Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel

West portal of B&P Tunnel in 1977.

The Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel (or B&P Tunnel) is a double-tracked, masonry arch railroad tunnel on the Northeast Corridor in Baltimore, Maryland, just west of Pennsylvania Station. Opened in 1873, the tunnel is used by about 140 Amtrak and MARC passenger trains and two freight trains every day, as of 2008.[1]

The 7,669-foot (2,338 m) tunnel, which passes under the Baltimore neighborhoods of Bolton Hill, Madison Park, and Upton, consists of a single tube with two tracks. It is punctuated by two open-air cuts for ventilation of exhaust fumes and smoke—Pennsylvania Avenue Opening and John Street Opening—that divide the main tunnel into three "sub-tunnels", designated (from south to north) Gilmor Street Tunnel, Wilson Street Tunnel, and John Street Tunnel.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ a b Brown, Matthew Hay (June 12, 2008). "House OKs funds for tunnel study: Alternative sought to outmoded passage that runs under city". The Baltimore Sun.
  2. ^ "Existing B&P Tunnel and Vicinity Map" (PDF). B&P Tunnel Project. May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Alternative2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).