Track A Feasibility Study

Track A Feasibility Study Phase I:

Objective and Task Description

This commuter rail feasibility study examined the ridership potential and engineering feasibility of extending  regional rail service from Newark, Delaware to Elkton, Maryland.  Such eventual commuter rail service would enhance community character in the Elkton-Newark area, enhance regional accessibility, connectivity, and mobility, support Smart Growth, and promote other alternative transportation modes, including bicycling, walking, and bus transit. 

This project built upon the 1995 Delaware Department of Transportation's (DeIDOT) Regional Rail Study's examination of the feasibility of "Station West," which envisioned the ultimate extension of the SEPTA R-2 regional rail service from Newark to a station in or near Elkton. That study's string-line analysis of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor in Cecil and New Castle Counties determined that any extension of commuter rail service to Elkton was not possible with the current track configuration. Rather, such service would be possible only if the parallel Track A (used in New Castle County for SEPTA commuter trains, Norfolk Southern freight traffic, and access to the DelMarVa Secondary line) were extended.

Given that determination, this study examined the engineering feasibility of extending Track A from Newark to Elkton. In addition, this study examined ridership potential to and from Elkton. Although the 1995 study conducted a ridership survey, its dual emphases were the Newark and Churchmans Crossing stations, using ridership figures for the MARC Brunswick Line as a model to develop projections. Ridership projections for this study were based upon known inter-county, intra-regional work trip CTTP commuting figures, as well as land use and demographic projections and trends.

Outcome and Final Product

This study produced a report that answers two questions: l) is the extension of Track A from Newark to Elkton technically feasible? and 2) given the land use and demographic trends, at what point would the implementation of extended SEPTA R-2 commuter rail service be financially reasonable?

Public Participation

This was done, in part, because of the substantial public discussion of the need for commuter rail extension; such discussions took place during the development of the 2020 MTP and 2025 RTP update, the Regional Transit Service Needs Study, the Newark-Elkton Intermodal Transportation Plan, and the DelDOT Regional Rail Study

Benefit

Planning and preparing for commuter rail service in Cecil County will support Smart Growth in Maryland and the WILMAPCO region. Finally linking the region's three largest cities (Wilmington, Newark, and Elkton) by commuter rail will be a proactive policy initiative that lays out sustainable transportation infrastructure that will attract sustainable residential and economic development.

Commuter rail service would provide Cecil County residents better access to the cultural, educational, and employment opportunities in the rest of the region. By making those opportunities in Elkton more accessible to rest of the region, this service would work as an economic development and tourism tool in the Elkton area.

Track A could also be used for significantly enhanced Norfolk Southern rail freight access, linking the Port Road to the DelMarVa Secondary, Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Annes, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester Counties. Moreover, it would, be an economic development tool for Cecil County, Maryland's Eastern Shore, and the State of Delaware.

Contact: Tony Di Giacomo, Cecil County Planning, Zoning, Parks & Recreation

Participants: Cecil County Planning & Zoning, MTA, MDOT, and WILMAPCO

This page last updated:
12/22/2008