West Baltimore station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids West Baltimore
Platforms at West Baltimore station
Location	401 North Smallwood Street Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates	39°17′36″N 76°39′11″W / 39.293368°N 76.653172°W / 39.293368; -76.653172
Owned by	Maryland Transit Administration
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Connections	23 40, 47, 150
Construction
Parking	327 spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	No
History
Opened	April 30, 1984
Electrified	January 28, 1935 (ceremonial) February 10, 1935 (regular service)
Traffic
Passengers (2018)	823 daily  7% (MARC)
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station Halethorpe towards Union Station Penn Line Penn Station towards Perryville
Former services at Edmondson Preceding station Amtrak Following station Baltimore Airport toward Washington, D.C. Chesapeake Baltimore toward Philadelphia–Suburban Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Frederick Road toward Washington, DC Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad Baltimore toward Philadelphia

West Baltimore station is a regional rail station located in the western part of the City of Baltimore, Maryland along the Northeast Corridor. It is served by MARC Penn Line trains. The station is positioned on an elevated grade above and between the nearby parallel West Mulberry and West Franklin Streets (U.S. Route 40) at 400 North Smallwood Street. Three large surface lots are available for commuters. The station is not accessible, with two low-level side platforms next to the outer tracks, but MTA Maryland plans to later renovate the station with accessible platforms and entrances.

History

Staircase to the northbound platform

The Pennsylvania Railroad maintained a stop at Edmondson Avenue for many years; the station building is still in use as a private business. In 1968 PRR merged with New York Central Railroad to form Penn Central Railroad, and after years of financial despair turned the line as well as its entire operation over to Conrail. In 1978, Amtrak began running the Chesapeake commuter train, which stopped at Edmondson Avenue as well. MARC took over the service as far as Perryville in 1983 and began stopping at West Baltimore station two blocks to the south.

In 2009, it was announced that approximately 400 parking spaces east of Pulaski Street would be added, as part of the project to remove the portion of Interstate 170 (now Route 40) that had never carried vehicular traffic. The spots were not to be permanent, but instead only available until redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood. The expressway was demolished in the fall of 2010, and the spaces opened soon after.

West Baltimore station attracted criticism for being unsafe due to crime and the poor conditions of the platforms and staircases, which are crumbling and rusted. As part of the larger project to repair the Interstate 170 area, the station will be improved over a period of several years. Immediate repairs to the stairs and platforms, as well as improved shelters and lighting, were made in 2014. Ultimately, the platforms will be extended to serve more cars per train and raised for handicapped accessibility, and ramps built to surrounding streets. The Red Line light rail service, originally planned to begin construction in 2015 (before its cancellation that year) and open in 2022, was to run along the Route 40 corridor in the median of the highway underneath the elevated city streets with a stop at West Baltimore. Escalators and elevators would be used to transport commuters from the station to the streets above the Route 40 corridor in West Baltimore.

Layout

MARC Trains:

Images for kids

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  The former Edmondson station building in 2017

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  Stairs leading to the platform of the West Baltimore station, May 2019. The two sets of stairs on each side on the station are the only entrances to the platform and are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.