Evening star., 1961-06-17
Baltimore Springfield Line
Proposed for Commuters
PennsyAs
StoIzenbuch
For Details
By GILBERT GINIBLE
Star Staff Writer

Dy 0ANAAAG
Star Staff Writer
c. Darwin Stolzenbach, re-
turning today from a tour Of
Philadelphia transit facilities,
plans to have his National Cap
ital Transportation Agency staff
study the possibility of a COM
muter railroad line to run
from Baltimore to Springfield,
Va, and serve the Pentagon.
At a meeting with WV. Pat
chell, vice president of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, held in
Philadelphia yesterday, Mr..
Stolzenbach received a prom
iSe of close cooperation by the
railroad company on any
studies he may wish regarding
improvement of rail commuter
service.
Mr.. Stolzenbach Immediately
raised the question Of the Bal
timore-Springfield line, which
would require use of the Penn
sylvania's tracks and those of
the Southern Railway south of
the Potomac River.
Interested in Proposal
Mr.. Patchell said META
staff members should draw up
further detail and his staff will
work with them in determin-
ing If a line to Springfield
would be feasible. He added
that the Pennsylvania Rail-
road would be very much in
tereSted in working out a COM
muter line arrangement.
Mr.. Stolzenbach plans to
discuss commuter rail plans
with officials of the Southern
Railway next week.
Earlier yesterday the transit
planners were told they must
realize that future patterns of
regional growth will be largely
determined by transportation
policy decisions.
Henry Fagin, executive direc-
tor OF the Penn-Jersey Trans
portation Study, warned that
political leaders are less likely
to agree on general land use
policies than on specific decis-
ions for transportation develop
ment.
The Philadelphia transporta-
ton expert spoke to a visiting
group including staff members
OF the META and the Maryland
National Capital Park and
Planning Commission.
The group met with Mr..
Fagin, whose agency will soon
report on a three-year study
of transit development for the
greater Philadelphia area, to
get background on his agency's
findings on metropolitan PLAN
ming.
His remarks added emphasis
to a question Washington area
planners now face-can PLAN
ners convince political and COM
nunity leaders that mass transit
development will affect long
range patterns of regional ex-
pansion.
The District area is now con-
Sidering a broad concept for
regional growth as outlined in
the recently released Year 1000
plan. At the same time the
Meta is charged with formu-
lating a mass transportation
system for the entire region and
to report by November, 1862.
Meta staff members ac-
companying Mr.. Stolzenbach,
the agency's administrator,
were impressed by a striking
feature of the Penn-Jedsey
study-the use of electronic
computers to simulate long
range regional development.
Alternative Systems
The $3.5 million Penn-Jersey
study will come up with a SER
les Of policy bundles" which
will be handed over to political
leaders of the region for a final
decision on which transporta-
ton pattern should be adopted.
Various alternative mass
transportation systems are
being consideded, balancing use
Of rapid rail, freeway and COM
muter railroad facilities.
Data on what makes people
live in certain areas, their rec
reation habits, type of hous-
ing they desire, where industry
and residential investments
takes place and other such be-
havior patterns is collected and
fed to computers.
With this information, along
with projections on urban re-
newal, new freeway consGruc-
ton and other improvement
projects, the computers then
will grind out answers on how
the community would grow in
lfiVe-year stages,