ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — Some ride it to the office; others, to the Yard and the Bank on gameday. The light rail bell means something different to everyone.
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The Baltimore area's light rail system is getting a major upgrade, with all 52 cars set to be replaced as part of a comprehensive modernization program which secured state funding.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) hosted a "Light Rail Industry Day" in Anne Arundel County on Thursday morning to connect with potential builders and manufacturers for the project, which carries a price tag of over $1 billion.
"The light rail modernization program is going to bring a pretty wide variety of benefits to riders," Kate Sylvester, deputy administrator for MTA, told WMAR-2 News.
MTA envisions four tranches for the program, according to a document from the industry day.
Tranche 1 will implement low-floor light rail vehicles, Tranche 2 will upgrade existing light rail stations, Tranche 3 will "develop a state-of-the-art maintenance and storage facility to support the new fleet," and Tranche 4 will upgrade traction power substations.
The planned upgrades will include fully accessible all-door boarding and improved safety features, making the system more convenient for all passengers, Sylvester explained.
"Coming along with [the light rail car replacements], we modernize all the stations and our maintenance facilities; it's really an opportunity to invest in a refreshed light rail system," Sylvester said.
According to state data, the light rail system served approximately 370,000 in February 2025.
During an incident in late 2023, an electrical fire broke out in a light rail car, leading to a two-week shutdown of the system.
READ MORE: Light Rail services suspended starting Friday (2023)
The plans, Sylvester said, will provide palpable benefits to light rail riders.
"The biggest and most obvious thing is fully accessible all-door boarding, step on, step off," Sylvester said of the benefits. "Whether you've got a bike with you or a grocery cart or anything like that. But it also means speeding up travel times, so we're going to be able to move in and out of stations faster, getting people ultimately to where they're going faster."
The state plans to select vendors this year, with the complete modernization expected to take five to seven years to finish.
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