The West Baltimore MARC Station is currently not much more than a couple of train platforms and large surface parking lots.

That’s set to change, though, as officials invest billions in the Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, which aims to improve travel times for rail passengers on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak on Thursday published renderings and shared details about the future of the West Baltimore station, a part of the project. The station serves passengers of MARC Penn Line trains.

A rendering of Amtrak’s plans for the West Baltimore MARC Station from above shows enclosed waiting areas for northbound and southbound train platforms. (Courtesy of Amtrak)

The new station — for which Amtrak did not immediately have a timeline for completion — will be fully accessible for persons with disabilities, unlike the current West Baltimore platforms. It will also have local transit connections, including to the future Red Line, a light rail line to connect East and West Baltimore.

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Other features of the planned new West Baltimore MARC station include:

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  • Restrooms and an enclosed waiting area.
  • Widened and protected sidewalks on adjacent streets.
  • Public art from local artists.

“These renderings reflect the meaningful input we received from community members through the design process,” said Luigi Rosa, an assistant vice president for Amtrak, in a statement. “The new West Baltimore MARC Station will upgrade the customer experience for thousands of annual MARC riders while enhancing connectivity to Baltimore Penn Station, Washington DC and beyond.”

The Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program will replace the existing Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel, which dates to the 1870s.

The existing West Baltimore MARC Station does not have enclosed waiting spaces or restrooms. A rendering of the proposed new station shows an enclosed waiting area. (Courtesy of Amtrak)

Amtrak is moving forward with the planned tunnel underneath West Baltimore amid community concerns about its impact.

Earlier this year, residents of West Baltimore’s Reservoir Hill neighborhood filed a a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation related to the tunnel project, saying the work would have a disparate impact on several majority-Black neighborhoods in violation of civil rights law.

Amtrak said the overall tunnel project should be complete by 2035.