Submitted by NYVlone t3_1231ee9 in washingtondc
My goodness what an experience it was! I didn't have to deal with horrendous traffic, parking or anything else! I got to walk around the National Mall and Washington Monument and got plenty of pictures!
The other direction is also great. Downtown BMore is super underrated
Did you walk from union station to the monument?
Shame it doesn’t run much and has really low ridership, it’s a good train. Iirc the western line is or was like the fastest commuter train in the country. I’ve never been in it but that one probably has some nice views
I take the Marc 1/month to visit my sister near Baltimore. It's fantastic. Why anyone would drive to Baltimore and deal with BWI Parkway or 95 I'll never understand.
It runs over 20/day on the weekdays and about a dozen times on Sat and Sunday. So it could be more but not bad. And it was packed today. Ridership could be better but I think it's more than ppl realize.
I used to commute to dc from brunswick on the marc when my hours allowed it, and absolutely loved it. I would slee the entire ride down in the morning, and usually read on the ride home. I moved here in 2014 and now commute via bicycle, and there are times when I miss being able to relax and not think about being killed while getting to work
Love MARC - use it for flights out of BWI sometimes
As someone who lives in D.C. without a car, I really, really wish the MARC Brunswick line could facilitate a day trip from D.C. to Harper’s Ferry. But the timetables just don’t allow for that :(
Now imagine what would happen if people wanted to actually invest in consistent and efficient public transit and protected bike lines instead of parking and highways…
Good news! There's currently a study going on right now about ways to improve the Brunswick Line, including midday, reverse peak, and weekend service! There's a survey on the website as well as an email address you can use to send in feedback about the proposals. https://www.mta.maryland.gov/marc-brunswick-study
Thank you! This would be amazing - I will go fill out the survey now. It would be amazing to just take a train out to the trails at Harper’s Ferry.
Brunswick to DC on the rare occasion I have to go in and totally agree, this route is the best. They’re actually doing an survey right now to see about expanding running hours and potentially extending access further along the corridor.
Live in Brunswick and commute to DC occasionally for work, and while the current hours serve that they don’t facilitate going into the city for cultural evening events or getting home late after happy hours. Really stoked about the potentiality for expanded hours and reverse peak service in this survey, and hope that wins priority over expanding routes. While I’d love ALL options to win out, implementing reverse service seems the lowest hanging fruit.
Ooh, thanks a bunch! Will fill this out soon, might even go to the meeting. Nice username by the way :)
What I really wish is that the Camden line ran all day like the Penn line.
Harpers Ferry/Brunswick. Same. It makes for an early morning, but I just listen to podcasts and nod off.
r/fuckcars
Would love it if they had extended routes to L’Enfant.
Did...did a MARC train write this post?
I use the Brunswick line daily to commute into work, definitely beats driving in.
I take it weekly up to class in Baltimore. It's great. I can do homework on the train versus having all the stress with driving.
If only the VRE ran on weekends
The Penn line (DC to Baltimore Penn) hits 125mph at times.
And tbh the trains on the Penn line are pretty frequent – between that and Amtrak you can get between DC and Baltimore throughout the day with no issue.
The Camden and Brunswick lines are basically only commuter services though, which sucks.
They need to add weekend service to and from Harper’s Ferry, even if it’s just one round trip a day
That’s funded and construction is in progress. Provided republicans in the general assembly don’t kill it.
100%. I wish MARC and VRE would run in a way that supports other stuff besides just going to work.
Honestly if they just had one train running each direction around noon that would be awesome.
This post brought to you by MARC gang
I f'n love MARC, it is afffordable, clean, generally pretty comfy seats. If you are going from downtown to downtown it can't be beat.
You got money to run in a way that supports none commuter hours?
What doesn’t run much? The MARC runs 7 days a week on the Penn line and is heavily used.
CSX owns those tracks and their shipping takes priority
A weekend train to Harper's Ferry, for instance, would probably be pretty fuckin popular.
But also, I wish we would stop doing this thing where public transit is always expected to be cost-neutral. Nobody ever asks "Are these roads going to pay for themselves"
It’s not about it being cost-neutral, it’s about where’s the money coming from to justify the service. Workers need to be paid and moneys doesn’t grow on trees. MARC is commuter rail. Not public transit
>MARC is commuter rail. Not public transit
today in meaningless distinctions.
It’s meaningless to YOU, it’s an important distinction for those in charge of money and operations.
So give MARC more money so that we might have a way to get to Harper's Ferry on weekends. Am I speaking a foreign language or something?
Metra in Chicago is a commuter rail and runs hourly service on many routes on weekends. It’s an easy way for Chicago to bring in tourists from the suburbs on weekends who then spend money in downtown.
So you got money for MARC lines other than Penn line to run on weekends?
I’d argue the money saved from less people using highways (far far more expensive to maintain then rails) would in the long run cost the state and DC less money.
Raise taxes. Or cut spending elsewhere. I bet we could cover the cost of running a train out and back for less than it costs the state of Maryland to own and operate a single police helicopter.
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And if you're taking the train up there, you might as well go check out the B&O Museum. The roundhouse is spectacular and the stuff they've got in the repair shop can be just as cool. The Allegheny is an absolute monster that needs to be seen up close to be believed.
Woah I need to see this
Ha glad to meet you stranger. There are literally tens of us!
The MARC is the best!
We're a small group. My goal is to eventually meet the hero that drives the yellow Ford Bronco and parks at Brunswick station.
Reminds me of the one my dad drove.
J-J-J-J-J-J-J-J t1_jdsufyg wrote
It's highly underrated! I take it to Bmore to visit friends and family, love it! 45 min, under $20 round trip.