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MARC's new study explores how to boost Brunswick Line service
MARC’s new study explores how to boost Brunswick Line service
TRANSIT ANALYSIS By David Edmondson (Contributor) May 9, 2023
MARC released a draft technical report in January on how to expand service on the Brunswick Line and improve its regional links to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. Specifically, it outlines how to raise speed limits on its tracks, lift constraints on how many trains it can run, and run extensions to Hagerstown and Cumberland. ... While it does have shortcomings and it’s not the first such report, this latest version — requested as it was by the General Assembly — could actually lead to progress.
Despite decades of complaints, Brunswick Line service has been limited
MARC’s Brunswick Line operates nine commuter-focused round trips per day from DC: six to Martinsburg and three to Frederick. It runs on tracks owned by CSX, a major freight carrier that uses the same right-of-way to move freight between the Port of Baltimore and critical distribution centers in the Midwest, particularly Ohio.
While relatively less trafficked, the Brunswick Line has the most balanced ridership of MARC’s lines – many people get on and off at the inner suburban stations, and relatively few get on and off at Union Station. Before the pandemic, the line saw about 7,100 riders per day, which crashed to just 251 from April 2020 to March 2021, and since recovered to about 2,400, or 33% what it was. The Frederick branch of the line hasn’t suffered quite as much as the rest, with 46% of its ridership back. In comparison, about 44% of Metrorail’s weekday ridership has returned.
{snip}
Let MARC know what you want on the Brunswick Line
Despite its shortcomings, the MARC Brunswick Line Expansion Study Technical Report draft moves the ball forward after many years of agitation from riders and residents. Though public feedback on this draft closed on April 20, you can submit questions to the project team through their email on the project page. Once it is submitted to the Maryland General Assembly later this year, you will have another chance to let your representatives know your thoughts. ... Go to the Brunswick Line study project page for more details and to keep abreast of modifications and a final report.
David Edmondson, AICP, is a transportation planner and founding consultant with Edmondson Planning and Design (edmondsonplanning.com). He writes the blog The Greater Marin (thegreatermarin.org) and lives in Columbia Heights, DC.
TRANSIT ANALYSIS By David Edmondson (Contributor) May 9, 2023
MARC released a draft technical report in January on how to expand service on the Brunswick Line and improve its regional links to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Frederick, Maryland. Specifically, it outlines how to raise speed limits on its tracks, lift constraints on how many trains it can run, and run extensions to Hagerstown and Cumberland. ... While it does have shortcomings and it’s not the first such report, this latest version — requested as it was by the General Assembly — could actually lead to progress.
Despite decades of complaints, Brunswick Line service has been limited
MARC’s Brunswick Line operates nine commuter-focused round trips per day from DC: six to Martinsburg and three to Frederick. It runs on tracks owned by CSX, a major freight carrier that uses the same right-of-way to move freight between the Port of Baltimore and critical distribution centers in the Midwest, particularly Ohio.
While relatively less trafficked, the Brunswick Line has the most balanced ridership of MARC’s lines – many people get on and off at the inner suburban stations, and relatively few get on and off at Union Station. Before the pandemic, the line saw about 7,100 riders per day, which crashed to just 251 from April 2020 to March 2021, and since recovered to about 2,400, or 33% what it was. The Frederick branch of the line hasn’t suffered quite as much as the rest, with 46% of its ridership back. In comparison, about 44% of Metrorail’s weekday ridership has returned.
{snip}
Let MARC know what you want on the Brunswick Line
Despite its shortcomings, the MARC Brunswick Line Expansion Study Technical Report draft moves the ball forward after many years of agitation from riders and residents. Though public feedback on this draft closed on April 20, you can submit questions to the project team through their email on the project page. Once it is submitted to the Maryland General Assembly later this year, you will have another chance to let your representatives know your thoughts. ... Go to the Brunswick Line study project page for more details and to keep abreast of modifications and a final report.
David Edmondson, AICP, is a transportation planner and founding consultant with Edmondson Planning and Design (edmondsonplanning.com). He writes the blog The Greater Marin (thegreatermarin.org) and lives in Columbia Heights, DC.