For CSX, Being at Port of Baltimore Is ‘a Proud Thing’
Follow
By DERON SNYDER (as published by Port of Baltimore Magazine)
Stakeholders within the rail industry had long complained about Baltimore’s Howard Street Tunnel before Keith Davis joined CSX as a conductor in 2011. The 1.7-mile tunnel was completed in 1895 (and extended in 1985), over time becoming a vital artery in America’s transportation network. But it was decades behind the times, a source of frustration for everyone involved.
“When I first got hired, that’s what some of the talk was,” said Davis, who’s now CSX Superintendent of the Central East Zone. “I kept hearing about how the Howard Street Tunnel would be expanded.”
Decades of talk didn’t result in action before he left CSX, whose rails in Baltimore were a century-old bottleneck along the I-95 corridor. But after several years of negotiations between Maryland, CS and the Federal Railroad Administration, officials broke ground on the Howard Street Tunnel in November 2021. Davis rejoined the company in 2024, partaking in the tunnel’s last stages before it reopened in September 2025.
“I put in some work on understanding what we need to do, and the impact it was going to have on our customers and the community around us,” he said. “I had about two weeks to make a whole intermodal facility for us and keep the traffic volumes flowing in and out of Baltimore. That was a huge part of the success I feel about the project.”
FROM NO DOUBLES TO YES, DOUBLES!
Baltimore is renowned for its seaport, but the city is forever linked to trains, too. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was founded in the city in 1827, becoming the nation’s first commercial railroad. CSX continued the legacy and cemented its Baltimore presence when it acquired what remained of B&O in 1987.
The merger took place as the industry was undergoing rapid expansion. Historic passageways like the Howard Street Tunnel – part of B&O’s main line – were being bypassed or overhauled to accommodate a new rage: double-stacked containers.
The tunnel’s limited clearance didn’t allow modern freight trains to take a direct route between Baltimore and the Midwest. If containers weren’t single stacked (or trucked as an alternative), trains were forced into a roundabout route via Philadelphia and upstate New York. Competing with major ports in New York, Norfolk and Savannah, Baltimore was at a severe disadvantage.
Not anymore.
In addition to opening a direct path for intermodal traffic between Baltimore and Chicago, the $450 million tunnel project included work at 22 different locations between Baltimore and Philadelphia. As a result, CSX can now run double-stack trains from New Jersey to Florida.
It wasn’t easy. The project required more than 450,000 man hours of work. That includes a stretch of 233 consecutive days (Feb. 5, 2025 through Sept. 25, 2025) in which the tunnel was closed and workers toiled 24/7. CSX estimates that business at the Port of Baltimore will increase by approximately 160,000 containers annually. Davis said CSX moved around 57,000 containers in 2025; it was nearing 65,000 through six months this year.
“This helps out the corridor along the I-95 network,” Davis said. “It’s going reduce some of the truck traffic on the highways and lower emissions by shifting cargo to rail. Taking congestion away from Baltimore will help us be more fluid in the communities.
CSX GROWTH TIED TO BALTIMORE
With double-stacked trains rolling through the Howard Street Tunnel, Baltimore is at the hub as CSX begins a new era.
Business is booming at the Port’s Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF), where CSX operates the on-dock railyard. It includes four loading tracks, four storage tracks and one run-around track. Equipment includes two 40-long-ton transtainers and two top loaders. CSX provides direct service for international and domestic containers arriving at the Seagirt Marine Terminal. Cargo can move directly from ship to rail, minimizing truck movements.
CSX helps other transportation companies do business, too, invigorating the region’s economy. “We have a couple of short-line railroads around Baltimore that we impact and help support,” said Davis, mentioning Tradepoint Atlantic Rail, Canton Railroad, Buckingham Branch Railroad, and Maryland Midland Railway.
He has a staff of roughly 12 CSX employees who are responsible for moving trains in and out of the ICTF. The containers’ contents can vary from leather to chemicals, fruits and vegetables, and paper or plastics. CSX remains firmly connected to Baltimore’s heritage through the B&O Railroad, which celebrates its bicentennial in 2027.
The future is bright with faster transit times, increaed capacity and direct access to major inland destinations, reinforcing Baltimore’s status as a premier cargo gateway. According to Davis, it’s not just about infrastructure.
“The people in Baltimore make the difference around Baltimore,” he said. “Having CSX here is a proud thing.”
