Baltimore
Washington
on the SubwayNut
on the SubwayNut
Baltimore and Washington are two very distinctive cities with very different modern rail-based transit histories but are interlinked since their train stations – Washington, DC's Union Station and Baltimore's Penn and Camden Stations are located just 37 miles apart with the two cities connected by two different commuter rail lines. In addition, for local transit (except Commuter Rail and Commuter Bus) Baltimore CharmCards and Washington, DC SmarTrip cards are compatible with the same stored value (but not unlimited passes) valid on both systems. This is still the case although the last local bus connection between the two systems ended in March 2020 when the Washington Metro ended its Route B30 from Greenbelt to BWI Airport. Unfortunately, cross-compatibility between the two cities transit systems has become less good in the age of phone apps with Washington DC's SmarTrip digital cards not compatible in Baltimore, and the CharmPass app not compatible in Washington, DC.
From 1962 when the last streetcar ran in Washington, DC until 1976, the MARC processor generally Weekday-only Conrail and B&O Commuter trains were the only non-intercity rail service in the region (there are three MARC Lines, only one is presently on the SubwayNut):
In 1976, the first small section of the Washington Metro opened. It has since expanded and become the highest ridership urban rail system outside of New York City. This was helped by Washington, DC rejecting freeways within the district. It also had the of being well funded by the federal government to get federal employees to their office jobs:
Washington Metro-Coming Soon
At the same time Baltimore was planning a similar to Washington, DC-style Metro with six lines radiating from the city center but suburban county politics and fear of urban residents ruining suburbs via train resulted in only one line being built, opening between 1983 and 1995. It is presently one of the shortest and is the lowest ridership metro system in the United States:
Instead of building more Metro lines Baltimore opened a north-south light rail line in 1992 that was completed in 1997:
Baltimore Light Railink-Coming Soon
A few months later Northern Virginia then opened its own two commuter rail lines system (along existing Amtrak lines) in 1992:
Virgina Railway Express-Coming Soon
Finally, Washington, DC got on the urban streetcar boondoggle in 2016:
DC Streetcar-Coming Soon
The Maryland Transit Administration (that operates the MARC, Baltimore Metro SubwayLink and LightRail Link systems) is also currently constructing the Purple Line a radial light rail line from New Carrollton to Bethesda entirely in the state of Maryland just outside but circling Washington, DC with four connections to the DC Metro. It is unknown if this rail line will appear on Washington Metro maps since it won't be operated by WMATA but the state of Maryland. It is planned to open in 2027 (as of early 2024).
