BWI Rail Station

This article is about a regional and inter-city rail station. For the light rail station at BWI, see BWI Marshall Airport (Baltimore Light Rail station).
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

The station viewed from the adjacent parking garage
Location 7 Amtrak Way
Baltimore, Maryland 21240[lower-alpha 1]
United States
Coordinates 39°11′33″N 76°41′41″W / 39.192377°N 76.694645°W / 39.192377; -76.694645Coordinates: 39°11′33″N 76°41′41″W / 39.192377°N 76.694645°W / 39.192377; -76.694645
Owned by Amtrak
Line(s) Northeast Corridor
Platforms 2 side platforms
Tracks 3
Connections Baltimore Light Rail via Shuttle bus
MTA Bus 17, MTA Bus 201
Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland Route 501/Silver
UMBC Transit
Construction
Parking Yes
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
Other information
Station code BWI
History
Opened 1980
Traffic
Passengers (2014) 692,268 annually[6] Decrease 2.57% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
Terminus
Acela Express
Northeast Regional
Vermonter
toward St. Albans
MARC
Penn Line
toward Perryville

The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station (often shortened to simply BWI Rail Station) is an Amtrak and Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) train station in an unincorporated area within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States.[lower-alpha 1]

The station is located on the airport complex just over a mile from the main terminal of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. A free shuttle bus runs between the station and the airport terminal every 12 minutes from 5 am to 1 am and every 25 minutes from 1 am to 5 am.[7]

Rail services

The station is on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and is served by the MARC Penn Line as well as Amtrak's Acela Express, Northeast Regional, Vermonter, and Palmetto trains. The Carolinian served the station between 1991 and 2004.

History

The existing station and adjacent parking garage

The station was dedicated on October 23, 1980, and was the first intercity rail station in the U.S. built to service an airport.[8] It is about a 20-minute train ride south of Baltimore's Penn Station, a 20-minute ride north of New Carrollton, Maryland (and its connection with the Orange Line of Washington Metro), and a 35-minute ride north of Washington's Union Station.

The station's building houses a ticketing desk, waiting room, and a concessions area. The adjacent parking garage is used by commuters who ride the train to work in Baltimore or Washington, and also contains the bus stop for shuttles to the BWI terminal. The garage was built in the late 1990s to replace a smaller surface lot. It contains 3,200 parking spaces and typically does not fill to capacity.[9]

Platform renovations

The 1,050 feet (320 m) high-level platforms were rebuilt and lengthened in 2006–2010.[10] The existing structures were replaced with new precast concrete segments, and new signs, lights, shelters, railing, canopies, and benches were installed.[11]

Future expansion

$9.4 million has been allocated for design and engineering of a new station building and fourth track, which is expected to cost $80–100 million. The existing station will be demolished to make way for the new track and platform, and a new station—twice the size of the old—will be built.[12][13] The Federal Railroad Administration issued a Finding Of No Significant Impact - a major step in the environmental review process - in February 2016. This will allow final design and construction to proceed once funding is obtained.[14]

Connecting transportation

A Northeast Regional train at the station

A number of transportation services connect to the station, including a dedicated taxi stand. Some of these services include Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Bus, BWI Shuttle, and University of Maryland Baltimore County Transit Shuttle. While rental cars are not available at the station, the nearby BWI consolidated rental car facility is accessible via the station's other connecting modes.

Local public transit services

Pedestrian and bicycle access

Notes

  1. 1 2 The BWI Rail Station is located in an unincorporated area within Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Most reliable sources agree that the street address is 7 Amtrak Way, but differ on the "city" in which it is located. Amtrak lists the city as "BWI Airport" on both of its web pages for the station.[1][2] The Maryland Transit Administration lists the city as "Linthicum" on its website & Maryland Area Regional Commuter Rail (MARC) brochure.[3] However, according to Google Maps[4] the station is located outside of Linthicum Heights (Linthicum), with that census-designated place only extending to just the far side I-195 and does not include the train station. According to the United States Postal Service (USPS), "BWI Airport" is not an acceptable city name and that the proper city for the 21240 ZIP code (which is used by all the sources previously cited) is Baltimore (even though the station actually outside the city proper).[5] Nothwithstanding, the USPS does not recognize the street address provided by any of the sources.

References

  1. ↑ "BWI Airport, MD: BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)". Amtrak. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  2. ↑ "BWI Airport: Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI)". Amtrak. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "MARC RIDERS GUIDE" (PDF). Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ Google (September 30, 2013). "Linthicum Heights, MD" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Look Up a ZIP Code™: 21240". United States Postal Service. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, Maryland" (PDF). Amtrak Government Affairs. November 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ground Transportation: Amtrak". Maryland Aviation Administration. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  8. ↑ "BWI Rail Station dedication booklet, 1980.". Amtrak. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Availability of MARC Parking". Archived from the original on July 12, 2008. Retrieved July 13, 2008.
  10. ↑ "Maryland Transit Administration renovates BWI station platforms". Progressive Railroading. Trade Press Media Group, Inc. November 24, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2013.
  11. ↑ "MARC Council January 2010 Meeting Minutes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Governor O'Malley Applauds President Obama for High Speed Rail Investment in Maryland" (Press release). State of Maryland. January 28, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Maryland has plans for bigger BWI rail station". Railway Track and Structures. New York: Simmons-Boardman Publishing. September 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011.
  14. ↑ "FRA Gives Green Light to Rebuild BWI Rail Station, Increase Service and Reliability" (Press release). Federal Railroad Administration. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  15. ↑ "Bus Routes". Maryland Transit Administration. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  16. ↑ "The BWI Trail". Bike Washington. Retrieved September 30, 2013.

External links

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