Light Rail Chosen Over Buses For Baltimore's Red Line Transit Project

BALTIMORE, MD — Baltimore's Red Line transit project will be a light-rail system rather than a rapid bus line, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced at a news conference Friday.

The announcement, first revealed in a social media post Thursday, delivers on a key campaign promise made by Moore to revive the project canceled by former Gov. Larry Hogan. The Red Line will address a wide gap in east-west transit service and will provide high-poverty neighborhoods with access to thousands of jobs.

"Transportation mobility and the access it affords is a foundation for economic vitality," Moore said in a statement. "As the economic engine for our state, the greater Baltimore region deserves great transit — and together, we are investing in the infrastructure to make sure that everyone in the region can get from where they live to where opportunity lies."

Moore announced the updated Red Lines at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He was joined by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, state transportation officials and local leaders.

Relaunched in 2023, the Red Line will provide east-west service between Bayview and Woodlawn through downtown Baltimore City. View the proposed service map online.

It will predominantly operate on a dedicated right-of-way separate from traffic, providing a connection between two key employment hubs in Baltimore County (the Social Security Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid) and Baltimore City (Johns Hopkins Bayview).

Construction on the 14-mile, 19-station project is expected to begin in 2026 or 2027, Moore said last year, according to a Washington Post report.

State officials predict the project will cost $3.2 billion to $7.2 billion to build, the Baltimore Banner reported. A combination of local, state and federal funds will be used to fund the Red Line.

Hogan, Maryland's former governor who is now running for U.S. Senate, originally axed the project in 2015, calling it a “wasteful boondoggle," reports said. Hogan returned $900 million in federal money intended for the project while also redirecting $736 million in state funds to other counties.