Working to improve rail service, reliability and address a longstanding bottleneck along Amtrak's busy Northeast Corridor (NEC), the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Amtrak are advancing an engineering and environmental study to examine various improvements to the 141-year-old Baltimore and Potomac (B&P) Tunnel in Baltimore, Maryland. The B&P Tunnel is located between the West Baltimore MARC Station and Pennsylvania Station along Amtrak's Northeast Corridor (NEC). This section of the NEC is used by Amtrak and Maryland's MARC Commuter Rail passenger trains, as well as Norfolk Southern Railway freight trains. The B&P Tunnel is owned by Amtrak and should not be confused with the Howard Street Tunnel, which is owned by CSX and used solely by CSX freight trains. The tunnel, which opened in 1873, is approaching the end of its useful service life. The FRA awarded a High Speed Intercity Passenger Rail (HSIPR) grant funding towards preliminary engineering and environmental analysis to study improvements to the B&P Tunnel. The study aims to address deficient track geometry and tunnel characteristics which significantly hamper rail movement, creating a low-speed bottleneck on a high-traffic section of the NEC. The study will develop and evaluate various alternatives based on the need to improve capacity and travel time through the corridor, and in consideration of reliability and safety for commuter, freight, and intercity rail service on the NEC. The project has involved an extensive public outreach campaign to ensure the public is informed and has provided several opportunities for public comment on study findings and recommendations. The project's comprehensive alternatives screening process narrowed the initial set of 16 Preliminary Alternatives to the three alternatives (3A, 3B and 3C) evaluated in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), which was published in December 2015. In April 2016, the project team hosted a series of open houses to update the public on the elimination of Alternatives 3A and 3C and the advancement of Alternative 3B as the Preferred Alternative. Alternative 3B was identified as the preferred alternative based on a review of engineering and environmental criteria including operations, cost, and impacts to community, historical resources and other environmental features. In May 2016, the project team held two Mitigation Working Group meetings, comprised of members of the project team and community representatives. The group discussed methods for mitigating potential environmental and community impacts including noise, vibration and street closures. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was presented to the public for review at two Community Information Meetings on December 8th and 10th, 2016. In the spring 2017, a Record of Decision (ROD) from the Federal Railroad Administration is anticipated. This ROD will reflect the final decision with regard to the project. It should be noted that final design and construction resources have not been established and future allocations may necessitate additional planning and public outreach milestones and adjustments to the overall project. As of July 31, 2023, a timeline to select a design firm has not been released. Further details regarding design and construction timelines have not been identified. *Project information, including timeline and contacts, has been obtained through public sources. The content management team continues to pursue additional details; however, the contact(s) listed have yet to disclose or confirm any information. Inquiries should be directed to the contact(s) listed. *Project information, including timeline and contacts, has been obtained through public sources. The content management team continues to pursue additional details; however, the contact(s) listed have yet to disclose or confirm any information. Inquiries should be directed to the contact(s) listed.