(The following story by Timmy Gelles appeared on the Business Gazette website on August 20.)
GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Despite increased ridership, Laurel commuters are still able to ride MARC trains only during rush hour. If someone needs to get home immediately, he or she may have to wait several hours. If visitors want to shop in Laurel, they have to make it a full-day trip. And if the upcoming slots referendum passes, getting to Laurel Park may be a logistical nightmare.
Eleven months after the Maryland Transit Administration released its comprehensive MARC Growth and Investment Plan to meet increasing demand, there is still no midday train on the Camden Line.
Vincent Fearte, a Laurel resident who commutes to Washington D.C., said that midday trains are needed.
“If I go home from work early, I have to take the Metro to Greenbelt [station], and then a bus to Laurel,” he said.
Talks are ongoing between CSX and the MTA, which missed its June target for starting midday service on the Camden Line and weekend runs on the Penn Line.
CSX owns the Camden Line, which services the Laurel Racetrack, city of Laurel and Muirkirk stations. Currently, trains run to Laurel only during rush-hour Monday through Friday.
“We haven’t completely canned it,” said John Hovatter, MARC director of train services. “We really want midday service on the Camden line. We hope to get a resolution sometime in the near future.”
Hovatter said ridership on all MARC trains has increased by about 6 to 7 percent per year since 1998, ridership in July increased 10 percent from June’s figure. He said that the Camden Line handles 4,500 commuters per day on 18 trains. The Penn Line handles 21,000 commuters on 50 trains.
Robert Sullivan, CSX spokesman, said the main issue is capacity.
“You have a substantial MARC service that runs mornings and evenings. At the same time you have a lot of freight trains,” Sullivan said. “We have an obligation to move that stuff as efficiently as we can. Just as there’s a demand for commuter service, there’s a demand for freight service.”
From CSX’s perspective, adding more MARC trains on the lines will slow its service down due to congestion, Sullivan said.
Ray Ambrose, Corridor Transportation Corporation administrator, has noticed an increase in bus use yet lack in a subsequent boost of funds and scheduling to accommodate them. CTC provides bus service in Laurel and the surrounding area.
Like MARC, the CTC too faces obstacles to expanding its services. Even with people choosing to use transit and the increase in demand, Ambrose said that money to support expansion is becoming difficult. The coming expansion at Fort Meade and Konterra mega-development should only increase demand for transit, he said.
“We’re supportive of whatever the state can do to generate additional revenues to support additional bus or rail lines to meet the demand,” he said.