Original article by Holden Wilen – Reporter, Baltimore Business Journal

Edited by: Dan Woomer

September 2, 2021

The federal government for the second time has paused its environmental review of the proposed $10 billion high-speed magnetic levitating train line that would get travelers from Baltimore to Washington , D.C. in 15 minutes.

Editors Note: BWRR increase its cost to build estimate to $16 billion.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) paused the project on Aug. 25 "to review project elements and to determine the next steps," according to the passed federal government's online permitting dashboard. The FRA previously paused its environmental review of the maglev project for eight months from September 2019 to May 2020.

Prior to the latest pause, the dashboard had estimated the environmental review would be completed in the first quarter of 2022.

"FRA looks forward to sharing the revised project [environmental impact statement] schedule when it is determined," a spokesman for the agency said in an email Thursday.

Wayne Rogers, CEO of Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail, and the FRA spokesman both said the latest pause is unrelated to the railroad company's failed attempt to condemn 43 acres of land in Baltimore 's Westport neighborhood. A Baltimore City Circuit Court judge dismissed the lawsuit on Aug. 30, ruling that Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail does not have condemnation power.

Officials characterized the pause as a natural delay for a complex project.

"The FRA put the project on 'pause' on the dashboard as they evaluate the information in hand, the next steps, and the associated schedule," Rogers said in an email, adding that the judge's ruling in the condemnation lawsuit has been appealed.

The pause gives the FRA more time to review hundreds of comments submitted in response to a draft environmental impact statement published in January. A number of community organizations representing neighborhoods in South Baltimore as well as Prince George 's and Anne Arundel counties that are located along the proposed route for the maglev oppose the project. Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott's administration and elected officials in Prince George 's County also submitted letters of opposition.

A group called the Maryland Coalition for Responsible Transit, consisting of Prince George 's and Anne Arundel residents, submitted a 495-page document detailing numerous reasons why the maglev should not be built. Among the many criticisms, the group argues the draft environmental impact fails to provide required financial, ridership, job creation, and other data and analyses to substantiate claims about the benefits the maglev will provide.

Editor’s Note: There are numerous legal issues, massive and destructive impacts on our environment and preserved lands, significant concerns on tunneling through the Arundel aquifer - the source of all drinking water for AA County residents, serious unanswered questions as to the crashworthiness and safety of SCMagLev, systems and support structures, the huge impact on Environmental Justice Communities, and potentially serious human/wildlife health impacts.

Maglev officials tout the train would allow people to travel between Baltimore and D.C. within 15 minutes, with an intermediate stop at Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport . The maglev's alignment would follow similarly to the Baltimore-Washington Parkway , with a station in Baltimore at either Cherry Hill or by Camden Yards.

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A study conducted by Louis Berger on behalf of Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail estimates that ridership will grow from 16.3 million annual trips in 2027, following a two-year ramp-up period, to approximately 24.5 million annual trips by 2050. Maglev officials also estimate that at least 160,000 jobs will be created during construction.

Editor’s Note: The released “ridership” document was so redacted that it was nearly useless, however, multiple articles and independent research by the Maryland Public Policy Institute, Owen Kelly, PhD, and Norman Marshall Smart Mobility. Inc., for example, all find the proposed ridership inflated by a factor of four up to a factor of ten.

Despite criticism of the maglev, Rogers said a majority of the submitted comments were positive and in support of the project.

"Positive support in large numbers is extremely unusual in a positive way, as many times the only voices that shout are those opposed," Rogers said. "Press also tends to only report the negative comments. The FRA and the [Maryland Department of Transportation] are carefully considering every comment that has been received and will let us and the public know when that review is planned to be complete and what the schedule is going forward."

Editor’s Note: “as many times the only voices that shout are those opposed” How those opposed to building the SCMagLev including Baltimore City, Washington DC, AA and PG Counties, NASA, U.S. Department of Interior, City of Greenbelt, City of Bladensburg, AA and PG Boards of Education, PG NAACP, a long and growing list of elected officials, community, civic and improvement associations, to name just a few.

Rogers also noted the environmental benefits of the maglev project as Maryland and the U.S. at large combat climate change.

"The Maglev project is very timely as Hurricane Ida, damaging Annapolis and Edgewater, air conditioning needs in Baltimore schools, sea-level rise, and flooding in Maryland all point to the urgent need to not only talk but to take action to arrest climate change," Rogers said. "Cars are the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Maglev will remove 16 million cars per year from the highways and make the largest dent in emissions of any initiative in Maryland ."

Editor’s Note: This statement is a joke. Building the SCMagLev will destroy huge sections of preserved public lands, likely damage underground water sources, increase pollution released into our streams, waterways, and the Bay with runoff from the large industrial Train Maintenance Facilities, not to mention the huge electrical power needed to operate the SCMagLev, overwhelmingly generated by Nuclear, Natural Gas and Coal‑fired generating plants.

Maglev-Westport fight intensifies ahead of crucial court hearing

Westport leaders vow to fight maglev lawsuit seeking to condemn land

Amtrak CEO bashes proposed Baltimore-Washington maglev project

Editor’s Note: To learn more about the long list of costs and impacts on our communities, environment, and the questions about the safety and financial stability of the SCMagLev operations, go to www.mcrt-action.org, click on the tab “SCMaglev Opposition”, and click on the link titled “MCRT SCMagLev DEIS Comments Submission.” This report, researched and assembled experts working with the Maryland Coalition for Responsible Transit and submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration, lays out the long list of reasons why the SCMagLev should not be built, and presents the reasoning why the existing systems of Amtrak, Amtrak’s Acela, MARC, and VRE should continue to be enhanced, upgraded and expanded.

Source: Wilen, Holden. “Federal government pauses review of Baltimore-Washington maglev project.” Baltimore Business Journal. September 2, 2021. https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2021/09/02/federal-government-pauses-maglev-project.html#:~:text=Federal%20government%20pauses%20review%20of%20Baltimore%2DWashington%20maglev%20project,-Email&text=The%20federal%20government%20for%20the,Washington%2C%20D.C.%20in%2015%20minutes.

And research out of Japan finds the SCMagLev can use up to five times the energy as compared to their high-speed rail. More energy required, more greenhouse gases. For more information on the serious consequences building and operating the SCMagLev would bring, see www.mcrt-action.org. While opposed to the building of an expensive limousine service for the wealthy at our expense, MCRT supports the continued enhancement and improvements of Amtrak, Amtrak Acela, and MARC that are already underway