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116-715: The Jones Falls valley has a long history in the city of Baltimore as a transportation corridor. The valley of the Jones Falls carries Falls Road (which is numbered as Maryland Route 25 ), the tracks for the Amtrak Northeast Corridor , the Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) of Interstate 83 , and the Baltimore Light Rail . The Baltimore Penn Station also rests on an elevated platform in the valley. It also carries tracks for

232-594: A one-way pair , Lafayette Street westbound and Lanvale Street eastbound, at the one-way pair comprising MD 2, Calvert Street northbound and St. Paul Street southbound, in the Charles North neighborhood of Baltimore and within the North Central Historic District . Lafayette Street and Lanvale Street head west as two-lane streets and intersects another one-way pair of streets, northbound Charles Street and southbound Maryland Avenue. Within

348-567: A "quasi-public corporation" to take over the operation of intercity passenger trains. Matters were brought to a head on June 21, 1970, when the Penn Central , the largest railroad in the Northeastern United States and teetering on bankruptcy, filed to discontinue 34 of its passenger trains. In October 1970, Congress passed, and President Richard Nixon signed into law (against the objections of most of his advisors),

464-718: A "transitional CEO" who would reorganize Amtrak before turning it over to new leadership. On November 17, 2016, the Gateway Program Development Corporation (GDC) was formed for the purpose of overseeing and effectuating the rail infrastructure improvements known as the Gateway Program. GDC is a partnership of the States of New York and New Jersey and Amtrak. The Gateway Program includes the Hudson Tunnel Project, to build

580-705: A corporate campus for several financial and insurance companies), MD 25 leaves the city of Baltimore at its 1919 City Limits just south of West Lake Avenue. MD 25 enters the Bare Hills Historic District and Bare Hills area of Baltimore County . The state highway crosses over the Baltimore Light RailLink line again and the Jones Falls next to the Falls Road station . The station is accessed via unsigned MD 746 (Lakeside Drive), which partially runs underneath MD 25 along

696-551: A customer had traveled, the Baltimore County Court allowed the company to charge a full toll for passing over any part of the road. The southern toll gate was located one to two blocks north of North Avenue at the bridge over Jones Falls, and the other was several miles north, near Cross Keys . Falls Road was paved in macadam as a state-aid road—the road was designed by the Highway Division of

812-521: A day's pay for 100-to-150-mile (160 to 240 km) workdays. Streamliners covered that in two hours. Matters approached a crisis in the 1960s. Passenger service route-miles fell from 107,000 miles (172,000 km) in 1958 to 49,000 miles (79,000 km) in 1970, the last full year of private operation. The diversion of most United States Post Office Department mail from passenger trains to trucks, airplanes, and freight trains in late 1967 deprived those trains of badly needed revenue. In direct response,

928-541: A direct line to Hanover and Carlisle ." This extension was delayed by what Caton thought was a desire to keep the Baltimore and Reister's-town Turnpike 's monopoly . A public road extending from Brooklandville north-northwesterly to George Kerlinger's Mill on Gunpowder Falls - near but not on the Pennsylvania state line - was authorized by a state law passed December 24, 1808. The Falls Turnpike began building

1044-481: A flyover ramp for the transfer of southbound I-83 from the east–west beltway to the north–south expressway. The Jones Falls Expressway continues south as I-83 into Baltimore. The Baltimore Beltway carries I-695 west toward Pikesville and both I-83 and I-695 east toward Towson, where I-83 splits north toward York . The four-lane freeway ends at a four-leg intersection with MD 25 (Falls Road) and Joppa Road. Joppa Road heads east toward Towson; MD 25 heads south as

1160-645: A historic rail line which is currently served by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum . The MTA Maryland Route 27 also provides transportation on Falls Road; however, at some point it was moved from following 36th Street south to other city streets. The Jones Falls is spanned by many bridges within Baltimore City's borders, and often the Jones Falls Expressway rests directly above the river. The Jones Falls begins as

1276-577: A large overhang of debt from years of underfunding. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak suffered through a serious cash crunch. Under Downs, Congress included a provision in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that resulted in Amtrak receiving a $ 2.3 billion tax refund that resolved their cash crisis. However, Congress also instituted a "glide path" to financial self-sufficiency, excluding railroad retirement tax act payments. George Warrington became

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1392-634: A new tunnel under the Hudson River and rehabilitate the existing century-old tunnel, and the Portal North Bridge, to replace a century-old moveable bridge with a modern structure that is less prone to failure. Later projects of the Gateway Program, including the expansion of track and platforms at Penn Station New York, construction of the Bergen Loop and other improvements will roughly double capacity for Amtrak and NJ Transit trains in

1508-400: A nonprofit environmental advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Fleischmann's Vinegar Company Inc. , the largest vinegar manufacturer in the U.S. The company was accused of polluting the water channels in Jones Falls with illegal acidic chemicals, causing around 1,000 fish to die beginning in 2021. The lawsuit also stated that the members of Blue Water Baltimore discovered dead fish and eels in

1624-402: A sharp turn east at the north end of the parallel section, then turns north onto a four-lane divided highway extending north from the freeway. The highway passes through a commercial area to MD 130 (Greenspring Valley Road), north of which the highway becomes two lanes again. At the northern end of Brooklandville, the state highway meets the western end of MD 131 (Seminary Avenue) and passes by

1740-967: A small stream in Baltimore County near Garrison at the intersection of Caves and Garrison Road (39.41771° -76.75750°). It travels southeast for 3.3 miles (5.3 km) before joining the North Branch Jones Falls stream near Stevenson (39.41225° -76.70937°). North Branch Jones Falls originates near Worthington by the intersection of Park Heights Avenue and Walnut Avenue (39.46135° -76.75057°). The North Branch travels south for 5.2 miles (8.4 km) before joining Jones Falls stream. The falls then travels east for 1.3 miles (2.1 km) before Dipping Pond Run joins at ( 39.41424° -76.68557°). The Jones Falls continues east another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) before Deep Run intersects near Brooklandville (39.41467° -76.67060°). The stream then continues south along Interstate 83 (I-83), which

1856-631: A two-lane road from the west leg of the intersection and north as a short four-lane divided highway continuation of the expressway. The only intermediate junction on MD 25A is a direct ramp from MD 25 to southbound MD 25A at the southern point of where the two highways run parallel. All of MD 25A is a part of the National Highway System as a principal arterial for its entire length. Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation , doing business as Amtrak ( / ˈ æ m t r æ k / ; reporting marks AMTK , AMTZ ),

1972-475: A well-forested affluent area between Towson (county seat of Baltimore County) to the east and Pikesville to the west with its headquarters for the Maryland State Police . The highway descends to and crosses Jones Falls twice on either side of an underpass of I-83. To the north of the second crossing of the stream, MD 25 has a four-leg intersection with MD 133 (Old Court Road) and Ruxton Road;

2088-567: A year, its highest number since its founding in 1970. Politico noted a key problem: "the rail system chronically operates in the red. A pattern has emerged: Congress overrides cutbacks demanded by the White House and appropriates enough funds to keep Amtrak from plunging into insolvency. But, Amtrak advocates say, that is not enough to fix the system's woes." Joseph H. Boardman replaced Kummant as president and CEO in late 2008. In 2011, Amtrak announced its intention to improve and expand

2204-648: Is managed as a for-profit organization . The company's headquarters is located one block west of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Amtrak is headed by a Board of Directors, two of whom are the Secretary of Transportation and CEO of Amtrak, while the other eight members are nominated to serve a term of five years. Amtrak's network includes over 500 stations along 21,400 miles (34,000 km) of track. It directly owns approximately 623 miles (1,003 km) of this track and operates an additional 132 miles of track;

2320-539: Is named the Jones Falls Expressway, for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) until Slaughterhouse Branch and Moores Branch join it next to the I-83 overpass over Maryland Route 25 (MD 25, Falls Road) (39.39587° -76.66442°). The Jones Falls travels southeast for 1.5 miles (2.4 km), passing through Lake Roland Park , until it meets Lake Roland , an impounding of the stream. (39.39069° -76.64639°) In Lake Roland, Roland Run and Towson Run both join. Once it leaves Lake Roland,

2436-664: Is next to the historic home " Evergreen on the Falls " now occupied by the Maryland association of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). The street becomes undivided and reduces to two lanes at the main street of Hampden, 36th Street or The Avenue. North of 41st Street, MD 25 passes between the neighborhoods of Medfield to the west and Hoes Heights on the east. The highway intersects Cold Spring Lane next to

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2552-616: Is owned by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Connecticut Department of Transportation as the New Haven Line .) This mainline became Amtrak's "jewel" asset, and helped the railroad generate revenue. While the NEC ridership and revenues were higher than any other segment of the system, the cost of operating and maintaining the corridor proved to be overwhelming. As a result, Amtrak's federal subsidy

2668-590: Is powered by overhead lines ; for the rest of the system, diesel-fueled locomotives are used. Routes vary widely in the frequency of service, from three-days-a-week trains on the Sunset Limited to several times per hour on the Northeast Corridor. For areas not served by trains, Amtrak Thruway routes provide guaranteed connections to trains via buses, vans, ferries and other modes. The most popular and heavily used services are those running on

2784-463: Is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces . Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words America and track. Founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes, Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but

2900-763: The California Zephyr between Oakland and Chicago via Denver and revived the Auto Train , a unique service that carries both passengers and their vehicles. Amtrak advertised it as a great way to avoid traffic along the I-95 running between Lorton, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.) and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando) on the Silver Star alignment. In 1980s and 1990s, stations in Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. received major rehabilitation and

3016-442: The 10 largest metropolitan areas and 83% of passengers travel on routes shorter than 400 miles (645 km). In 1916, 98% of all commercial intercity travelers in the United States moved by rail, and the remaining 2% moved by inland waterways . Nearly 42 million passengers used railways as primary transportation. Passenger trains were owned and operated by the same privately owned companies that operated freight trains. As

3132-701: The Amtrak Northeast Corridor enters the valley upon exiting the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel and bridging the Jones Falls, with Howard Street Bridge directly above this intersection. MD 25 ends shortly after (splitting into the one-way couplet of eastbound Lanvale Street and westbound Lafayette Avenue), with the Jones Falls Trail joining city streets, and the Light Rail also leaves the valley to join Howard Street. After

3248-477: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway filed to discontinue 33 of its remaining 39 trains, ending almost all passenger service on one of the largest railroads in the country. The equipment the railroads had ordered after World War II was now 20 years old, worn out, and in need of replacement. As passenger service declined, various proposals were brought forward to rescue it. The 1961 Doyle Report proposed that

3364-1018: The COVID-19 pandemic , Amtrak continued operating as an essential service. It started requiring face coverings the week of May 17, and limited sales to 50% of capacity. Most long-distance routes were reduced to three weekly round trips in October 2020. In March 2021, following President Joe Biden's American Jobs Plan announcement, Amtrak CEO Bill Flynn outlined a proposal called Amtrak Connects US that would expand state-supported intercity corridors with an infusion of upfront capital assistance. This would expand service to cities including Las Vegas , Phoenix , Baton Rouge , Nashville , Chattanooga , Louisville , Columbus (Ohio) , Wilmington (North Carolina) , Cheyenne , Montgomery , Concord , and Scranton . Also in March 2021, Amtrak announced plans to return 12 of its long-distance routes to daily schedules later in

3480-658: The Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund paid for by user fees, highway fuel and road taxes, and, in the case of the General Fund, from general taxation. Gunn dropped most freight express business and worked to eliminate deferred maintenance. A plan by the Bush administration "to privatize parts of the national passenger rail system and spin off other parts to partial state ownership" provoked disagreement within Amtrak's board of directors. Late in 2005, Gunn

3596-664: The Jones Falls Trail . About a 1 ⁄ 4 mile (400 m) before it intersects Stony Run, the Jones Falls goes over a 10 feet (3 m) waterfall named "Round Falls". About 0.6 miles (1 km) after Stony Run, and after passing by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum , the CSXT -operated Baltimore Belt Line bridges the river, bound for the Howard Street Tunnel . The Jones Falls then immediately passes underneath North Avenue . Just south of North Avenue,

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3712-547: The Pennsylvania state line. The road passes through the communities of Hampden , Medfield , Cross Keys , and Mount Washington in the city, and Brooklandville and Butler in Baltimore County. The entire length of MD 25 that uses Falls Road—and its county-maintained continuation north to Alesia —is a Maryland Scenic Byway , named the Falls Road Scenic Byway . MD 25 begins as

3828-636: The Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act of 1976. A large part of the legislation was directed to the creation of Conrail , but the law also enabled the transfer of the portions of the NEC not already owned by state authorities to Amtrak. Amtrak acquired the majority of the NEC on April 1, 1976. (The portion in Massachusetts is owned by the Commonwealth and managed by Amtrak. The route from New Haven to New Rochelle

3944-559: The 20th century progressed, patronage declined in the face of competition from buses , air travel , and the car . New streamlined diesel-powered trains such as the Pioneer Zephyr were popular with the traveling public but could not reverse the trend. By 1940, railroads held 67 percent of commercial passenger-miles in the United States. In real terms, passenger-miles had fallen by 40% since 1916, from 42 billion to 25 billion. Traffic surged during World War II , which

4060-538: The Baltimore Light RailLink and Jones Falls at Bare Hills in 1991 and over I-695 near Brooklandville in 1996. MD 25A is the designation for the 0.58-mile (0.93 km) portion of the Jones Falls Expressway north of the Baltimore Beltway in Brooklandville. The highway begins at the interchange between the Jones Falls Expressway and the Baltimore Beltway, which is a cloverleaf interchange with

4176-551: The Baltimore–;Carroll county line. Falls Road continues northwest for 4.2 miles (6.8 km) as a county highway into northeastern Carroll County. Just north of its intersection with Hoffmanville Road near Alesia, the highway becomes a narrow gravel road. Falls Road has a grade crossing of CSX's Hanover Subdivision , then becomes a paved road again shortly before its northern terminus at Schalk Road No. 1 near Gunpowder Falls north of Alesia and south of Lineboro near

4292-620: The California corridor trains accounted for a combined 2.35 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Other popular routes include the Empire Service between New York City and Niagara Falls , via Albany and Buffalo , which carried 613.2 thousand passengers in fiscal year 2021, and the Keystone Service between New York City and Harrisburg via Philadelphia that carried 394.3 thousand passengers that same year. Four of

4408-885: The Charles–;Lafayette–Maryland–Lanvale block is a plethora of historic sites: the Hans Schuler Studio and Residence on Lafayette Street, the Charles Theatre and Baltimore City Passenger Railway Power House and Car Barn on Charles Street, and rowhouses comprising the Buildings at 1601–1830 St. Paul Street and 12–20 E. Lafayette Street . West of Maryland Avenue, Lafayette Street and Lanvale Street merge into two-lane undivided Falls Road, which curves northwest and briefly parallels Amtrak 's Northeast Corridor railroad line, which enters Penn Station serving Amtrak and MARC 's Penn Line to

4524-451: The DOT's analysis was far too optimistic, with director George Shultz arguing to cut the number of routes by around half. Nixon agreed with Shultz, and the public draft presented by Volpe on November 30 consisted of only 16 routes. The initial reaction to this heavily-cut-back proposed system from the public, the press, and congressmen was strongly negative. It made front-page headlines across

4640-467: The Empire Connection tunnel opened in 1991, allowing Amtrak to consolidate all New York services at Penn Station. Despite the improvements, Amtrak's ridership stagnated at roughly 20 million passengers per year, amid uncertain government aid from 1981 to about 2000. In the early 1990s, Amtrak tested several different high-speed trains from Europe on the Northeast Corridor. An X 2000 train

4756-716: The Falls Road. On January 19, 1805, A company known as 'The President, Managers and Company, of the Falls Turnpike Road', more commonly called the 'Falls Turnpike', was incorporated and chartered by the Maryland General Assembly . The company was authorized to build and operate a turnpike "for the accommodation of the inhabitants on Jones's Falls , and the country adjacent", running from "the ford by Messieurs [William] Patterson and [John] Stricker's mill" northerly to "the cross roads by

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4872-457: The Jones Falls becomes a small river. Not long after leaving the lake, the Jones Falls enters Baltimore directly underneath an intersection of Interstate 83 and the Baltimore Light Rail 's mainline, with both routes beginning to parallel I-83. For the remainder of the Jones Falls' course, I-83 enters the Jones Falls valley, where it constantly crosses over, parallels, and covers the river. Another 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) after entering

4988-470: The Jones Falls exits the conduit and flows several more blocks before it empties into the east side of the Inner Harbor (39.28657° -76.60457°) near Mr. Trash Wheel . As far back as 1990, city-sponsored planning studies showed support for the idea of partially demolishing I-83 and thus daylighting the Jones Falls. More recent suggestions include a long-range plan proposed by Marc Szarkowski, while he

5104-562: The Jones Falls valley and passes through the center of Mount Washington . The neighborhood contains the North Baltimore Aquatic Club , where American Olympics team member Michael Phelps trained, and an intersection with Kelly Avenue and its Bridge which connects to the west with the hilly community of Mount Washington, where the highway reduces to two lanes. Here also is the former campus of old Mount Saint Agnes College for women, and its famous "Octagon House", now

5220-705: The Maryland Geological Survey and paved by the county with equal financial support by the state and county—from Kelly Avenue in Mount Washington to Padonia Road by 1910. The highway was paved as a 40-foot (12 m)-wide vitrified brick state road—the road was designed by the Maryland State Roads Commission and its construction fully financed by the state—from 36th Avenue in Hampden north to

5336-442: The Maryland State Roads Commission planned to reconstruct Falls Road in Baltimore from 36th Street south to North Avenue; that stretch was paved with concrete by 1923. The portion of Falls Road from Butler to Whitehouse, which was then known as Blackrock, was planned as part of an extension of Park Heights Avenue via Butler Road and other highways east of Reisterstown as early as 1910 and as late as 1921. Starting in 1924, Falls Road

5452-616: The Maryland–; Pennsylvania state line. On the December 27, 1791, the Maryland General Assembly authorized Elisha Tyson, William & Charles Jessop, John Ellicott, George Leggett, Robert Long, Jacob Hart, and John Stricker to lay out a road, not to exceed 40 feet (12 m) wide, from their flour mill-seats on Jones Falls, then in Baltimore County, southerly to Baltimore Town, thereafter known as

5568-478: The NEC and rises in automobile fuel costs. The inauguration of the high-speed Acela in late 2000 generated considerable publicity and led to major ridership gains. However, through the late 1990s and very early 21st century, Amtrak could not add sufficient express freight revenue or cut sufficient other expenditures to break even. By 2002, it was clear that Amtrak could not achieve self-sufficiency, but Congress continued to authorize funding and released Amtrak from

5684-642: The NEC, including the Acela and Northeast Regional . The NEC runs between Boston and Washington, D.C. via New York City and Philadelphia. Some services continue into Virginia . The NEC services accounted for 4.4 million of Amtrak's 12.2 million passengers in fiscal year 2021. Outside the NEC the most popular services are the short-haul corridors in California, the Pacific Surfliner , Capitol Corridor , and San Joaquins , which are supplemented by an extensive network of connecting buses. Together

5800-1003: The NRPC as a politically expedient way for the President and Congress to give passenger trains a "last hurrah" as demanded by the public. They expected the NRPC to quietly disappear as public interest waned. After Fortune magazine exposed the manufactured mismanagement in 1974, Louis W. Menk , chairman of the Burlington Northern Railroad , remarked that the story was undermining the scheme to dismantle Amtrak. Proponents also hoped that government intervention would be brief and that Amtrak would soon be able to support itself. Neither view had proved to be correct; popular support allowed Amtrak to continue in operation longer than critics imagined, while financial results made passenger train service returning to private railroad operations infeasible. The Rail Passenger Service Act gave

5916-421: The NRPC had hired Lippincott & Margulies to create a brand for it and replace its original working brand name of Railpax. On March 30, L&M's work was presented to the NRPC's board of incorporators, who unanimously agreed on the "headless arrow" logo and on the new brand name "Amtrak", a portmanteau of the words America and trak , the latter itself a sensational spelling of track . The name change

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6032-601: The Navy and retired Southern Railway head William Graham Claytor Jr. came out of retirement to lead Amtrak. During his time at Southern, Claytor was a vocal critic of Amtrak's prior managers, who all came from non-railroading backgrounds. Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis cited this criticism as a reason why the Democrat Claytor was acceptable to the Reagan White House. Despite frequent clashes with

6148-447: The Northeast Corridor, some of which connect to it or are extensions from it. In addition to its inter-city services, Amtrak also operates commuter services under contract for three public agencies: the MARC Penn Line in Maryland, Shore Line East in Connecticut, and Metrolink in Southern California. Service on the Northeast Corridor (NEC), between Boston , and Washington, D.C. , as well as between Philadelphia and Harrisburg ,

6264-498: The Northeast Corridor, state-supported short-haul service outside the Northeast Corridor, and medium- and long-haul service known within Amtrak as the National Network. Amtrak receives federal funding for the vast majority of its operations including the central spine of the Northeast Corridor as well as for its National Network routes. In addition to the federally funded routes, Amtrak partners with transportation agencies in 18 states to operate other short and medium-haul routes outside of

6380-406: The November 30th draft. These required routes only had their endpoints specified; the selection of the actual routes to be taken between the endpoints was left to the NRPC, which had just three months to decide them before it was due to start service. Consultants from McKinsey & Company were hired to perform this task, and their results were publicly announced on March 22. At the same time,

6496-474: The Rail Passenger Service Act. Proponents of the bill, led by the National Association of Railroad Passengers (NARP), sought government funding to ensure the continuation of passenger trains. They conceived the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (NRPC), a quasi-public corporation that would be managed as a for-profit organization , but which would receive taxpayer funding and assume operation of intercity passenger trains – while many involved in drafting

6612-473: The Reagan administration over funding, Claytor enjoyed a good relationship with Lewis, John H. Riley , the head of the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), and with members of Congress. Limited funding led Claytor to use short-term debt to fund operations. Building on mechanical developments in the 1970s, high-speed Washington–New York Metroliner Service was improved with new equipment and faster schedules. Travel time between New York and Washington, D.C.

6728-401: The Secretary of Transportation, at that time John A. Volpe , thirty days to produce an initial draft of the endpoints of the routes the NRPC would be required by law to serve for four years. On November 24 Volpe presented his initial draft consisting of 27 routes to Nixon, which he believed would make a $ 24 million profit by 1975. The Office of Management and Budget , however, believed Volpe and

6844-455: The bill did not believe the NRPC would actually be profitable, this was necessary in order for the White House and more conservative members of Congress to support the bill. There were several key provisions: Of the 26 railroads still offering intercity passenger service in 1970, only six declined to join the NRPC. Nearly everyone involved expected the experiment to be short-lived. The Nixon administration and many Washington insiders viewed

6960-433: The busiest, most complex section of the Northeast Corridor. In June 2017, it was announced that former Delta and Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson would become Amtrak's next President & CEO. Anderson began the job on July 12, assuming the title of President immediately and serving alongside Moorman as "co-CEOs" until the end of the year. On April 15, 2020, Atlas Air Chairman, President and CEO William Flynn

7076-404: The campuses of Maryvale Preparatory School and Episcopal Church twin institutions, St. Paul's School (for boys) and St. Paul's School for Girls , founded by Old St. Paul's Church in downtown Baltimore at North Charles and East Saratoga Streets, the area's oldest church, founded 1692. MD 25 continues through the region of estate homes until the highway reaches Shawan Road and Tufton Avenue at

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7192-416: The city, Western Run joins near Mount Washington (39.36717° -76.64835°). The Jones Falls, I-83, and the Light Rail continue south for 4.4 miles (7.1 km) before the last major stream, Stony Run , empties into the stream near Druid Hill Park (39.31683° -76.62672°). Along the way, MD 25 enters the valley, running parallel to the river opposite of the highway and rail lines. MD 25 is also paralleled by

7308-401: The company to build this extension without the approval of the York-town Turnpike. On December 28, 1812, the General Assembly "confirmed and established" the completed roadway. According to Richard Caton, whose limekiln was located near the north end of the turnpike, and who was one of the officers of the company, the turnpike was "excepted to unite the trade of the North with Baltimore...in

7424-401: The contemporary city limits at Roland Heights Avenue in Medfield in 1911. Falls Road from Roland Heights Avenue north to Kelly Avenue in Mount Washington was paved with a 40-foot (12 m)-wide vitrified brick surface in 1912. By 1921, Falls Road had been surfaced in macadam from Padonia Road to Ridge Road south of Shawan and then in concrete the remaining distance to Shawan. That same year,

7540-434: The corridor to make it suitable for higher-speed electric trains. The Northend Electrification Project extended existing electrification from New Haven, Connecticut , to Boston to complete the overhead power supply along the 454-mile (731 km) route, and several grade crossings were improved or removed. Ridership increased during the first decade of the 21st century after the implementation of capital improvements in

7656-477: The country and it was quickly leaked that the DOT had wanted a far larger system than the White House would approve of. The ICC produced its own report on December 29, criticising the proposed draft and arguing for the inclusion of fifteen additional routes, giving further ammunition to the congressmen who wanted an expanded system. Further wrangling between the DOT and the White House produced the final list of routes on January 28, 1971, adding five additional routes to

7772-450: The east end of the Green Spring Valley as the highway enters Brooklandville. MD 25 has a ramp to the Jones Falls Expressway as the road begins to parallel the expressway. The highway, which is unsigned MD 25A north of I-695 (at which point I-83 continues east on I-695 to follow the Baltimore-Harrisburg Expressway), has its northern terminus at an orthogonal intersection with MD 25 and Joppa Road , which heads east toward Towson. MD 25 makes

7888-480: The ex- New York Central Railroad 's Water Level Route from New York to Ohio and Grand Trunk Western Railroad 's Chicago to Detroit route. The reduced passenger train schedules created confusion amongst staff. At some stations, Amtrak service was available only late at night or early in the morning, prompting complaints from passengers. Disputes with freight railroads over track usage caused some services to be rerouted, temporarily cancelled, or replaced with buses. On

8004-612: The hamlet of Shawan, north of which the landscape shifts to farmland. MD 25 crosses Western Run and passes through the village of Butler, where the highway meets MD 128 (Butler Road). The highway follows Blackrock Run and Indian Run through a pair of ridges. At the second ridge, MD 25 has a Y intersection with MD 88 (Black Rock Road) at Coopersville. The state highway crosses Blackrock Run again and intersects MD 137 (Mount Carmel Road) at Whitehouse between Hampstead and Hereford . MD 25 reaches its northern terminus at Beckleysville Road west of Beckleysville and Prettyboy Reservoir near

8120-462: The high-speed rail corridor from Penn Station in NYC, under the Hudson River in new tunnels, and double-tracking the line to Newark, NJ , called the Gateway Program , initially estimated to cost $ 13.5 billion (equal to $ 18 billion in 2023). From May 2011 to May 2012, Amtrak celebrated its 40th anniversary with festivities across the country that started on National Train Day (May 7, 2011). A commemorative book entitled Amtrak: An American Story

8236-418: The highway had been widened to a minimum width of 20 feet (6.1 m). Shortly after 1930, work began on a bridge over the Northern Central Railroad , whose right-of-way is now followed by the Baltimore Light RailLink, at Bare Hills; this structure was completed by 1934. MD 25's southern terminus was Charles Street by 1934 and MD 2 by 1956. The state highway's only major relocation was in 1962 and 1963 when

8352-637: The hill from the Stone Hill Historic District . At the southern end of the Hampden neighborhood to the east and the Woodberry community on the western hills, MD 25 ascends from the Jones Falls valley and temporarily expands to a four-lane divided street at its ramps with I-83 (Jones Falls Expressway). The partial interchange, which includes ramps from southbound MD 25 to southbound I-83 and from northbound I-83 to northbound MD 25,

8468-480: The intersection of Cathedral Street and Howard Street (now the diagonal portion of Chase Street , intersecting Cathedral Street about half a block south of Biddle Street ). It proceeded north on Cathedral Street, crossing Jones Falls a bit north of North Avenue to the current Falls Road. After North Avenue was built, the turnpike was separated from Cathedral Avenue, ending at North Avenue east of Jones Falls. The description of allowed rates of toll given in

8584-701: The job, he is the second-longest serving head of Amtrak since it was formed more than 40 years ago. On December 9, 2015, Boardman announced in a letter to employees that he would be leaving Amtrak in September 2016. He had advised the Amtrak Board of Directors of his decision the previous week. On August 19, 2016, the Amtrak Board of Directors named former Norfolk Southern Railway President & CEO Charles "Wick" Moorman as Boardman's successor with an effective date of September 1, 2016. During his term, Moorman took no salary and said that he saw his role as one of

8700-673: The joint campus of the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Baltimore City public high school specializing in math, science, engineering and technology) and the all-girls Western High School and passes between the Village of Cross Keys (an apartment-condo complex with a small shopping center/mall) on the west and the community of Roland Park on the hills above to the east as a four-lane undivided highway. MD 25 intersects Northern Parkway , (built over and segmented with former Belvedere Avenue ) then descends again into

8816-568: The latter highway's overpass on its way to the station parking lot. The state highway ascends from the stream valley and curves northwest between Robert E. Lee Memorial Park (a Baltimore City park located just barely in Baltimore County) with its historic Lake Roland and dam from the old 1860 city waterworks system to the northeast and the Bare Hills House on the southbound side of the highway. MD 25 continues north through

8932-589: The latter road has a half- diamond interchange with I-83 that allows access to and from Baltimore. North of MD 133, the highway passes the Rockland Historic District and the historic home "Rockland" in the community of Brooklandville . MD 25 crosses over I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) then passes "The Cloisters" (former Baltimore City children's museum) and the Brooklandville House before crossing Jones Falls one last time at

9048-406: The legislative charter are lengthy, and specify that, for instance, a horse and rider shall be charged 6.25 cents, and a two-horse stagecoach 25 cents, for the entire distance, and a smaller amount in proportion to the distance traveled. Five miles were completed by 1811, allowing the company to erect a toll gate; a second gate had been placed by 1819. Due to the impossibility of determining how far

9164-529: The limekiln of Richard Caton" ( Brooklandville ). Construction was to begin within two years and finish within five. (Completion was extended to January 1, 1813 by the General Assembly on December 23, 1808. ) The law included a statement that "it would be unjust and improper to extend the said turnpike so as to make the same intersect the York-town turnpike ...drawing off from said road any portion of

9280-407: The northern stub of the Jones Falls Expressway, now MD 25A, and the associated four-lane divided section of MD 25 in Brooklandville were constructed. With the completion of the Jones Falls Expressway, I-83 became the main highway from the north into downtown Baltimore and MD 25 was relegated to a local thoroughfare. MD 25 was closed for several months for the replacement of the highway's bridges over

9396-607: The other hand, the creation of the Los Angeles–Seattle Coast Starlight from three formerly separate train routes was an immediate success, resulting in an increase to daily service by 1973. Needing to operate only half the train routes that had operated previously, Amtrak would lease around 1,200 of the best passenger cars from the 3,000 that the private railroads owned. All were air-conditioned, and 90% were easy-to-maintain stainless steel. When Amtrak took over, passenger cars and locomotives initially retained

9512-479: The overall market share fell to 46% by 1950, and then 32% by 1957. The railroads had lost money on passenger service since the Great Depression , but deficits reached $ 723 million in 1957. For many railroads, these losses threatened financial viability. The causes of this decline were heavily debated. The National Highway System and airports , both funded by the government, competed directly with

9628-461: The owner of the plant. The announcement of the shutdown came the same day as environmental testing at the facility from the state was planned to commence. A spokesperson for Kerry Group , an Ireland-based parent company for the facility, stated that, “The company will transfer production from Baltimore to other facilities as part of a broader consolidation of activity within the network,”. The company did not comment on if there were any layoffs caused by

9744-433: The paint schemes and logos of their former owners which resulted in Amtrak running trains with mismatched colors – the "Rainbow Era". In mid-1971, Amtrak began purchasing some of the equipment it had leased, including 286 EMD E and F unit diesel locomotives, 30 GG1 electric locomotives and 1,290 passenger cars. By 1975, the official Amtrak color scheme was painted on most Amtrak equipment and newly purchased locomotives and

9860-428: The plan. The RK&K study was more limited, assessing only the area from Fayette Street to Chase Street. The long-range Szarkowski concept includes selected portions of the watershed from as far north as Woodberry, though with significantly less engineering detail included. A civic group, Friends of the Jones Falls , is active in advocating for the daylighting of the river. On April 5, 2023, Blue Water Baltimore ,

9976-692: The private railroads pool their services into a single body. Similar proposals were made in 1965 and 1968 but failed to attract support. The federal government passed the High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 to fund pilot programs in the Northeast Corridor , but this did nothing to address passenger deficits. In late 1969, multiple proposals emerged in the United States Congress , including equipment subsidies, route subsidies, and, lastly,

10092-407: The railroads, which, unlike the airline, bus, and trucking companies, paid for their own infrastructure. American car culture was also on the rise in the post-World War II years. Progressive Era rate regulation limited the railroad's ability to turn a profit. Railroads also faced antiquated work rules and inflexible relationships with trade unions. To take one example, workers continued to receive

10208-544: The rapid succession of bridges, the Jones Falls almost immediately enters a tunnel, the Jones Falls Conduit, which curves to flow directly underneath I-83 (39.30896° -76.61964°). After passing by Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station , situated directly in the valley, the Northeast Corridor exits the valley, and the Jones Falls Conduit and I-83 curve sharply to the south. The river and highway continue to Fayette Street. Here, I-83 ends; two blocks south of this point,

10324-550: The reconstructed streetcar tracks used for streetcar rides from the museum site north under CSX 's Baltimore Terminal Subdivision railroad line and past the remains of a roundhouse to the Museum's streetcar turning loop just south of the 28th Street and 29th Street's bridges over the Jones Falls valley. MD 25 passes under Wyman Park Drive just south of the former Stieff Silver Company factory building and Mount Vernon Mill No. 1 (recently renovated for apartments and condos), down

10440-594: The remaining mileage is over rail lines owned by other railroad companies. While most track speeds are limited to 79 mph (127 km/h) or less, several lines have been upgraded to support top speeds of 110 mph (180 km/h), and parts of the Northeast Corridor support top speeds of 160 mph (260 km/h). In fiscal year 2022, Amtrak served 22.9 million passengers and had $ 2.1 billion in revenue, with more than 17,100 employees as of fiscal year 2021. Nearly 87,000 passengers ride more than 300 Amtrak trains daily. Nearly two-thirds of passengers come from

10556-443: The requirement. In early 2002, David L. Gunn replaced Warrington as seventh president. In a departure from his predecessors' promises to make Amtrak self-sufficient in the short term, Gunn argued that no form of passenger transportation in the United States is self-sufficient as the economy is currently structured. Highways, airports, and air traffic control all require large government expenditures to build and operate, coming from

10672-416: The road, but lacked funds to complete it, and another law passed January 15, 1817 allowed the company to increase their capitalization and to charge tolls for travel on the extension. On March 12, 1828, the General Assembly ordered the company to, within six months, return this extension to the county for use as a free public road, and the turnpike was thus cut back to Brooklandville. The turnpike began at

10788-532: The rolling stock began appearing. Amtrak inherited problems with train stations (most notably deferred maintenance ) and redundant facilities from the competing railroads that once served the same communities. Chicago is a prime example; on the day prior to Amtrak's inception, intercity passenger trains used four different Chicago terminals: LaSalle , Dearborn , North Western Station , Central , and Union. The trains at LaSalle remained there, as their operator Rock Island could not afford to opt into Amtrak. Of all

10904-477: The schedule. Amtrak uses a sliding scale, with trips under 250 miles (400 km) considered late if they are more than 10 minutes behind schedule, up to 30 minutes for trips over 551 miles (887 km) in length. Outside the Northeast Corridor and stretches of track in Southern California and Michigan, most Amtrak trains run on tracks owned and operated by privately owned freight railroads. BNSF

11020-617: The shutdown, but they did not file layoff notices with the Maryland Department of Labor. A test from the Maryland Department of the Environment conducted on Dec. 20, 2023 found that a small amount of green dye was visible in Jones Falls just below the back wall of the facility. Earlier that day, Maryland environmental officials stated that red and green dye might be seen in the Jones Falls waters, however this

11136-519: The six busiest stations by boardings are on the NEC: New York Penn Station (first), Washington Union Station (second), Philadelphia 30th Street Station (third), and Boston South Station (fifth). The other two are Chicago Union Station (fourth) and Los Angeles Union Station (sixth). On-time performance is calculated differently for airlines than for Amtrak. A plane is considered on-time if it arrives within 15 minutes of

11252-505: The sixth president in 1998, with a mandate to make Amtrak financially self-sufficient. Under Warrington, the company tried to expand into express freight shipping, placing Amtrak in competition with the "host" freight railroads and the trucking industry . On March 9, 1999, Amtrak unveiled its plan for the Acela Express, a high-speed train on the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C. and Boston. Several changes were made to

11368-482: The southeast. As the railroad tracks veer away toward Washington , MD 25 begins to parallel the east side of Jones Falls and MTA Maryland 's Baltimore Light RailLink line, which is on the west side of the stream, at the southern end of the stream's deep valley. The highway passes underneath the Howard Street and US 1 / US 40 Truck (North Avenue) bridges and by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum buildings and sheds. MD 25 parallels MTA Maryland's Route 25, which comprises

11484-775: The spring. Most of these routes were restored to daily service in late-May 2021. However, a resurgence of the virus caused by the Omicron variant caused Amtrak to modify and/or suspend many of these routes again from January to March 2022. Amtrak is required by law to operate a national route system. Amtrak has presence in 46 of the 48 contiguous states, as well as the District of Columbia (with only thruway connecting services in Wyoming and no services in South Dakota ). Amtrak services fall into three groups: short-haul service on

11600-453: The stream to cool down the vinegar, including the removal of chlorine. Additionally, according to an inspection by state regulators, they had discharged more than 643,300 gallons of water into the stream per day, which was more than double the amount of the company's original estimation of 295,000 gallons. In December 2023, as a result of the lawsuits, the Baltimore plant of Fleischmann's Vinegar Company had to shut down production, according to

11716-431: The system with an aim to reduce costs, speed construction, and improve its corporate image. However, the cash-strapped railroad would ultimately build relatively few of these standard stations. Amtrak soon had the opportunity to acquire rights-of-way. Following the bankruptcy of several northeastern railroads in the early 1970s, including Penn Central, which owned and operated the Northeast Corridor (NEC), Congress passed

11832-551: The trade that now passes down the said road into Old-town, in the city of Baltimore", but allowed the Falls Turnpike to extend south to the York-town Turnpike (Greenmount Avenue) "at or near a stone bridge opposite the old mill of Josiah Pennington" (Belvidere Street across Jones Falls, just south of Hoffman Street and east of Barclay Street) with the consent of that company. A law passed January 25, 1806 allowed

11948-636: The trains serving Dearborn Station, Amtrak retained only a pair of Santa Fe trains, which relocated to Union Station beginning with the first Amtrak departures on May 1, 1971. Dearborn Station closed after the last pre-Amtrak trains on the Santa Fe arrived in Chicago on May 2. None of the intercity trains that had served North Western Station became part of the Amtrak system, and that terminal became commuter-only after May 1. The trains serving Central Station continued to use that station until an alternate routing

12064-410: The water streams, illegal chemicals pumping out from unauthorized extra pipes on the property into the Jones Falls stream, and various highly acidic toxins around the foundation of the plant. The Maryland Department of the Environment also filed its own lawsuit through the U.S. District Court of Baltimore the same day. Reportedly, the company bypassed safety requirements when discharging treated water into

12180-467: Was adopted in March 1972. In New York City , Amtrak had to maintain two stations ( Penn and Grand Central ) due to the lack of track connections to bring trains from upstate New York into Penn Station; a problem that was rectified once the Empire Connection was built in 1991. The Amtrak Standard Stations Program was launched in 1978 and proposed to build a standardized station design across

12296-414: Was aided by troop movement and gasoline rationing . The railroad's market share surged to 74% in 1945, with a massive 94 billion passenger-miles. After the war, railroads rejuvenated their overworked and neglected passenger fleets with fast and luxurious streamliners. These new trains brought only temporary relief to the overall decline. Even as postwar travel exploded, passenger travel percentages of

12412-609: Was fired. Gunn's replacement, Alexander Kummant (2006–08), was committed to operating a national rail network, and like Gunn, opposed the notion of putting the Northeast Corridor under separate ownership. He said that shedding the system's long-distance routes would amount to selling national assets that are on par with national parks, and that Amtrak's abandonment of these routes would be irreversible. In late 2006, Amtrak unsuccessfully sought annual congressional funding of $ 1 billion for ten years. In early 2007, Amtrak employed 20,000 people in 46 states and served 25 million passengers

12528-803: Was increased dramatically. In subsequent years, other short route segments not needed for freight operations were transferred to Amtrak. In its first decade, Amtrak fell far short of financial independence, which continues today, but it did find modest success rebuilding trade. Outside factors discouraged competing transport, such as fuel shortages which increased costs of automobile and airline travel, and strikes which disrupted airline operations. Investments in Amtrak's track, equipment and information also made Amtrak more relevant to America's transportation needs. Amtrak's ridership increased from 16.6 million in 1972 to 21 million in 1981. In February 1978, Amtrak moved its headquarters to 400 North Capitol Street NW, Washington D.C. In 1982, former Secretary of

12644-650: Was leased from Sweden for test runs from October 1992 to January 1993, followed by revenue service between Washington, D.C. and New York City from February to May and August to September 1993. Siemens showed the ICE 1 train from Germany, organizing the ICE Train North America Tour which started to operate on the Northeast Corridor on July 3, 1993. In 1993, Thomas Downs succeeded Claytor as Amtrak's fifth president. The stated goal remained "operational self-sufficiency". By this time, however, Amtrak had

12760-548: Was named Amtrak President and CEO. In addition to Atlas Air, Flynn has held senior roles at CSX Transportation , SeaLand Services and GeoLogistics Corp. Anderson would remain with Amtrak as a senior advisor until December 2020. As Amtrak approached profitability in 2020, the company undertook planning to expand and create new intermediate-distance corridors across the country. Included were several new services in Ohio, Tennessee, Colorado, and Minnesota, among other states. During

12876-482: Was not said to pose a threat to life. 39°20′7.5″N 76°38′44.8″W  /  39.335417°N 76.645778°W  / 39.335417; -76.645778 Maryland Route 25 Maryland Route 25 ( MD 25 ), locally known for nearly its entire length as Falls Road , is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland . It begins north of downtown Baltimore , just north of Penn Station , and continues north through Baltimore County to Beckleysville Road near

12992-424: Was paved with concrete north from Shawan. The improved road reached a spot north of Butler by 1927 and to Whitehouse in 1928. The concrete highway was extended to Gunpowder Road in 1930 and to its present terminus at Beckleysville Road by 1933. MD 25 was one of the original state-numbered highway designation assigned by the Maryland State Roads Commission in 1927. By 1930, the Baltimore–Shawan portion of

13108-445: Was publicly announced less than two weeks before operations began. Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971. Amtrak received no rail tracks or rights-of-way at its inception. All of Amtrak's routes were continuations of prior service, although Amtrak pruned about half the passenger rail network. Of the 366 train routes that operated previously, Amtrak continued only 184. Several major corridors became freight-only, including

13224-452: Was published, a documentary was created, six locomotives were painted in Amtrak's four prior paint schemes , and an Exhibit Train toured the country visiting 45 communities and welcoming more than 85,000 visitors. After years of almost revolving-door CEOs at Amtrak, in December 2013, Boardman was named "Railroader of the Year" by Railway Age magazine, which noted that with over five years in

13340-462: Was reduced to under 3 hours due to system improvements and limited stop service. This improvement was cited as a reason why Amtrak grew its share of intercity trips between the cities along the corridor. Elsewhere in the country, demand for passenger rail service resulted in the creation of five new state-supported routes in California, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon and Pennsylvania, for a total of 15 state-supported routes. Amtrak added two trains in 1983,

13456-503: Was working for the Philadelphia firm Dremodeling, and a more immediate and concrete plan commissioned by the city from Baltimore-based Rummel, Klepper & Kahl in 2009. The Szarkowski vision is wide ranging, including infill housing, an expansion of Penn Station, a system of roundabouts, a multi-story sculpture and several new, buried transit lines. Szarkowski has publicly acknowledged the extremely ambitious and long-range nature of

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