BALTIMORE — The Baltimore Washington Rapid Rail, which is the developer of the Baltimore-Washington Superconducting Maglev (SCMaglev) Project, announced on Monday goals would deliver billions of dollars of economic benefits to communities of color, women and their businesses in constructing and operating the $13 billion high-speed train project.
According to BWRR, of the 74,000 construction related jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs the project is estimated to create here in the state, they have also set goals to hire 40 percent of the construction workforce and 25 percent of the permanent employees.
They also hope to spend 25% of the project's construction and long-term operations costs with MBE and WBE Businesses.
The buildout of the Maryland segment of the project will last approximately seven years and include the construction of nearly 30 miles of tunnels, guideway, two stations and a 180-acre Train Maintenance Facility, and several smaller ancillary support facilities spread across the route.
“The current pandemic shows that communities of color are particularly vulnerable during hard times, which is why a project like the SCMaglev train offering tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment must be taken seriously,” said Maryland State Delegate Darryl Barnes, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. “For instance, Prince George’s will benefit from approximately 500 proposed permanent jobs making it the largest concentration of jobs along the route. Residents will have access to thousands of union construction careers to help them enter the middle class, and with some of our communities boasting Maryland’s highest number of minority businesses, we expect many local firms will find contracts,” Barnes added. “Jobseekers, contract seekers, and others will be better off thanks to these pathways for county residents to grow and sustain wealth.”
“The SCMaglev train will be unparalleled in terms of the project’s scale, scope and impact as we will transform the passenger experience and lives of residents from overlooked communities, especially as we will build in some of Maryland's most culturally diverse areas,” said Wayne Rogers, Chairman and CEO of BWRR and Northeast Maglev. “At this moment in our nation’s consciousness, we must create and sustain an exemplary model for diversity and inclusion in national infrastructure projects. We are proud to announce the plan and work with equally committed partners.”
The project is currently under review by federal, state and local agencies. If all goes through, construction could start in 2023.
The goal is for the train to eventually head to New York, a trip that would take just one hour.
"We want to make sure the people in the region are not overlooked. I mean we know how transportation investments have been made during years in the past," said former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater. "A lot of times tearing up our communities, a lot of times cutting off our communities from opportunities. Not with this project."
