Maryland gets federal funding for rail-served tunnel

CSX said it continues to support the tunnel project. The railroad had said previously that it would no longer provide financial support for the tunnel, but CSX reaffirmed its commitment to the tunnel last December 2018. It told Maryland lawmakers then that it would support the project so long as it would be able to secure public funding, according to local press reports.

“We congratulate Maryland on this award and will continue to work with them to move it forward,” CSX said on July 23. “CSX stands by our commitment to allocate $91 million toward the effort and will continue to work with our state and federal partners in the days ahead.”

The tunnel, which is 121 years old, is not tall enough to allow for double-stacked intermodal containers. Reconstructing the tunnel has been part of CSX’s greater vision, called National Gateway, to facilitate intermodal and carload shipments along the East Coast. The National Gateway initiative also called for reconstructing the Virginia Avenue Tunnel in Washington, D.C. to allow for double-stacked trains. CSX completed reconstructing that tunnel in the fall of 2018.

The Port of Baltimore said on May 30 that 2018 was a record year for the port. Volumes have grown at the port since the 2016 expansion of the Panama Canal. 

In 2018, the Port of Baltimore handled a record 43 million tons of international cargo worth $59.7 billion, with state-owned public terminals handling 10.9 million tons of general cargo and 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). That was the first time that the state-owned terminals handled more than 1 million TEUs.

The port, which was ranked 11th in 2018 among the major U.S. cargo ports in terms of volume, also ranked first in handling autos and light trucks, roll on/off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar and imported gypsum. It is also ranked second in exported coal.