Amtrak officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning to mark completion of a new boarding platform for high-speed trains at Baltimore’s Penn Station.
Platform Five, as the project is called, is a key phase of Amtrak’s $150 million initiative to improve customer service and increase ridership at Penn Station, the eighth busiest Amtrak facility in the country with more than three million Amtrak and MARC passengers a year. Over the past year, representatives say, Amtrak ridership increased 29 percent in Baltimore, surpassing the 24 percent growth rate in Amtrak ridership nationwide.
When it goes into service this spring, Platform Five will be the location where passengers will board Amtrak’s high-speed Acela trains. When Amtrak launches a new fleet of Acela trains later this year, passengers will board those trains from Platform Five as well.
Construction of Platform Five accounts for a significant portion of the $150 million investment that Amtrak is making at Penn Station. Other phases include restoration and modernization of the 1911 train station that was designed by architect Kenneth Murchison and construction of a new passenger terminal on the north side of the train tracks, with a new main entrance and drop-off area on Saint Paul Street.
The scaffolding that surrounds the historic headhouse at 1500 N. Charles St. is scheduled to come down by summer, a sign that exterior restoration work is complete, and construction work on the new terminal will follow.
More than 50 people gathered as city and state leaders joined with Amtrak representatives to celebrate completion of Platform Five, which is accessible from the existing station and also will be accessible from the new terminal when it is completed.
Platform Five entailed construction of more than 1,000 linear feet of pedestrian pathways and a two-story structure on the north side of the tracks that provides stairs, an escalator and elevators that connect Penn Station’s current waiting area with the platform level where passengers board trains, plus graphics that will provide information about train arrivals and departures.
According to managers, Platform Five will give Amtrak more operational flexibility at Penn Station. When other platforms that high-speed trains typically use are already occupied, they say, the new platform will be available for passengers to board or disembark.
A second platform that is being built at Penn Station, called Platform Two, is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2024. Both will support Amtrak’s expansion of high-speed train service with the new Acelatrains that are scheduled to debut later this year.
Speakers at Monday’s event said Platform Five is a prime example of the way the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to invest federal funds in public infrastructure is benefiting patrons of Amtrak in Baltimore and other cities.
“As we work to redevelop Baltimore Penn Station and enhance the customer experience, this new platform will help ease rail congestion and reduce delays on the Northeast Corridor,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris. “Amtrak ridership continues to grow, and this new platform will help us build future capacity while also improving operational flexibility.”
“Renovations and upgrades at Baltimore Penn Station, including the new boarding platform just finished, will modernize a historic hub for Baltimore residents and along the Northeast Corridor,” said Federal Railroad Administration Deputy Administrator Jennifer Mitchell. “The Federal Railroad Administration is proud to support work at Baltimore Penn Station and beyond as we invest billions from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance projects of national significance in Maryland, like replacing the B&P Tunnel; Bush River Bridge; Gunpowder River Bridge, and Susquehanna River Rail Bridge.”
“It’s going to make the passenger use here so much more friendly,” said U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland). “This is what we need.”
While other administrations may have talked about investing in public infrastructure, the Biden-Harris administration has delivered, said U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland).
“When we say every week is Infrastructure Week,” he said, “we mean moments just like this.”
It has always been my fear that the Baltimore Penn Station will go through an enormous investment in time and money and the results will be disappointing. Investment in the existing Station is crucial for its long term benefit are justifiable. Investments in the development on the north side of the tracks are necessary to ensure the station remains economically sustainable. However, the arrival/departure platforms and canopies are the most critical elements of the renovation and unfortunately are being treated like a small town commuter rail platform. The east-west zone between the St Paul St and Charles St bridges and the south wall and north walls of the track area are what ALL passengers will experience. Piecemeal added circulation elements and tiny cross bridges, no matter how contemporary the design, are all minor intrusions into the vital arrival space. The zone I just described needs to be considered as one large interior space, with minimum vertical components, and covered by a translucent roof. A true “Sense of Arrival” Space and not just another platform boarding common along the NE Corridor.
Ken Griffin AIA emeritus
Retired VP AECOM
National Transportation Practice Manager