Moving from the UK to Frederick in 2020 I was prepared for public transport being worse than I was used to but it surprised me how commuter-centric the existing transit was. I couldn't quite believe that it was basically impossible to get from Frederick to DC at the weekend using transit. Weekend MARC service between Frederick and DC, even if its only a couple of trains a day, would be a real game-changer.
With MARC being in the Northeast, I'm surprised that they have limited service. Even NJT, Metro North, and the LIRR have mostly 24/7 service! I'm astonished. Also, MARC should connect with SEPTA. Same with how SEPTA is connected to NJT and the LIRR
@ I wanna do a MDOT/MTA expansions video at some point, but there’s plans in the works to run the Penn Line to Elkton and Newark, but no serious timeline for when that might happen.
Great video! I remember when I showed up at Baltimore Penn. Station on a Sunday expecting to spend the day in DC only to realize that the last train back on Sundays was only a couple hours later in the mid-afternoon. Needless to say, I just went home and didn't spend any money that day.
You can always come back on an Amtrak. They're usually just as cheap, if not cheaper than the MARC, but it's still no excuse for how limited our access is to reliable regional transit.
@@georgelin9769 Okay you're right I misremembered. Although I see tickets right now for $5, even at $13 it's a fine replacement if MARC isn't available.
Great video. I live right near the Camden line and it is such a shame that I can't use it for weekend trips. DC and Baltimore are great cities with so much to offer, and they need better connections
Following up on that, It bugs me that all of DC's commuter rail lines have termini with nice little downtowns/main streets that would make for a pleasant little day trip, (Fredericksburg, Manassas, Frederick, Harpers Ferry, Laurel,) but none of them have the schedules to support that
Man, watching from Melbourne, Australia and I just wanted to say this is such a well-made and executed video. Great job! Keen to see public transport improve across Maryland.
Great video! Nice to see a local transit channel! Everyone should care about making sure that there diverse transit options and that they're all sufficiently funded. If MARC service was better, it would have definitely helped with the shit show that's been I-95 since the Key Bridge collapsed.
Thank you very much for that. When the most recent diesel-locomotives were acquired and placed in service I was a field service rep for the manufacturer. I rented a room in SoBo and had an excellent time. MARC is good. It could be better.
I tend to lean to the right on most issues and I'm a gear head. I love my car and I love driving it places. However, I know our mass transit system needs to be overhauled in this state. Just look at our metro. It consists of only one line that runs from Owings Mills to the Shot Tower. Meanwhile down in D.C. they have multiple different lines running all over the city and its surrounding suburbs, and the different lines hook up to different lines, allowing easy transfers. Is D.C.'s perfect, absolutely not, but it is a hell of a lot better then Baltimore. And the real kicker too, Baltimore has the density that would allow mass transit to really work given the chance. Back when the City was crisscrossed with streetcars, the city at its peak had over 1 million residents crammed within its boundaries. Shoot, if we had better mass transit, I'd totally take the Metro or Light Rail more if it was safe and reliable. But for me, I have to drive 25 minutes to get to either the closest Metro or Light Rail station. At that point, its just easier to finish driving the rest of the way because it only adds an additional 20 minutes to the drive usually. And in my area, they really have the opportunity to place a MARC station. There's a low traffic CSX line that runs all the way north into Hanover, PA. Where a lot of commuters live. And this branch line actually intersects the Camden Line just south of the stadiums. This would could help get a lot of traffic off Route 30 and 795. Or they could even have one go out to Westminster along the same CSX line and use Maryland Midland's tracks too. And Westminster has the parking infrastructure in downtown to handle a large amount of commuters parking throughout the day.
My wish list if Annapolis had the money: 1) electrify the Brunswick and Camden lines; 2) negotiate a co-ownership with CSX so there's all-day service seven days a week in both directions. We need a true suburban service similar to NJ Transit. I'm so tired.
Great video! Always fund more transit! Also, shoutout to the NEC observation car at 0:53 and a DC NRHS Pullman private car at 3:27, since they're pretty rare catches. I recently released a MARC commuter rail iceberg that goes over several little known facts about the commuter railroad if you're interested in watching that.
One factor that you didn't cover is the large cost of operating the DC metro that has most of its trackage in the Maryland suburbs of DC and probably half of its riders. Maryland itself has little leverage over the metro budget, basically it gets a bill that it has to pay. Yes we do spend a lot on our highway and road systems but these have a dedicated source of funding, motor vehicle fuel taxes. I might add that the highway trust funds have been raided to fund a number of non highway items and other highway funding system have been similarly raided. Specifically these have been used to fund transit systems, this also applies to tolls on turnpikes and bridge and tunnel tolls as well. Probably nearly half the tonnage on our highways is trucks that carry goods to where they need to go and even when the longer portion of the trip was by ship, plane, or train, the last mile is done in a truck. I have also said this, a lot of the cars in urban areas are not cars, they carry various tradesmen; carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. and their tools, rolling toolboxes in effect. We need these people and their tools. I should add that since i've retired, the metro system in VA has been greatly expanded and VA gets a rather hefty bill for that as well.
I live in Bel AIr, and I remember wanting to go to the Sonic Symphony in DC, so I looked at the MARC train, and the latest train I was on there, would have left union station in DC right as the show began at 8 PM. So I had to miss out on the show. On the bright side now I have a car, but I'm not going to the next show in January because of a vacation I'm going on. So I hope they do another show in JAN 2026.
I live right next to the Camden line (Riverdale Park and I’m from NYC ! ) and the fact that the motherforking line doesn’t run on weekends makes absolutely no sense
I moved to Kensington for 4 years and the thing my parents got me hyped on for this little suburb town was the train, that I never used once. The biggest issue for me with it personally was that I went to school in Bethesda (witch isn't even served by Marc) so the thing I would of used this train for would be to go to either Silver Spring or DC on the weekend but they didn't have weekend service or it just didn't run enough for it to be worth my time. It was very disappointing because up until that point everywhere I lived had great transit so living somewhere car dependant was kinda a culture shock in a way 😂. I just wished it ran into DC on a frequent basis on weekends so I could of had fun in the city and maybe not have hated it so much.
There are 3 Metra commuter lines in Chicago, that have more weekend service than the Penn line. 😳 Even Tri-Rail has more weekend service than the MARC Penn line!
I’m definitely interested in comparing systems in the future with MD’s. We can be so much better, and states that govern more chaotically than we do have far more than us. It’s maddening.
Baltimore was transit focused till 1963 when streetcars were taken down and buses were everything. I grew up in Highlandtown raised using transit. We had no car and my parents didn’t drive at all!! I knew how to get around this city by the time I was 8. Subways or trains would have been a better alternative
One of the growing problems you'll run into regarding MDOT MTA is that those with authority to seek out ideas do not have the slightest clue on how to do them efficiently. The moment you have to rely on the politicians to make decisions, it's going to crash & burn
I have been to many a “Meet the MARC” sessions in my 15 years commuting DC. They do not listen and I found the same topics coming up after year. And only receiving lip service. I think one of the biggest issues for me over all is that there is no link between Metro or Light Rail and MARC traveling from the north. So I have to drive to Halethorpe to use the system instead of getting to Owings Mills or Hunt Valley. Poor design with our “rapid transit” to start with. Pre-Covid when I took the train every day - the schedule never made any sense to me. For example - you would have 2 express train leaving 10 minutes apart. But the Ellie train would have to stop at New Carrolton and then Odenton. The next train would have to wait for the earlier train to leave Odenton before it could continue. Simply swapping these two would solve that issue. But they paid no attention to that. There also seems to be some discrimination against certain of the big stations. I will not speculate why. I started to take the MARC back in again recently and my station used to have 4 trains leaving between 6-7am. Right now I think there is only 1 train at 645. So many issues of which some could be addressed locally. And I will not even go into the lack of train service on Camden or Brunswick lines during the weekdays. At least Penn line has 1 train an hour northbound into 10pm.
The fact that the Marc Camden line doesn't really run around orioles and ravens games. Pretty much sums up the Marc and Baltimore transit. And that basically in the mornings on the weekend I can't get from DC to Baltimore on the Marc
9 днів тому+1
Lukewarm take from overseas: Public transport is a public service which does not need to turn profit, just serve the greater public. If you don't get at least a train every hour off-peak, you're not served well. On peak you should see 4 - 10 trains per hour per direction per line, unless it's something very rural.
I rode the MARC for 31 years. Things improved, yes, but I never lost the feeling that Maryland leadership and MARC leadership are not interested in commuter rail: they don't like trains. People who run companies should love the company they run.
Great video, I've ridden MARC a few times and yes it definitely needs to improve. I saw this idea in another video of installing a second track and running the MARC line on the CSX tracks through West and Northwest Baltimore to Owings Mills with a possible stop at Coppin University. Also, buying new electric cab cars like they now have on San Frans Cal Train in California for the Penn Line, just a thought.
I'm not the first to say it, but I like to point out that with a trillion tax dollars spent, the interstate highway system has failed to turn a penny of profit in its 70 years.
Great video Phil! Do you think that if the birdland teams were to put pressure on the MTA to expand to weekend service, that could help them make their decision? Just thinking cause the Commanders just played the Ravens in Baltimore and with the new schedules in the MLB, the Nats and O's will be playing each other yearly.
This was a good video. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on the planned widening of the Northeast Corridor from Halethorpe to Severn and the reconstruction of the platforms at BWI Marshall station. That project would solve a lot (but not all) of the dispatch problems that Amtrak CETC experiences with the Corridor south of Baltimore. I would also be interested in your thoughts on CSX’s demand to widen the Capitol Subdivision to three tracks north of Hyattsville as a requirement for more service on the Camden Line.
That'll never happen. Both the Camden Line and Brunswick Line run on CSX mainlines. In fact the Brunswick Line passes through the Brunswick Yard for CSX.
I will say it again the Camden line is utterly ridiculous and useless it should be dropped and replaced by a green line extension to places people want to go to along with light rail extension. It’s obvious CSX will not comply in fact freight congestion is why most transit in China are either on new lines recently built OR on metros doing the job of everything as in very long subway lines😅😅😅 India had to build dedicated freight lines USA won’t take the hint it needs new tracks PERIOD
@@qjtvaddict it’s not useless at all, and in fact gets lots of College Park-bound riders from Baltimore during the week, but would get FAR more with weekend service. As for building more tracks along the corridor, couldn’t agree more, but a WMATA metro extension is not even close to feasible. Maryland would be better off spending that money building a Metro LINK extension to Morgan State. Would be a far better use of resources.
Moving from the UK to Frederick in 2020 I was prepared for public transport being worse than I was used to but it surprised me how commuter-centric the existing transit was. I couldn't quite believe that it was basically impossible to get from Frederick to DC at the weekend using transit.
Weekend MARC service between Frederick and DC, even if its only a couple of trains a day, would be a real game-changer.
Thanks for your support for transit dude & yes MARC needs more service on weekends on the other lines and more. 🐧
They 1000% need more weekend service! Totally agree. Thanks for watching!
With MARC being in the Northeast, I'm surprised that they have limited service. Even NJT, Metro North, and the LIRR have mostly 24/7 service! I'm astonished. Also, MARC should connect with SEPTA. Same with how SEPTA is connected to NJT and the LIRR
@ I wanna do a MDOT/MTA expansions video at some point, but there’s plans in the works to run the Penn Line to Elkton and Newark, but no serious timeline for when that might happen.
Great video! I remember when I showed up at Baltimore Penn. Station on a Sunday expecting to spend the day in DC only to realize that the last train back on Sundays was only a couple hours later in the mid-afternoon.
Needless to say, I just went home and didn't spend any money that day.
That’s the fucking worst. Running more trains isn’t a money pit, it’s an opportunity to stimulate the economy, wasted.
You can always come back on an Amtrak. They're usually just as cheap, if not cheaper than the MARC, but it's still no excuse for how limited our access is to reliable regional transit.
@@NickSchiwy naw, theyre usually at least double the marc fare
@@georgelin9769 Okay you're right I misremembered. Although I see tickets right now for $5, even at $13 it's a fine replacement if MARC isn't available.
At 5:12, is this a car witha bunch of bike racks??? That goes so hard
@@Oplic296 the bike car!
Marc service to Harper’s ferry on the weekends would make me so happy
Great video. I live right near the Camden line and it is such a shame that I can't use it for weekend trips. DC and Baltimore are great cities with so much to offer, and they need better connections
Following up on that, It bugs me that all of DC's commuter rail lines have termini with nice little downtowns/main streets that would make for a pleasant little day trip, (Fredericksburg, Manassas, Frederick, Harpers Ferry, Laurel,) but none of them have the schedules to support that
Great video dude, more MTAMD videos are sorely needed!
I have more planned, so stay tuned!
Love your videos!
Man, watching from Melbourne, Australia and I just wanted to say this is such a well-made and executed video. Great job! Keen to see public transport improve across Maryland.
Great video! Nice to see a local transit channel!
Everyone should care about making sure that there diverse transit options and that they're all sufficiently funded.
If MARC service was better, it would have definitely helped with the shit show that's been I-95 since the Key Bridge collapsed.
Thank you very much for that. When the most recent diesel-locomotives were acquired and placed in service I was a field service rep for the manufacturer. I rented a room in SoBo and had an excellent time. MARC is good. It could be better.
I tend to lean to the right on most issues and I'm a gear head. I love my car and I love driving it places. However, I know our mass transit system needs to be overhauled in this state. Just look at our metro. It consists of only one line that runs from Owings Mills to the Shot Tower. Meanwhile down in D.C. they have multiple different lines running all over the city and its surrounding suburbs, and the different lines hook up to different lines, allowing easy transfers. Is D.C.'s perfect, absolutely not, but it is a hell of a lot better then Baltimore. And the real kicker too, Baltimore has the density that would allow mass transit to really work given the chance. Back when the City was crisscrossed with streetcars, the city at its peak had over 1 million residents crammed within its boundaries. Shoot, if we had better mass transit, I'd totally take the Metro or Light Rail more if it was safe and reliable. But for me, I have to drive 25 minutes to get to either the closest Metro or Light Rail station. At that point, its just easier to finish driving the rest of the way because it only adds an additional 20 minutes to the drive usually. And in my area, they really have the opportunity to place a MARC station. There's a low traffic CSX line that runs all the way north into Hanover, PA. Where a lot of commuters live. And this branch line actually intersects the Camden Line just south of the stadiums. This would could help get a lot of traffic off Route 30 and 795. Or they could even have one go out to Westminster along the same CSX line and use Maryland Midland's tracks too. And Westminster has the parking infrastructure in downtown to handle a large amount of commuters parking throughout the day.
My wish list if Annapolis had the money: 1) electrify the Brunswick and Camden lines; 2) negotiate a co-ownership with CSX so there's all-day service seven days a week in both directions.
We need a true suburban service similar to NJ Transit. I'm so tired.
I would add this to your list: replacing the old cars (which look and ride as if they are from the 1970s) with new rolling stock.
Great video! Always fund more transit! Also, shoutout to the NEC observation car at 0:53 and a DC NRHS Pullman private car at 3:27, since they're pretty rare catches. I recently released a MARC commuter rail iceberg that goes over several little known facts about the commuter railroad if you're interested in watching that.
great video
One factor that you didn't cover is the large cost of operating the DC metro that has most of its trackage in the Maryland suburbs of DC and probably half of its riders. Maryland itself has little leverage over the metro budget, basically it gets a bill that it has to pay. Yes we do spend a lot on our highway and road systems but these have a dedicated source of funding, motor vehicle fuel taxes. I might add that the highway trust funds have been raided to fund a number of non highway items and other highway funding system have been similarly raided. Specifically these have been used to fund transit systems, this also applies to tolls on turnpikes and bridge and tunnel tolls as well. Probably nearly half the tonnage on our highways is trucks that carry goods to where they need to go and even when the longer portion of the trip was by ship, plane, or train, the last mile is done in a truck. I have also said this, a lot of the cars in urban areas are not cars, they carry various tradesmen; carpenters, electricians, plumbers, etc. and their tools, rolling toolboxes in effect. We need these people and their tools. I should add that since i've retired, the metro system in VA has been greatly expanded and VA gets a rather hefty bill for that as well.
It's Maryland Area Regional Commuter.
I live in Bel AIr, and I remember wanting to go to the Sonic Symphony in DC, so I looked at the MARC train, and the latest train I was on there, would have left union station in DC right as the show began at 8 PM. So I had to miss out on the show. On the bright side now I have a car, but I'm not going to the next show in January because of a vacation I'm going on. So I hope they do another show in JAN 2026.
I live right next to the Camden line (Riverdale Park and I’m from NYC ! ) and the fact that the motherforking line doesn’t run on weekends makes absolutely no sense
I moved to Kensington for 4 years and the thing my parents got me hyped on for this little suburb town was the train, that I never used once. The biggest issue for me with it personally was that I went to school in Bethesda (witch isn't even served by Marc) so the thing I would of used this train for would be to go to either Silver Spring or DC on the weekend but they didn't have weekend service or it just didn't run enough for it to be worth my time. It was very disappointing because up until that point everywhere I lived had great transit so living somewhere car dependant was kinda a culture shock in a way 😂. I just wished it ran into DC on a frequent basis on weekends so I could of had fun in the city and maybe not have hated it so much.
This is good!
So good!
So good!
There are 3 Metra commuter lines in Chicago, that have more weekend service than the Penn line. 😳 Even Tri-Rail has more weekend service than the MARC Penn line!
I’m definitely interested in comparing systems in the future with MD’s. We can be so much better, and states that govern more chaotically than we do have far more than us. It’s maddening.
Baltimore was transit focused till 1963 when streetcars were taken down and buses were everything. I grew up in Highlandtown raised using transit. We had no car and my parents didn’t drive at all!! I knew how to get around this city by the time I was 8. Subways or trains would have been a better alternative
One of the growing problems you'll run into regarding MDOT MTA is that those with authority to seek out ideas do not have the slightest clue on how to do them efficiently.
The moment you have to rely on the politicians to make decisions, it's going to crash & burn
Love this!
I have been to many a “Meet the MARC” sessions in my 15 years commuting DC.
They do not listen and I found the same topics coming up after year. And only receiving lip service.
I think one of the biggest issues for me over all is that there is no link between Metro or Light Rail and MARC traveling from the north.
So I have to drive to Halethorpe to use the system instead of getting to Owings Mills or Hunt Valley.
Poor design with our “rapid transit” to start with.
Pre-Covid when I took the train every day - the schedule never made any sense to me.
For example - you would have 2 express train leaving 10 minutes apart. But the Ellie train would have to stop at New Carrolton and then Odenton. The next train would have to wait for the earlier train to leave Odenton before it could continue. Simply swapping these two would solve that issue. But they paid no attention to that.
There also seems to be some discrimination against certain of the big stations. I will not speculate why.
I started to take the MARC back in again recently and my station used to have 4 trains leaving between 6-7am. Right now I think there is only 1 train at 645.
So many issues of which some could be addressed locally.
And I will not even go into the lack of train service on Camden or Brunswick lines during the weekdays. At least Penn line has 1 train an hour northbound into 10pm.
This was fantastic. Subbed
The fact that the Marc Camden line doesn't really run around orioles and ravens games. Pretty much sums up the Marc and Baltimore transit. And that basically in the mornings on the weekend I can't get from DC to Baltimore on the Marc
Lukewarm take from overseas: Public transport is a public service which does not need to turn profit, just serve the greater public. If you don't get at least a train every hour off-peak, you're not served well. On peak you should see 4 - 10 trains per hour per direction per line, unless it's something very rural.
Great Video! I have been looking for more discussion of transportation policy down at the University of Maryland
I rode the MARC for 31 years. Things improved, yes, but I never lost the feeling that Maryland leadership and MARC leadership are not interested in commuter rail: they don't like trains. People who run companies should love the company they run.
Great video, I've ridden MARC a few times and yes it definitely needs to improve. I saw this idea in another video of installing a second track and running the MARC line on the CSX tracks through West and Northwest Baltimore to Owings Mills with a possible stop at Coppin University. Also, buying new electric cab cars like they now have on San Frans Cal Train in California for the Penn Line, just a thought.
I'm not the first to say it, but I like to point out that with a trillion tax dollars spent, the interstate highway system has failed to turn a penny of profit in its 70 years.
Im your 400th subscriber
Sweet!
Great video Phil! Do you think that if the birdland teams were to put pressure on the MTA to expand to weekend service, that could help them make their decision? Just thinking cause the Commanders just played the Ravens in Baltimore and with the new schedules in the MLB, the Nats and O's will be playing each other yearly.
This was a good video. I would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on the planned widening of the Northeast Corridor from Halethorpe to Severn and the reconstruction of the platforms at BWI Marshall station. That project would solve a lot (but not all) of the dispatch problems that Amtrak CETC experiences with the Corridor south of Baltimore. I would also be interested in your thoughts on CSX’s demand to widen the Capitol Subdivision to three tracks north of Hyattsville as a requirement for more service on the Camden Line.
Connect MARC to Delaware!
Once MARC connects to SEPTA and have similar headways to the LIRR, I will be happy.
Maryland should buy the right of way from CSX to have full control of rail usage
That'll never happen. Both the Camden Line and Brunswick Line run on CSX mainlines. In fact the Brunswick Line passes through the Brunswick Yard for CSX.
As a MARC commuter that is very familiar with our system, I would be curious to understand how the VRE functions in comparison. Same challenges?
@@andrewscostello I’d expect so, as not all their tracks are VRE’s, either.
Fix the damn light rail for starters. It's a serious shitfest right now.
The Marc transit needs to have service on all services on weekends. Wouldn't hurt to ask Amtrak and CSX for improving service
I've lost jobs because the Marc didn't run early on weekends causing my to lose them due to lack of sleep, longer commute
He cute!
Marc shouldn't have scrapped their AEM-7's.
There's actually three in good condition at the Locust Point yard in Baltimore. Just sitting there
I never liked working on the hhp.
I will say it again the Camden line is utterly ridiculous and useless it should be dropped and replaced by a green line extension to places people want to go to along with light rail extension. It’s obvious CSX will not comply in fact freight congestion is why most transit in China are either on new lines recently built OR on metros doing the job of everything as in very long subway lines😅😅😅 India had to build dedicated freight lines USA won’t take the hint it needs new tracks PERIOD
@@qjtvaddict it’s not useless at all, and in fact gets lots of College Park-bound riders from Baltimore during the week, but would get FAR more with weekend service.
As for building more tracks along the corridor, couldn’t agree more, but a WMATA metro extension is not even close to feasible. Maryland would be better off spending that money building a Metro LINK extension to Morgan State. Would be a far better use of resources.