ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Wes Moore commended the launch of double-stacked rail operations to and from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore. Part of the Howard Street Tunnel Project, the significant milestone is critical to making Maryland more competitive, opening new opportunities for intermodal rail service in the Northeast and from the Port of Baltimore to Midwest markets, generating thousands of new jobs, and delivering critical benefits to the region months earlier than expected.
“This is a great day for the Port of Baltimore and a great day for Maryland,” said Gov. Moore. “As the Port of Baltimore continues to grow, this transformational project will help increase business activity and create thousands of new jobs. In partnership, we are creating new pathways to work, wages, and wealth for all.”
In addition to enhanced transport cost efficiency and enhanced environmental benefits, double-stacking containers will help the Port grow its business by about 160,000 containers annually and will create 13,000 new jobs in construction and in operations. Double-stacking will also complement the expansion of the Seagirt Marine Terminal, operated by Ports America Chesapeake, as home to supersized Neo-Panamax cranes that handle ultra-large container ships.
“This is a significant milestone for intermodal rail service between Baltimore and Midwest markets and wouldn’t be possible without the ongoing collaboration between our federal, state, and local project partners,” said CSX President and Chief Executive Officer Joe Hinrichs. “This underscores our broader commitment to enhancing service efficiency and safely expanding our network capabilities through the Howard Street Tunnel project, allowing for greater efficiency in this critical corridor.”
While construction is still ongoing at several Maryland sites, vertical clearance improvements at rail bridges north of Baltimore are complete, providing CSX the opportunity to operate double-stack rail service on a temporary route from the Port along the CSX network in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and onto the Midwest until the work is complete in 2026.
“Double-stacking opens a release valve on the Port of Baltimore. It brings our freight infrastructure into the 21st century and boosts efficiency while creating thousands of jobs,” said U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. “We know that the Port of Baltimore is the best in the country— we’ve got the ideal location and the best workforce of any port in America, and this launch proves it once again. Collaborative efforts between federal government, state and private partners have made this long-awaited project possible. This is a big win for Baltimore, Maryland, and the entire nation.”
“Providing double-stacked rail service to and from the Port of Baltimore will bring new jobs to our local economy, increased opportunity to the region’s businesses, and greater efficiency to the nation’s supply chains. That’s why Federal Team Maryland fought for years to invest in the Howard Street Tunnel modernization project – a key part of the overall effort to enhance the Port’s freight rail capacity,” said U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen. “As that project continues, the initial launch of double-stacked rail marks the start of an even more prosperous era for the Port of Baltimore, its workforce, and the entire Baltimore region.”
The Howard Street Tunnel Project includes reconstructing the 129-year-old tunnel in Baltimore and 21 other locations in Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania to increase vertical clearance by 18 inches to allow double-stacked container trains to and from the Port of Baltimore. When fully complete, the double-stack project will provide the East Coast with seamless double-stack capacity from Maine to Florida.
“The launch of double-stack rail operations at the Port of Baltimore is a significant milestone for the Baltimore region and the State of Maryland, and one that couldn’t have been achieved without the partnership and cooperation of our Port customers, CSX and local officials,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “The completion of the Howard Street Tunnel Project will fundamentally change rail service throughout the Eastern seaboard, greatly improving the efficiency and capacity at the Port of Baltimore and with it, opening numerous new markets for the Port’s growth. Today’s announcement is an important next step in reinvigorating the Port and our local economy.”
“Adding double stack capabilities to and from the Port of Baltimore allows us to take our container business to another level and puts us on a more level playing field with our competitors,” said Maryland Port Administration Executive Director Jonathan Daniels. “Working together with Ports America Chesapeake, CSX and our longshore labor team, we are very optimistic and excited about the growth of container handling in Baltimore.”
“The importance of the Port of Baltimore to our city, our state, and our entire country has rarely been more apparent than it has been this past year,” said City of Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “The upgrades to make it possible to begin double stacked container operations – with more work to come as the rest of the Howard Street Tunnel Project moves forward – will be a critical game-changer for our port and all who rely on it. This expansion of our operations will help solidify the Port of Baltimore’s inspiring comeback after the Key Bridge tragedy, and help ensure that our Port remains a national leader for decades to come. I want to thank all who had a hand in making this possible, and, together, we will continue to support this critical asset that truly serves all Baltimoreans, Marylanders, and Americans.”
“The ability to provide double stack rail is a milestone achievement that will further compliment efforts by Ports America Chesapeake to increase capacity at the Port of Baltimore,” said Ports America Chesapeake President Mark Schmidt. “Ports America Chesapeake is making strategic investments including new equipment and infrastructure at the Seagirt Marine Terminal that, coupled with double stacking, will boost volumes and position the Port for future success.”
“The Federal Railroad Administration is proud to support the Howard Street Tunnel project, and today’s announcement demonstrates the impacts that rail projects can have on strengthening economic competitiveness and supply chains while creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs in the process,” said FRA Administrator Amit Bose. “Investments in rail are also investments in our citizens and communities, and FRA is excited about the possibilities that will be created by the full completion of improvements along this vital freight corridor. The project would finally eliminate a long-standing bottleneck, unleashing tremendous benefits for our entire freight network. As funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to advance major rail projects around the country, we will be able to look to this project as a model of how public-private partnerships can transform our infrastructure and economies.”
The Port of Baltimore generates about 20,300 direct jobs, with more than 273,000 jobs overall linked to Port activities. The Port ranked first in 2023 among the nation’s ports for volume of autos and light trucks, roll on/roll off heavy farm and construction machinery, imported sugar, and imported gypsum. It ranked ninth among major U.S. ports for foreign cargo handled and ninth for total foreign cargo value.
