Transit spending set to fall by 58% in latest plan

Maryland Transit Administration spending is scheduled to fall by 58 percent under the state’s six-year plan — a steep drop that state transportation officials attribute to front-loaded costs of expensive MARC, Metro and light rail vehicle replacements, but advocates say is a worrying sign of future disinvestment in transit. The agency’s spending is set to fall to $368.2 million in the 2024 fiscal year, from $878 million in the 2019 fiscal year, according to the state’s capital budget for transportation projects, which Maryland Department of Transportation officials will present to Baltimore officials at a public meeting at City Hall today. MTA CEO Kevin Quinn noted that much of the MTA’s spending takes place in the first few years of the plan, on “once-in-a-generation projects.” Those include $448 million to replace Baltimore Metro subway cars, $100 million to overhaul light rail cars and $168 million to replace and overhaul MARC coaches and locomotives. “It just so happens that we’re doing a lot of vehicle replace-