Hoyer Concerned About Rail Possibilities

Hoyer Voices Concern over Railroad Realignment Alternatives through Charles County

WASHINGTON, DC – At its monthly meeting today, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) shared the preliminary findings of a nine-month rail study conducted in partnership with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

Working with consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff, the NCPC and DDOT examined the feasibility of relocating freight rail service carrying potentially hazardous materials away from the Capital building and the 100,000 federal employees nearby.

NCPC Chairman John V. Cogbill, III gave an additional reason for the study, “It has long been NCPC’s vision to remove the impediments that divide the [District’s] neighborhoods and to restore public access to the city’s waterfront.”

“Realigning the corridor would reconnect Southeast and Southwest Washington to the rest of the city and provide tremendous development opportunities along the way, as outlined in NCPC’s 1997 Extending the Legacy plan.”

The Railroad Realignment Feasibility Study — funded by a $1 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security’s 2005 Urban Areas Security Initiative — identifies three alternative routes for D.C.’s current freight rail traffic. Two of the alternatives would send approximately thirty trains each day through Bowie & Upper Marlborough in Prince George’s County then Waldorf or La Plata in Charles County.

Because these routes run primarily through Maryland’s 5th Congressional District, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD) released a statement today in response to the findings of the study:

“Although the current freight route through the National Capital Region rightfully merits study as a matter of homeland security, I have serious concerns about the report’s proposed alternatives through Prince George’s and Charles Counties.

“Such alternatives are difficult to assess without knowing the precise environmental, economic, security and quality-of-life impact that they might have on the communities along the identified corridors.

“I understand this is only a preliminary study, however, I believe that extensive further examination is needed to determine the exact costs and benefits associated with the proposed bypasses and what other viable options might be available.

“While I remain supportive of efforts to secure the National Capital Region by reducing the threats posed by hazardous cargo, I would be strongly opposed to any plan that would only shift the potential risk to other parts of the region or that would come at the expense of the communities along the alternative routes.”

(Article continues below map.)