MTA to get over $213M in federal funding to replace light rail cars

The Maryland Transit Administration is getting a federal and state funding boost to modernize its aging light rail cars. The agency has said it urgently needs $450 million to replace its entire fleet of more than 50 rail cars dating back to the light rail system’s launch in 1992. MTA officials in early December abruptly shut down light rail service due to safety concerns in the Baltimore region following an Oct. 21 fire and explosion on a nearly empty rail car.