the cost around $ 1.5 billion. An outgrowth of the ARRA funds, the B&P Tunnel Project was an environmental and engineering study by the FRA , MDOT , and Amtrak to evaluate potential improvements to the tunnel. The study held multiple open houses in 2014–2015 to share information and solicit public input. In December 2014,

7047-410: Was built as a single track line in stages between 1878 and 1881, and was partially duplicated between 2005 and 2010 by the construction of four passing lanes each 6 km (4 mi) long. In this instance, this was accomplished by extending pre-existing crossing loops of either 900 metres (3,000 ft) or 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) in length. The process of expanding a single track to double track

7134-531: Was clear that a direct connection would have to be built. The route the B&O chose started from the existing end of the track at Camden Street Station , at the west end of "The Basin" (modern Inner Harbor ) of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. A tunnel was constructed directly under Howard Street, heading north–south until just before it crossed the existing PRR line. At the north portal of

7221-411: Was delivered beginning in 1895, and the first train pulled by an electric locomotive operated through the Howard Street Tunnel on June 27, 1895. The grade on the electrified portion was downhill to Camden Station; therefore traffic heading southbound ("westbound", in B&O timetables), from Mount Royal Station, simply drifted through the tunnels. Since the engine was not working, the smoke produced

7308-447: Was merged into CSX in 1980. In 1976 the PRR line became part of the newly formed Amtrak system. The line was subsequently called the Northeast Corridor (NEC), and its role as a freight line became relatively minor. The 1987 accident at Chase, Maryland , involving a Conrail locomotive led to further reductions in freight traffic on the NEC. The Belt Line (now operated by CSX) is therefore

7395-594: Was relatively light. Going upgrade northbound ("eastbound", in B&O timetables) the electric locomotives were coupled to the front of the train at Camden Station and pulled the entire train, including the steam locomotive, through the Howard Street tunnel. When northbound passenger trains stopped at Mt. Royal Station at the north end of the tunnel, the electric locomotive was uncoupled. Northbound freight trains were pulled by electric locomotives for another two miles, until reaching Huntingdon Avenue in east Baltimore. There

7482-493: Was reopened to vehicular traffic a year later. Reconstructing the Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stacked intermodal containers had been once thought to cost $ 1–3 billion. However, in April 2016, a $ 425 million plan was revealed that would create the needed 1.5 ft (0.46 m) of additional clearance in the tunnel by trimming and notching its arched ceiling, lowering its floor, and using steel crossties, which have

7569-408: Was supplied through a unique system in which a pickup shoe rode in a channel above and to one side of the track. This proved vulnerable to contamination from coal smoke, and after a short time it was replaced by a conventional third rail system. When the Howard Street track was made into a gantlet to allow higher clearances, the pickup contacts on one side were mounted on swinging arms to accommodate

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