Federal Railroad Administration initiates civil rights probe in Amtrak’s Baltimore tunnel project
BALTIMORE — The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating alleged discrimination by Amtrak in the Frederick Douglass Tunnel project, according to a letter obtained by The Baltimore Sun.
A coalition of Reservoir Hill residents represented by New York University School of Law’s Civil Rights and Racial Justice Clinic filed a complaint April 30 under the Title VI Civil Rights Act of 1964, which allows federal agencies to block the recipients of federal funding from implementing programs that have an “unjustified discriminatory impact.”
In a letter dated May 8 to the Reservoir Hill Association and the clinic, Calvin Gibson, director of the Office of Civil Rights in the Federal Railroad Administration, said the office is “initiating an investigation.”
“You allege Amtrak is discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin in their design, planning, and operation of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program,” Gibson wrote. “Furthermore, you allege discrimination because the program disproportionately burdens the Black community of Reservoir Hill.”
The letter says the Federal Railroad Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has jurisdiction over the complaint. Suchait Kahlon, an NYU law student with the clinic, said the Department of Justice is not involved and that if the railroad administration finds Amtrak violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, “they will order remedies.” In the letter, Gibson said if it finds Amtrak failed to comply, it will “take steps toward resolving the noncompliance.”
The tunnel project would replace the 150-year-old Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel, which passes beneath Bolton Hill, Upton and Sandtown-Winchester. The new $6 billion tunnel would pass beneath the Reservoir Hill, Penn North, Sandtown-Winchester, Bridgeview/Greenlawn, Midtown-Edmondson and Penrose/Fayette neighborhoods. According to a “record of decision” from 2017, the three finalist routes Amtrak considered all curved north to pass through those same West Baltimore neighborhoods.
The complaint argues that the chosen path would burden Black communities with noise pollution, property acquisitions by Amtrak and construction-related waste. Residents also are concerned the tunnels would be used by diesel freight trains causing pollution.
“Amtrak has continued to ignore our calls for meaningful engagement, transparency, and equal treatment under the law. We are pleased that the U.S. Department of Transportation has been compelled by our complaint and has deemed it necessary to investigate,” Reservoir Hill Association members Keondra Prier and Carson Ward said in a statement. “We believe Amtrak’s behavior is in complete opposition to the U.S. Transportation Secretary [Pete] Buttigieg’s priorities to reduce inequity across our transportation system.”
At a heated public meeting hosted by Amtrak last week, the railroad company reiterated that the new tunnel would not be used for diesel freight trains, which would continue to operate in the existing tunnel. In a National Environmental Policy Act Reevaluation document from April 2022, Amtrak outlines two phases of the project, the first for electric passenger trains in the Frederick Douglass Tunnel and the second for diesel freight.
“Phase two includes construction of two additional outer tube tunnels adjacent to the two new tunnels constructed during phase one. At least one of the new outer tube tunnels would be designed to accommodate diesel freight trains,” the document reads. “Phase two would potentially require changes to the tunnel ventilation system to accommodate diesel freight trains.”
Amtrak spokesperson Kyle Anderson said Amtrak is currently initiating construction for the first phase of the project while the second phase is not currently planned.
“We continue to stand by our commitment that freight trains will only be allowed in the new tunnel under temporary or emergency operations. We have said this in the past and we will continue to say it,” Anderson said. “There is no timeline for phase two at this time. It is not included in FRA’s Northeast Corridor Project Inventory, the Northeast Corridor Commission’s 2037 plan, or many other planning documents for the corridor.”
A virtual community meeting hosted by Amtrak is scheduled for July 22, while the next in-person community meeting is scheduled for July 24.
“We are committed to doing the right thing, and that includes working with community members through every stage of the Frederick Douglass Tunnel Program,” Anderson said.
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