Does Baltimore, Maryland Have the Best Subway in the USA?

Did you know this city of 600,000 has a one line subway system?
The Metro Subway has a single line that is shaped like a reverse "J". Trains head south underground from Johns Hopkins Hospital, turn west as they pass under Baltimore's central business district, then north and ultimately northwest towards Owings Mills. The route leaves its tunnel northwest of Mondawmin station, entering an elevated structure that parallels Wabash Avenue and the Western Maryland Railroad. The route eventually leaves the older railroad right of way to enter the I-795 median, which it occupies all the way to the system's Owings Mills terminus.
Trains heading for Johns Hopkins Hospital are referred to as "eastbound" trains, while trains heading towards Owings Mills are said to be "westbound" ~Wikipedia
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Comment below so we can all have a productive 'conversation about transportation!'
Thank you for all the support!!!

[@Munchabunch56]

Wow, this is a great video, with some nice camerawork and excellent editing. Having ridden on this subway numerous times, I would say it's nowhere near the best in the USA, but it does provide a valuable service to Baltimore's residents and visitors.

[@Cjnw]

It's gotta be better than #Septa!

[@randomcontentgenerator2331]

@@Cjnw Nope

[@justsamoo3480]

My favourite quote about Baltimore metro is from a KZbin video about regional metros of 70s in the US and it says: Baltimore metro is shockingly bad about, well literally everything. it's a good video, would recommend,watching it.

[@championsofbreakfast]

As a Baltimore native who constantly evaluates the feasibility of every local trip via public transportation, I'm always amazed by how often Baltimore's transit system is so close yet so far from being useful.

[@merccadoosis8847]

Can you explain this further? What exactly is wrong, in your opinion? Doesn't it get you to the business district while serving residential areas? Is it too slow? Too costly?

[@GrafEisen1]

@@merccadoosis8847 uncomfortable to use, low volume service, woefully incomplete, disjointed, and deeply, deeply underfunded

[@merccadoosis8847]

@@GrafEisen1 Am surprised by your reply. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[@GrafEisen1]

@@merccadoosis8847 no problem, baltimore is a pretty walkable city, the light rail and metro do have some okay coverage, and having any metro service at all in a city as relatively small as Baltimore is nice, but so many comprises have been made to the area's transit network that it's harder to justify using it than it should be

[@randomcontentgenerator2331]

Baltimore, Maryland has what is probably the WORST subway in the USA, a sad fact given that nearby DC has one of the best.

[@brianthetruth6055]

I live in Baltimore. We have one of the worse subways. It doesn’t go far and not reliable.

[@matthewhernandez8342]

Brian the TRUTH How often does it come?

[@sebi01200]

DC Has Architecture, Chicago has the Interesting loop, and NYC has aesthetics.

[@brianthetruth6055]

@Bardock it’s been coming every 30 minutes because they’re continually doing track work.

[@brianthetruth6055]

@SgtBreadSt1ck you’re so right! I love DC Metro. It’s so pretty.

[@JBtrainman]

As someone who’s lived here all my life...no

[@jaydotl1311]

I’ve traveled to many different cities in the United States, and As a resident of the Baltimore area, I have to say that this Metro is one of the worst. It only serves a small area of the city, and doesn’t have any real destinations. Many would say low ridership is the reason there’s no push to extend it, but the ridership is low because it literally doesn’t go anywhere, or connect to ANYTHING.

[@chris4484]

answer to your question: no literally not at all

[@andrejosephaveryaja3330]

Because work on the track (Single Tracking) Only one track throughout the entire tunnel

[@jharededwards3902]

Didn't even know they had a subway

[@MJofLakelandX]

Is this a trick question?... Let me laugh a bit louder!

[@sandal_thong8631]

It's either the brand name of a channel or sarcasm. The latter doesn't show up well in text. Is there a sarcasm emoji? I'd have to use that.

[@alanstevens1296]

A decent 15 mile long single line. Would need a system of at least 5 lines to compete for the "best."

[@chromebomb]

USA top 4 are: NYC, CHI, DC and BART. Honorable mention to Atlanta and LA.

[@brendanleo3133]

you’re forgetting Boston-the oldest subway in the US

[@matthewhernandez8342]

Boston deserves an honorable mention too. I cant blame you for leaving out Philadelphia though.

[@ROTE]

Technically BART is considered a Railroad I believe

[@nathanielthrush5581]

honorable mentions to boston and philly, not atlanta or LA.

[@Red-pt6rs]

@@nathanielthrush5581 yes honorable mention philly,boston, Atlanta and LA

[@tubbylover9593]

Yes & Indianapolis, a city of over 800k people w/ nearly 3k people/sq. mile doesn't even have a commuter train.

[@Harveycartoonlvr11]

There was TALK many years ago about Indianapolis possibly getting a Subway, that project DIED quickly! The ONLY Commuter Train in Indiana is NICTD'S South Shore Commuter Railroad!

[@tubbylover9593]

@@Harveycartoonlvr11 I mean, Nap Town isn't exactly dense. Then again, ATL isn't, but our subway has a quarter of a million riders per weekday...

[@ggball]

And Staten Island, a boro of NYC with 500K people and many areas over 10K per square mile, some close to 20K on the North Shore has no subway. Well, it has the train to nowhere, the SI Railway. Also, the urban areas of New Jersey across from NYC, some with densities of over 40K per square mile have no subway except for limited PATH servicing a small area, and just recently a light rail.

[@tubbylover9593]

@@ggball You kidding me? W. NY, w/ over 50k people to the sq. mile, has NO trains!

[@ggball]

@@tubbylover9593 if you read my reply I did mention the urban NJ areas surrounding NYC at GREATER than 40K per square mile. Yes, some areas like West New York and Hoboken can have well over that. Integrated subway transit should have included Hudson County.

[@CaseysTrains]

If it was more expansive then yes. Right now, it just okay....A single line running from Downtown northwest to Owings Mills. Most of the line is very bland looking underground stations, some poorly lit to be honest, and the outside parts feels so naked because of the amount of the land they cleared out around the SubwayLink for an extension of I-795 that never happened. I do like the section between Rogers Road and Owings Mills as it has some density near the tracks. The section along I-795 is a fun ride. Train really hauls butt through there.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I was surprised they chose light rail for the second line to the airport. When I was in Hunt Valley I saw the train crossing the road and couldn't believe that thing could get me downtown in a reasonable amount of time.

[@nathancorcoran5347]

This is great Subway train in Baltimore, Maryland.

[@lujo777]

All subway systems in a North America are kinda... Quirky

[@MJofLakelandX]

Non pans out to Baltimore's though. One of the shortest, yet one of the most useless pieces of infrastructure to have ever existed

[@Cjnw]

@@MJofLakelandX still better than #Septa, though!

[@thedoeguy]

The fact that there is no direct connection between the subway and the light rail says it all.

[@sandal_thong8631]

They probably are afraid the Blacks will hop on subway and ride it out to the suburbs to start a riot. You know all those instances when they took the church bus to Bel Air and Beverly Hills during Rodney King. (Sarcasm.)

[@roachtoasties]

The Baltimore trains look similar to the subway cars in Los Angeles, that are supposed to be replaced in the coming years, as they're reaching the end of their useful lives.

[@kevinwong6588]

I first thought the Baltimore Metro cars were actually built by Breda, until I learned Budd/TransitAmerica built them.

[@CrabMan2539]

They aren't the same as the LA rolling stock, but Miami up until about 5 years ago did have the same rolling stock.

[@skydiamond8705]

the order for those train where split 50/50 between Mami and Maryland around this time to Los Angeles was going to use them to it was one order because both city were broke at the time so that where their name come from Butv

[@merccadoosis8847]

Looked clean and efficient.

[@SparenofIria]

Maybe if it actually gets its eastern extension to Morgan State, it will see some more use. But that's not happening anytime soon.

[@jonathanstensberg]

@Quinell Sheppard Sadly, most of the preparatory work that was done for the red line is now useless. Even if they started working on it immediately, it would probably take a decade just to get shovels in the ground. It abosolutely needs to be done, but it's going to take a while.

[@jonathanstensberg]

@Quinell Sheppard Most planning, engineering, and environmental work has a lifetime to it. After several years pass, it's no longer valid and has to be completely redone. By the time there is a new governor, the red line will have been sitting on the shelf for so long that the old plans are no longer usable.

[@jonathanstensberg]

@Quinell Sheppard The red line definitely needs to be built

[@jaydotl1311]

@Tyler Perry review channel I would actually be OK with increasing a small percentage of sales taxes or something to get the metro extended to MSU then White Marsh. While I do think having something is better than nothing, I believe that the red line as it was presented wasn’t great. If plans for the redline were to be resurrected, I think a realignment would definitely be needed in some areas.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I see the proposed third line (red?) going east to west. If they do that, then it still won't address beltway traffic for suburb-to-suburb commuting. They said DC couldn't have a purple line from MD to VA across the Wilson Bridge (though it's built for it!) because it would increase traffic on the green and yellow lines. Say what?

[@devvydoesstuff]

POV : you are surprised to find another best system video in your notifications

[@matthewhernandez8342]

No, NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC and probably Philadelphia have better subways

[@matthewhernandez8342]

@Shitty Gayming Yes Baltimore also has a better system than Tokyo and London as well.

[@MythicalTransit]

@Shitty Gayming 🧢

[@IJC144]

Bardock is Correct

[@MythicalTransit]

Bardock is correct

[@IJC144]

@Shitty Gayming I respect your Opinion, You both are correct

[@versus8418]

I really love this trains,i want to drive them

[@justsamoo3480]

At least it’s not overcrowded...

[@trackwerkOG]

Buuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz I'm really going to miss these when they're replaced. Miami's identical cars are unrebuilt with original door chimes although sound exactly the same.

[@Cerby1979]

I see. Though the Baltimore MTA had taken better care of their Budd UTVs thus meaning that they can run for a while longer. Miami Metrorail retired all of its Budd UTVs and now use cars from Hitachi Rail. MTA has supposedly ordered them as well.

[@yoyobass100]

It's good, but the DC Metro is better. Both travel on highway medians though.

[@mitztrick]

Hurry up I can’t wait that long!!!!

[@Ultrasun-fv5de]

At this point it's less likely for this subway to be extended or get a new line then for the WMATA to just eventually straight up annex it.

[@SigmaRho2922]

The metro line has a map layout similar to the character し...

[@Cjnw]

Allah-Hu-Akbar Line!

[@antoniojose8606]

Aqui no meu município são Gonçalo rio de janeiro . Brasil tem projeto que ainda não saiu do papel.

[@andrejosephaveryaja3330]

20% Yes and 80% No But very nice video, I really liked it.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I think they filmed _Along Came a Spider_ starring Morgan Freeman on this subway line and called it the DC Metro. (My friends were extras - they did a lot of riding). He smashes a window and throws out the briefcase containing the reward. But I can't find that clip on KZbin.

[@rockvilleraven]

Hollywood finally got the Washington Metro right in Wonder Woman 1984, although the train frequency boards were installed later than that.

[@transitfan2000]

Same as Miami-Dade Transit trains

[@Cerby1979]

MDT retired all of their Budd UTVs. They use Hitachi rail vehicles now.

[@Rebelnightwolfe]

Living in Baltimore all my life. Short answer: no. Long answer: Consistent track maintenance even with the complete emergency shutdown in 2018 for a month. Single track maintenance happens on almost a daily basis. The train cars are nearing their end of life cycle and I've heard no new plans for replacements yet. Companies bid for the chance to build new train cars and the process can take well over a year. Stations are dilapidated. Despite it only taking about 30 mins from end-to-end trains always seem to be late.

[@harpersinclair3948]

? There hasn’t been much single tracking on weekdays since the summer and on weekends since late fall, the subway comes fairly on time now and the new Hitachi cars are supposed to arrive this summer

[@user-ll2zl7de5e]

Неплохое метро. Чисто, просторно, есть эскалаторы.

[@betrapvideos]

Hardly a subway with one line. Have three lines in east Baltimore and downtown to Anne Arundel then I'd say so

[@tonyjones9442]

Is this train diesel? I find it unusual for a transit system in a metropolitian area to be non electric? Especially in a developed country. I cant think of any mass transit system in uk still using diesel. Of course there are diesel trains but not passenger ones in large towns. Its also nice to know in a free country you are being "monitored".

[@Munchabunch56]

It's electric.

[@tonyjones9442]

@@Munchabunch56 i couldnt see a third rail?

[@matthewhernandez8342]

tony jones 3:10 the third rail is there

[@tonyjones9442]

@@matthewhernandez8342 yes, you are right. Its a very high third rail. I thought it was just a cable conduit. Hatd to see on the phone.

[@dmvnative90skid63]

One of the WORST in my opinion ! Why is it only a single line? It should multiple lines like WMATA ! Think about if train service went up to Towson? Out to White Marsh? Ellicott City ?

[@sandal_thong8631]

Maybe if people in Baltimore voted at higher numbers, they'd get more for their city. When I lived in VA, my high school government teacher said if people in Northern VA, Norfolk and Richmond worked together, they could have state spending go to their needs instead of rural areas or less spending. Maybe it's same in MD.

[@gregspot]

Do they let the Baltimore cars drive themselves to the next stop anymore? That was cool to witness when it used to occur. The engineer would just press a button and the cars would automatically go up to the preset speed and stop exactly at the next stop.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I'd rather have "driverless" trains than "driverless" cars. A couple train wrecks in the past few years were due to the driver ignoring warnings and speed limits.

[@simonignatovsky8445]

NO IT IS NOT. It is absolutely one of the worst systems in the entire US. I don't know of any other US system having worse rolling stock, negligent maintenance, rampant crime, and a useless subway to the majority of the city.

[@CrabMan2539]

Baltimore may have a nice, though dated system (I like the rolling stock but the above ground stations I think need refurbishment) that works, but it is SERIOUSLY underdeveloped. I think that metro line started in the early 80s with the extension to Owings Mills in 1987 (Fact check me there). However, since then, the only added rail transit was the light rail. I like the light rail (though I wish it had more comfortable seats), but the metro needs to be expanded. Since MTA is run by morons currently, they'll just say "it's too expensive and won't get enough ridership" and just continue to depend on slow and inefficient busses that share traffic with cars (BTW there's more than enough ridership. Just look at I-695, I-95, I-83, and I-395 during rush hour literally any day of the week. Meanwhile I-795, while possible that it just doesn't have as much density to begin with, doesn't have as much traffic. That is the highway in which the metro follows between Old Court and Owings Mills).

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

Suddenly, Baltimore Metro Subway is 37 years old. What makes a subway best, worst or most? Ps, they're supposed to be getting new cars. Seen any of them?

[@jg-7780]

I think they’re supposed to start arriving next year

[@matthewhernandez8342]

Well the appereance, the safety and the punctuality of the subway makes it best or worst. Also how long the lines are.

[@MJofLakelandX]

Considering we have a hard time maintaining the infrastructure and three aerial stations are in desperate need of major TLC work and it's only 15 miles of a failed mass plan. Baltimore subway is useless to a degree of an appendix

[@jg-7780]

@@MJofLakelandX It’s very useful if you work at Johns Hopkins and live in Owings Mills, or if...erm... uhhhh..........

[@MJofLakelandX]

They pushing the timeline for when the new cars are suppose to arrive. Hitachi is still getting everything prep for the rail cars to arrive, so maybe 2022?... but given MTA's track-record, you'd be better off not worrying nor caring

[@FlyingGentile]

Goofy Gov hoogy wouldn’t pass the state funds to extend the line pass JHK for the red line. Smh

[@travisbarnes6132]

Does the metro run to a few low income zip codes and to president street (shot tower station)? Sure. But it also misses all the others and anywhere else relevant or attractive in Baltimore, it's poorly maintained, outdated and poorly lit at stations and on the trains, low security/staffing, severely underfunded, the list goes on. In comparison, NY or DC are leaps and bounds better in every way. This videos is 2 years old and it hasn't gotten better. Instead of a metro Baltimore opts for a bus system called CityLink which are color coded buses that run routes where a metro would serve better. Their schedule? "Frequent (Every 15-30 minutes)" and if only that were true.

[@ChrisOnline1]

Where's that buzzing noise coming from?

[@Cerby1979]

When the train accelerates or slows down. I’ve ridden on Budd UTV trains a lot but when they were still in service for the Miami Metrorail. Now Baltimore is the only operator of the type as Miami retired all of their Budds.

[@291281]

Great Metro video ! Timosha21

[@skuzzbunny]

LoL, i mean, if you happen to regularly need to go between 2 of the 3 whole places it goes, sure it's pretty nice, but that's a miniscule slice of the Baltimore population, even with the 1 light rail line, it's pretty ridiculous on its own with just a single line; practically anyone going practically anywhere would likely still have to transfer to the pretty dismally unreliable bus system anyway even if it did happen to be on their route.....P

[@mberry593]

An excellent start but no, it needs more lines to be really good & we can’t even build more light rail anymore.

[@sandal_thong8631]

Light rail may be good for a dozen blocks in a downtown, but for commuters it's an advertisement to drive to work. The last video I saw showed cars passing the train to/from Owings Mill.

[@syarheianop]

мало людей в вагонах. почти пустые.

[@jg-7780]

My theory is that this is an extension of his what is the best ____ series and soon he will upload similarly titled videos for different cities, since the answer to the title is no. I mean in might not be the single *worst* metro in the US (Cleveland and San Juan might be a bit worse) but it’s just an objectively inferior system to most of the rest of the country.

[@sandal_thong8631]

It does have one heavy rail line. I guess that's better than a city that has 0 or just light rail.

[@Virre737]

No oh no.

[@rooseveltmartin7103]

It's not the best, but at least it's cheap.

[@nelsonricardo3729]

Um … No. No it doesn’t.

[@EvanAviator]

No

[@joshuafajardo5697]

🚇

[@MichaelWilliams87]

without a doubt

[@royboy1984]

No.

[@TheYouTubeTeam]

The best!?!?! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[@traindude32]

Nope

[@notoriousj815]

Is this a joke? 😂😂😂 Baltimore flat out SUCKS in every possible way especially it's transportation system. Never on time, filthy, crowded, always single tracking, junkies on there nodding out, teenagers committing violent acts, I could go on forever but I won't.

[@erikfond1844]

Убогое метро 😒

[@edisone1]

No, mostly empty trains trapped between busy highway lanes do not equal a best subway. Ridership is pathetically tiny, besides being mostly poor minorities

[@matthewhernandez8342]

You had a point until your last statement there. What’s wrong with poor minorities trying to commute and get to work or get home?

[@MJofLakelandX]

The "poor minorities" is not the issue. It's the lack of usefulness. It doesn't go anywhere and hasn't done anything magnificent since it's inception. Extending it to Morgan State University would help but it failed on the decree of transforming neighborhoods and just became a water hose snaking through a muddy lawn.

[@Neillan]

Expansions and updates struck down because of discrimination against those "poor minorities" is a pretty large part of why the system is a crappy as it is. It was originally planned to be twice it's current size, but was struck down because whites in Anne Arundel didn't want blacks the moving in. It's very sad, and was never really resolved.

[@klyethomas1987]

www.baltimorecity.gov/sites/default/files/Baltimore%20Region%20Rail%20Plan%20Report.pdf

[@jaydotl1311]

I’ve traveled to many different cities in the United States, and As a resident of the Baltimore area, I have to say that this Metro is one of the worst. It only serves a small area of the city, and doesn’t have any real destinations. Many would say low ridership is the reason there’s no push to extend it, but the ridership is low because it literally doesn’t go anywhere, or connect to ANYTHING.

[@sandal_thong8631]

Johns Hopkins? Maybe a former governor lived out at Owings Mills, so that's why you have it. Someone's got to show where people commute to and from by car to push for more heavy rail.

[@busandrail]

No