Weekend storms impact commuters at Cromwell Light Rail station amid continued power outages
By Breana Ross
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GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WBAL) — Weekend storms caused significant damage, closing the Cromwell Light Rail station in Glen Burnie and leaving many residents without power and struggling with disrupted commutes.
A Baltimore Gas and Electric representative described the damage in Glen Burnie as severe, with 24 broken utility poles and power lines resting on Light Rail equipment. Crews are working to repair the damage, but the station remained closed Tuesday, forcing commuters to find alternative transportation.
“I’ve never seen this before in the 13 years I’ve been living here,” said Georgina Brown, of Glen Burnie.
Commuters arriving at the Cromwell Light Rail station were met with a shocking sight: Power lines draped across the station.
“I live 15 minutes from here, but I always catch the bus over here, but I didn’t know it was a disaster like this,” said Angel Montejo, a resident.
A Maryland Transit Administration representative stood across from the Light Rail station on Tuesday, directing commuters to use free shuttles and buses as alternatives.
However, some people are frustrated with the situation.
“I have appointments I need to go to at the doctor’s and stuff, and because now that the Light Rail is shut down, you have to catch the bus, and the buses, half of them don’t even come on time,” said Patrick Allen.
“Basically, the buses are crazy right now because they don’t know where they are going to go,” Montejo said. “I know that there are a lot of people that are using buses, and that’s terrible for them because they’re going to be late for work or things like that.”
A BGE mobile command center is parked across from the train station. A BGE representative told WBAL-TV 11 News the utility has an increased number of staff and more than 400 contractors working around the clock to clean up and restore power across the region.
Peter Dunn, of Glyndon, said he has been receiving text updates from BGE since Saturday, but the estimated restoration times keep changing.
“It just keeps getting pushed back again and again, and that’s very frustrating because I can’t quite plan things,” Dunn said. “When your power is out, you realize just how many things you depend upon. I mean, you know, I go to use my microwave, and of course it doesn’t work, or any other appliance that I’ve gotten spoiled enough to be accustomed to.”
BGE representatives acknowledged the frustration and asked for patience as they work to repair the damage.
“Customers have every right to be frustrated when they don’t have power again for even one minute,” BGE spokesman Nick Alexopulos told WBAL-TV 11 News. “Estimated times of restoration, that’s an ETR, that’s when we estimate you’ll get your power back, they fluctuate based on a lot of different variables. It’s an initial estimate based off our assessment of the damage. As we begin the work to make repairs on the job that would restore your power, things may change. The damage may be more severe than we thought. There may be additional weather that comes in that means we have to pause the work … What’s important is that customers continue checking for updated estimated times of restoration.”
BGE stated that most customers affected by Saturday’s storm should have their power restored by 11 p.m. Tuesday, while those impacted by Sunday’s storm should expect restoration by Wednesday night. Repairs at the Cromwell Light Rail station are expected to take several days.
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