Nearly 150-years old, the B&P Tunnel dates from the Civil War era. It is also the largest bottleneck on the Northeast Corridor between Washington and New Jersey.

The B&P Tunnel is the oldest Amtrak tunnel and a single point of failure for the 9 million MARC and Amtrak customers who rely on it. The 1.4-mile tunnel, connecting Baltimore’s Penn Station to Washington and Virginia, suffers from a variety of age-related issues such as excessive water infiltration, a deteriorating structure, and a sinking floor. The tunnel lacks adequate fire and life safety systems to help keep passengers safe in the event of an emergency, and excessive costly maintenance is required. The tunnel is at capacity, and the tunnel’s tight curvature requires trains to reduce speeds to 30 mph. These issues create chronic delays — more than 10% of weekday trains are delayed, and delays occur on 99% of weekdays.

Without the roughly $6 billion replacement, these issues will persist, and the risk to Northeast Corridor operations will grow. A tunnel replacement program has already completed its environmental (NEPA) review, and preliminary work is beginning in 2023. Pre-award authority has been given by the Federal Railroad Administration for major construction contracts to be awarded. Funding will be a combination of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funding and Maryland and internal program revenue.

Benefits

• Increased capacity
• Improved reliability
• Trip time reductions
• Enhanced safety

Partners

• U.S. DOT Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
• Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT)
• Amtrak
• Baltimore City