CSX needs new rail crossing

In the time I have lived in Baltimore, there have now been two failures of the retaining wall adjacent to the CSX Belt Line tracks, and at least two derailments inside the Howard Street Tunnel on the same line (“East 26th Street in Baltimore sinking again near site of 2014 collapse — raising questions about inspections,” Nov. 26).

The Port of Baltimore has set numerous records for the amount of cargo it has handled but remains inhibited by the Baltimore bottleneck, which does not allow for doublestacked trains, and the one promised major upgrade to public transit in the area, the Red Line, was summarily killed by Gov. Larry Hogan, who cited as his major concern the cost of constructing a tunnel under downtown.

I cannot believe that more people aren't talking about what to me seems to be the obvious solution: create a new harbor crossing for CSX and give the Belt Line to the Maryland Transit Administration. The Federal Railroad Administration undertook a thorough study of all sorts of options for improving rail travel in the Baltimore region in 2003 and concluded that tunneling under the harbor, down near where the ports actually are, is one of the more feasible options.

The light rail can be moved underground in the congested downtown area, and it can have more direct connections with the Metro. There could also be a second line connecting to Charles Village, East Baltimore, BelairEdison, Bayview, etc.

It's time we simply connected the dots, something we've found the will and the funding to do for cars three times already.