If light rail trains have seemed a bit small lately, there’s good reason — the Maryland Transit Administration doesn’t have enough working railcars to make them bigger.
In a back and forth on X on Thursday, MTA Administrator Holly Arnold told Baltimore sports fans frustrated with lagging game-day light rail service that only about 20 trains were available to run on any given day.
“We are using every train we have and running express buses. We’re working to get more trains available for games, but our baseline is only about 20 trains available every day,” Arnold wrote.
The agency has more than 50 train cars in its fleet. It often runs two-car trains — and can do three — but most recent ones have been just one car. Even if all of those 20 trains contained two cars, that would mean about a dozen railcars would be out of service.
The MTA did not immediately respond Friday when specifically asked how many railcars were available.
Last December, a two-week shutdown of the north-south light rail line laid bare the state of the fleet of railcars, which range from 25 to 32 years old. It’s only part of a multibillion-dollar backlog of maintenance and rehabilitation work for trains, buses and other assets on the agency’s plate while officials look to expand the system and deal with a larger state budget crunch.
The news comes to the chagrin not only of sports fans gearing up for a busy weekend but students gearing up for the start of the school year.
Most light rail vehicles have an expected useful lifespan of about 30 years but can go longer with proper maintenance and the right conditions. Baltimore may not have those conditions — Arnold has said previously the way the light rail was built in the late 1980s and early ’90′s is causing the system and its assets to deteriorate faster than expected.
A multiyear rehabilitation project — known as a “midlife overhaul” because such initiatives typically happen at the 15-year mark — that began in 2013 was intended to make sure the railcars could make it to the end of their useful life without major problems.
The project has been mired in issues. The state awarded the contract years late and had to extend it eight times. The multinational company responsible for the work, Alstom, botched it — the MTA had to pull all its train cars from service in December after multiple issues cropped up on cars that had already be rehabbed.
The project isn’t done.
“The Maryland Transit Administration operates every available light rail train for service. The agency’s light rail fleet is aging and currently completing its mid-life overhaul which can contribute to daily vehicle availability. We continue to work with our vendor, Alstom, to resolve railcar issues and return trains to service as quickly as possible,” an MTA spokesperson said in an email Friday.
A spokesperson for Alstom said the company delivered all of the overhauled vehicles earlier this year.
“Ongoing upgrades are still in progress on select parts for these legacy vehicles. We are committed to working closely with MDOT’s MTA to ensure that they have the Light Rail vehicle availability they need to serve the residents of the greater Baltimore area,” the spokesperson said.
Post-shutdown, the light rail left the station once again on Dec. 23 with 14 working railcars, enough for limited service, as the rest continued to be inspected. The MTA set up an online dashboard on which people could track the progress of vehicles repairs but has since disabled it.
In February, the federal government announced a $213 million grant to help the MTA purchase new, modern railcars in the coming years to replace its aging fleet. The agency will pursue enough railcars to service the north-south line and the future east-west Red Line, which Gov. Wes Moore announced this summer would be a light rail.
In June, the agency said most of its 52 vehicles were available, save a couple on any given day that may be out for routine maintenance. Orioles fans had taken to social media earlier in the season to complain about overcrowding on trains.
Trains could get packed this weekend, too. Headed to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles take on the Boston Red Sox or to M&T Bank Stadium for Ravens preseason action? The light rail is running, though with limited train cars. Other public transit options are out there.
“To ensure service reliability and to transport riders efficiently during large events, the agency will continue to supplement light rail service with express shuttle buses. We encourage riders to follow the MTA on social media for updates and use Transit app to know when their train or bus will arrive so they can plan their trip to meet their individual schedules,” an agency spokesperson said.
