Delivering on BaltimoreLink’s promise to better connect people to jobs, the Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration celebrated the launch of the new LocalLink 63 service to Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point — an area that was home to Bethlehem Steel and has been without transit services for 25 years. Tradepoint Atlantic, located on a 3,100-acre site, will be the largest intermodal redevelopment in the country, bringing thousands of new jobs to the area. As part of Governor Larry Hogan’s Baltimore County visit and Regional Cabinet Meeting, officials rode the new BaltimoreLink service to Tradepoint Atlantic.
"We have returned transit service for the 800 employees that currently work here at the Tradepoint Atlantic campus and the thousands more to come," said Secretary Pete K. Rahn.
LocalLink 63, which launched on February 4 as part of MDOT MTA’s 2018 Winter Service Changes, runs from the Baltimore Inner Harbor through Greektown and Dundalk and to Sparrows Point in Baltimore County. In all, there are 47 trips (eastbound and westbound) each weekday and 38 daily trips in both directions on Saturdays and on Sundays. LocalLink 63 connects to 24 existing BaltimoreLink bus routes, including eight CityLink lines.
The Tradepoint Atlantic site houses FedEx Ground’s 50-acre distribution facility — which opened with 250 jobs in the summer of 2017 — as well as Royal Farms, Pasha Automotive Services, Harley-Davidson of Baltimore, Access World and C. Steinweg and Lafarge Holcim. In total, about 800 employees currently work at the Tradepoint Atlantic commercial hub.
Under Armour will open a new distribution warehouse at the site in spring 2018, adding as many as 1,200 more workers. And, Amazon will open its 855,000 square-foot fulfillment center in 2019, which will bring an additional 1,500 new jobs. Tradepoint Atlantic is projected to exceed 10,000 employees onsite by 2025.
“This is an exciting time for Baltimore-area residents as we continue to deliver on our promise to get people where the jobs are on a transit system that Baltimore can be proud of,” said MDOT MTA Administrator Kevin Quinn. “Our partnership with Tradepoint Atlantic has been key to getting much-needed transit services to this up-and-coming area of Sparrows Point.”
Tradepoint Atlantic Senior Vice President Aaron Tomarchio said LocalLink 63 is a win-win for businesses in Sparrows Point and Marylanders looking for job opportunities.
“Transportation access for employees is among the first set of questions we receive from prospective businesses looking to locate to the area,” said Tomarchio. “They want to know how the local workforce will get to them. By delivering on its promise to connect Marylanders to major job centers like Tradepoint Atlantic with the new LocalLink 63 bus line, it’s clear that Maryland is open for business. We’re extremely excited about the new service.”
