Press | MCRT Action

Press (click on title to open)

03/08/2025 - MCRT Alert. In January and February 2025, three bills focused on the SCMaglev were filed and discussed at General Assembly committee hearings. Two are cross-filed: Senate Bill 55 and House Bill 400 (State Finance – Prohibited Appropriations – Magnetic Levitation Transportation System), a recurring bill last filed in 2024. The third is House Bill 48 (Railroad Companies – Condemnation Authority – Application) last filed in 2022. Links to these bills are provided in this MCRT Alert. Rhonda Kranz, president of the Maryland Coalition for Responsible Transit (MCRT), along with other community advocates, testified and/or submitted testimony in favor of all three bills. Northeast Maglev Senior Vice President Ian Rainey and SCMaglev supporters provided unfavorable testimony toward all three bills. A video link to the hearing can be found in this Alert.

11/25/2024 – MCRT Alert. MCRT volunteers share information at 2024 area events.

09/26/2024 – MCRT Alert. Clearing up Misconceptions About the SCMaglev Based on Facts, Not Unsubstantiated Claims - - 8 Ways to Help and Learn More.

08/19/2024 - MCRT Alert . Northeast Maglev Unfavorable Testimony on 2025 Maryland General Assembly Bills and Interesting Revelations - - Northeast Maglev and JR Central University Student Internships in Japan and Baltimore in Summer 2025 - - MCRT writes to the MDOT and the FRA about the comments made by BWRR’s representative Mr. Rainey during the February 14 hearing regarding the status of the project - - 8 Ways to Help and Learn More.

08/19/2024 - Northeast Maglev Courts Black Business Owners, Civil Rights Advocates with Trip to Japan to Promote Superconducting Magnetic Levitation Train Project. Update on Northeast Maglev actions during the Federal Railroad Administration's "pause" of the proposed SCMaglev project's Draft Environmental Impact Statement review and the response by the MCRT.

06/21/2024 - MCRT's letter to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) subject: Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment for Traffic and Utilities Mitigation for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing – Currency Production Facility. MCRT provides opposition comments on the "Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment (EA) for traffic, utilities, and construction for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s (BEP) Currency Production Facility (CPF). The relocation and construction of the CPF causes severe impacts to the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center
(BARC), the watersheds, and communities, and raises several issues about how the infrastructure around the site is designed."

06/12/2024 - MCRT's letter to the FRA and MTA subject: Federal Railroad Administration and Maryland Department of Transportation Actions Regarding the Current “Pause” on the Superconducting Magnetic Levitation Train Project. While still on "pause" as of August 2021, the FRA and MTA, through AECOM, an environmental consultant, are beginning to reach out to agencies potentially affected by the proposed paths of the SCMaglev train.

05/15/2024 - Among the many concerns MCRT discussed in our comments on the SCMaglev DEIS, as submitted to the FRA, was the potential impact and contamination of the Arundel Acquifier from the tunneling BWRR is proposing across nearly all of Anne Arundel County. This aquifer is where many Anne Arundel County residents and businesses get their drinking water. Well, it's no longer "hypothetical," it's happened in Japan. Water in wells and reservoirs has plummeted to alarming low levels in an area near tunnel construction work for the SCMaglev as reported by The Asahi Shimbun. In their article Groundwater drying up in Gifu near work for maglev tunnel, "The groundwater in wells used for bathing, washing clothes and other daily chores began to gradually decrease at homes along an old road surrounded by rice paddies and forests, they [residents] said." "Although JR Tokai [JR Central] has not confirmed a causal relationship between its excavation work for the tunnel and the lower water levels, it has accepted responsibility. Since no other construction work is being done, we believe that the (drop in water levels) is due to the maglev construction work, a representative of the company said. During the May 13 briefing, JR Tokai said it would cover the costs of switching the Okute community’s water supply from groundwater to a different source. If BWRR's tunneling across Anne Arundel County damages the Arundel Aquifer, do you think BWRR will accept responsibility, or will all residents and businesses affected, along with Anne Arundel County and the state of Maryland, have to step in to deal with the damage all at the taxpayers' expense?

MCRT Newsletters & Alerts (click on title to open)

2024 - Summer-Fall MCRT Newsletter

Success Criteria for High-Speed Maglev Rail Lines - - MDOT and BWRR Apply for FRA Grant Money - - Catching Up With the Westport Community Economic Development Corporation - - Beyond Blatant Subterfuge, ICYMI: In Case You Missed it - - 8 Ways to Help and Learn More.

2024 - Winter-Spring 2024 MCRT Newsletter

Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Legislators! - - No Maryland Appropriations for the SC Maglev? - - Bureau of Engraving and Printing Currency Production Facility Update - - Amtrak Adds More Service to Meet Growing Customer Demand - - BWRR Withdraws Application to the MDE for Tier II WQC for the SCMaglev Train Project - - Blatant Subterfuge

2023 - Summer 2023 MCRT Newsletter

Urgent Call for Water Quality Experts - - Big $$$ Behind Northeast Maglev’s Lobbying Influence - - Postponed: Jury Trial for Maglev-Westport Condemnation Lawsuit - - More TNEM “Blatant Subterfuge” - - MCRT at Community

Events - - MCRT Speaks to Community Groups - - Baltimore’s Penn Station Gets $6m for Upgrades

2023 - Spring 2023 MCRT Newsletter

MCRT Goes to Annapolis - - MCRT Sends Letters of Inquiry to the MDE, FRA, and MDOT - - New Leadership in Annapolis - - SCMaglev Ridership Numbers Inflated? Yes! - - More TNEM “Blatant Subterfuge” - - Investors, Time to Drop Your Support for the SCMaglev? - - In What Universe Does the SCMaglev Make Sense?

2022 - Fall 2022 MCRT Newsletter

SCMaglev: Where Have We Been and Where are We Headed? - - What’s Happening with the FRA Review? - - Ridership Data Update - - MCRT Supports WNA and Westport CEDC - - Konterra and the DEIS - - Another TNEM "Blatant Subterfuge" - - MCRT at Greenbelt Labor Day Festival

2021 - August MCRT's First Newsletter

Message from the MCRT President, Strategy/Action Meetings - - Lawyer from the Chesapeake Legal Alliance to Assist MCRT, MCRT Sends FOIA Request to FRA - - Additional Position Papers are complete, Health and Human Impacts - - Electromagnetic Fields and Human Health, Environmental Justice - EJ Communities are Hammered, Environmental Justice - Impact on EJ Communities - Biden's "Justice40" - - MCRT's Communication and Outreach, Feature of the Month - Prince George's County District 3 Council Member Dannielle Glaros, City of Greenbelt Expert Norman Marshall from Smart Mobility Analyzes Released - - Redacted DEIS Ridership Studies. (MailChimp Link)