BWI Rail Station

This article is about a regional and inter-city rail station. For the light rail station at BWI, see BWI Marshall Airport (Baltimore Light Rail station).

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
File:BWI Rail Station from parking garage, August 2014.JPG The station viewed from the adjacent parking garage
Location	7 Amtrak Way Baltimore, Maryland 21240 United States
Coordinates
Owned by	Amtrak
Line(s)	Northeast Corridor
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	3
Connections	Baltimore Light Rail via Shuttle bus MTA Bus 17, MTA Bus 201 Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland Route 501/Silver UMBC Transit
Construction
Parking	Yes
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	BWI
History
Opened	1980
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	692,268 annually  2.57% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Washington, DC Terminus Acela Express Baltimore toward Boston South Station New Carrollton toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Lynchburg Northeast Regional Baltimore toward Boston South Station or Springfield New Carrollton toward Washington, DC Vermonter Baltimore toward St. Albans MARC Odenton toward Union Station Penn Line Halethorpe toward Perryville

The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station (often shortened to simply BWI Rail Station) is an Amtrak and Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) train station in an unincorporated area within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States.

The station is located on the airport complex just over a mile from the main terminal of Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. A free shuttle bus runs between the station and the airport terminal every 12 minutes from 5 am to 1 am and every 25 minutes from 1 am to 5 am.

MARC Ridership

As of 2013, the daily MARC ridership was 2,442.

History

The station was dedicated on October 23, 1980, and was the first intercity rail station in the U.S. built to service an airport. It is about a 20-minute train ride south of Baltimore's Penn Station, a 20-minute ride north of New Carrollton, Maryland (and its connection with the Orange Line of Washington Metro), and a 35-minute ride north of Washington's Union Station.

Rail services

The station is part of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor and is served by the MARC Penn Line as well as Amtrak's Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and Vermonter trains. The Carolinian served the station between 1991 and 2004. All Northeast Regional trains (except Train 179 that operates between Boston and New York) stop here.

Infrastructure

File:Baltimore airport amtrak 11.07.2012 15-31-01.jpg

The existing station and adjacent parking garage

The station's building houses a ticketing desk, waiting room, and a concessions area. The adjacent parking garage is used by commuters who ride the train to work in Baltimore or Washington, and also contains the bus stop for shuttles to the BWI terminal. The garage was built in the late 1990s to replace a smaller surface lot. It contains 3,200 parking spaces and typically does not fill to capacity.

Platform renovations

The 1,050 feet (320 m) high-level platforms were rebuilt and lengthened in 2006–2010. The existing structures were replaced with new precast concrete segments, and new signs, lights, shelters, railing, canopies, and benches were installed.

Future expansion

$9.4 million has been allocated for design and engineering of a new station building and fourth track, which is expected to cost $80–100 million. The existing station will be demolished to make way for the new track and platform, and a new station—twice the size of the old—will be built.

Connecting transportation

File:Northbound Northeast Regional at BWI.jpg

A Northeast Regional train at the station

A number of transportation services connect to the station, including a dedicated taxi stand. Some of these services include Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) Bus, BWI Shuttle, and University of Maryland Baltimore County Transit Shuttle. While rental cars are not available at the station, the nearby BWI consolidated rental car facility is accessible via the station's other connecting modes.

Local public transit services

• Airport shuttle bus: The station is indirectly connected to MTA's Baltimore Light Rail, for which there is a stop (BWI Marshall Airport) station at the airport terminal.
• MTA bus route 17: Connects the station to Arundel Mills (to the south) and the Patapsco Baltimore Light Rail station (to the north), with stops at the airport terminal and the BWI Business District station.
• MTA commuter bus route 201: Offers service between Gaithersburg and BWI Airport.
• Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland Route 501/Silver: Service to BWI Airport, Arundel Mills, Howard County and The Mall in Columbia.
• UMBC Transit
• BayRunner Shutter, a private shuttle connecting east to the Eastern Shore area of Maryland and connecting shuttle to Cumberland.

Pedestrian and bicycle access

• BWI Trail: A hiker/biker trail completely encircles the airport grounds parallel to the Airport Loop, and runs adjacent to the station.
• An elevated walkway connects the station (at the second floor of the southbound platform's stairwell) with office buildings on Corporate Center Drive, including the Maryland Department of Transportation headquarters.

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – BWI Rail Station
• Baltimore Airport Amtrak (TrainWeb)
• MARC Station (TrainWeb)
• BWI Airport - Thurgood Marshall Airport, MD (BWI)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)