The Red Line is a proposed east–west
mass transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
light rail line for
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...
,
Maryland. The project had been granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase and the
Maryland Transit Administration had spent roughly $300 million in planning, design and land acquisition. The project was projected to cost roughly $1.6 billion, $900 million of which was guaranteed funding by the federal government.
Maryland Governor
Larry Hogan
Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...
declared on June 25, 2015 that he would not provide state funds for the project.
Governor Hogan shifted $736 million of state funding to roads in suburban areas.
While campaigning for Governor, Hogan characterized the project as a "boondoggle".
Hogan has been accused of corruption since his shift of state priorities to road funding has resulted in the construction of several major projects near properties owned by his company. The Red Line cancellation was briefly investigated by the
United States Department of Transportation for being in possible violation of Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
,
[http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/3404919/Red-Line-Compliance-Review-Letter.pdf ] since his decision shifted a large quantity of state money from predominantly Black and low-income neighborhoods into affluent and predominantly white areas, but, after a change in presidential administrations, the investigation was closed with no finding.
The line's construction had been estimated to begin in late 2015–early 2016, subject to funding, with a completion date set for late 2021–early 2022.
The project currently remains inact