Reminder: MARC End-of-Year Schedule

MARC Train Service will operate on the following schedules during Holidays in December. 

**Camden Line passengers are reminded that Camden Line tickets (one-way, weekly, and monthly) are always honored to equal zones on the Penn Line.**

--December 23, Full service on all three MARC lines

--December 24, "S" (limited) schedule on Penn and Brunswick Lines, no service on the Camden Line

--December 25, No MARC Train Service

--December 26 and 27, "S" (limited) schedule on Penn and Brunswick Lines, no service on the Camden Line

--December 28, regularly-scheduled Saturday Penn Line service

--December 29, regularly-scheduled Sunday Penn Line service

--December 30, Full service on all three MARC lines

--December 31, "S" (limited) schedule on Penn and Brunswick Lines, no service on the Camden Line

--January 1, 2014, No MARC Train Service

--January 2, 2014 and going forward, Full MARC service on all three lines; Penn Line weekend service continues to operate as scheduled.

Source: MTA Alerts Email Mon 12/16/13 2:38 PM

..passengers are reminded that
when the Brunswick Line is operating on an "S" schedule, the last departure from Union Station is at 6:20pm (Train 881).  This train will make all stops between Washington and Martinsburg.  Frederick County "Meet the MARC" buses will operate from Point of Rocks to Frederick.  Trains 895 and 883 (6:40 and 7:25pm departures from Union Station) WILL NOT operate.

West Virginia passengers should also note that Train 875 (4:25pm departure) does not operate on the "S" schedule.  However, Train 877 (4:55pm departure) will operate through to Martinsburg, making all stops.

Finally, there will be an additional PanTran connecting bus to meet Train 873 (3:30pm departure) at Brunswick, for a total of 3 buses.

 

Source: MTA Alerts Email Mon 12/16/13 2:48 PM

News for MARC Commuters

Good news for our sister Lines on the MARC:
Weekend Service on the Penn Line Starts December 7, 2013

The first-ever weekend MARC Train service will start on the Penn Line on Saturday, December 7. The new service, part of nearly $1.5 billion in transportation investments for the Baltimore metropolitan area that was announced by Governor Martin O'Malley last month, will provide nine round trips on Saturdays and six round trips on Sundays. The Governor also announced plans to add 10 new energy-efficient diesel locomotives. These state-of-the-art locomotives, part of the state's overall program to increase the capacity and reliability of MARC Train Service, are more powerful than those they are replacing, have better fuel economy, and meet stringent new federal emission requirements.

Source: October 2013 On Your MARC; Fri 10/04/13 12:12 PM

Reminder: What are MARC Heat Orders?

Passengers on the Brunswick and Camden Lines often see messages during the spring and summer informing them that there are “heat orders” in effect. CSX Transportation, the owner of the Brunswick and Camden Lines, reduces the maximum speed of passenger trains by 20mph (but not under 40mph) under one or both of the following conditions:

• Consistent ambient temperatures of 85 degrees or greater
• A 25 degree swing in temperatures either warmer or colder in a 24-hour period.

Criteria for heat orders are more stringently implemented when trackwork has recently taken place. Newly-installed rail and ties are more likely to shift in high heat and fluctuating temperature conditions. An example of a sunkink can be viewed by clicking here.

Typically, heat orders cause delays of 5-15 minutes. The less stops that a train makes and thus the more time a train spends operating a maximum authorized speed (such as Brunswick Line train 875 or Camden Line train 852), the greater the impact the heat orders will have on maintaining schedules.
 
In addition, CSX dispatches track inspectors to check the rails during these conditions. This requires one of two tracks to be out of service and may cause additional delays.

Our colleagues at the Virginia Railway Express have written an extensive explanation of heat orders, which can be found on their website.

Heat orders do not take effect on the Penn Line until temperatures reach 95 or 100 degrees, and these restrictions relate primarily to the overhead electric wires. Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor is a heavily-engineered, high speed railroad and much less prone to sun kinks because there is much more frequent, high-speed service, which discourages sun kinks from forming. Also, the Camden and Brunswick Lines have many more curves than the Penn Line does, limiting engineers’ ability to see track defects. It is important to note that this does not mean that CSX tracks are unsafe—CSX maintains its tracks in compliance with all Federal Railroad Administration regulations.


Source:
http://mta.maryland.gov/advisories/what-are-heat-orders

Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013

Some good news for commuters in the Montgomery County area. Governor O'Malley signed the Transportation Infrastructure Investment Act of 2013 on Thursday, May 16th.

A list of the transit projects first in line involve one in Montgomery County:  I-270/Watkins Mill Road Interchange - for those of us who suffer through the Route 355 traffic to get to Kaiser Permanente's Gaithersburg facility.

And some for MARC, though not the Brunswick Line. The big news is the Baltimore folks will get weekend service on the Penn Line.

The budget will be posted on MDOT.

The bad news is he's paying for it by hiking gas tax at a time when were facing almost $4/gallon in gas prices alone. Estimates say the increased gas tax will be from "13 to 20 cents more per gallon by mid-2016."

Sources:
http://de1059.com/story.php?id=2931

http://www.rebuildingamericasinfrastructure.com/article-comments-maryland_transportation_act_invests_$4.4_billion_in_projects_statewide-1258.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/omalley-purple-line-other-washington-area-projects-to-benefit-from-gas-tax-increase/2013/05/16/89829bb8-be5c-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html

Just in from Maryland Transit Administration

 

"On Monday, MARC Train Service opened the new high-level platform at the Halethorpe station. This is a major upgrade for one of our highest capacity Penn Line stations - and pretty good looking too, even if we do say so ourselves! It's designed to significantly reduce the time that the train needs to load and unload at the station, which will benefit all Penn Line commuters.The Northbound platform is scheduled to open in early July."



Facebook image (c)

"Amtrak Penn Line Conductor John Wickham (l) and his Assistant Conductor Tom Ensley (r) oversee boarding of Train 517 on Monday morning on the new Halethorpe platform."



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Source:

MTA Facebook Page