The Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) is a commuter rail system in the Washington–Baltimore area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated under contract by Alstom and Amtrak on track owned by CSX Transportation (CSXT) and Amtrak. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .
Trains on the Penn Line can travel , higher than any other commuter railroad in the United States.
Operations MARC has three lines that radiate from Union Station in Washington, D.C.: Penn Line – 58 weekday trains Camden Line – 21 weekday trains Brunswick Line – 18 weekday trains The Penn Line is the only line with weekend service, having 18 trains on Saturdays and 12 on Sundays. Service is reduced or suspended on certain federal holidays.
All MARC trains operate in push–pull mode. The cab car is typically on the end of the train closest to Washington; on trains with diesel locomotives, this arrangement keeps exhaust further away from Union Station's terminal. Train lengths vary from 3 to 5 cars to 10 cars on Penn Line rush-hour trains. Shorter trains typically consist either of single-level or bilevel passenger cars while longer trains may have a combination.
The MTA pays Amtrak to operate and maintain MARC trains on the Penn Line and Alstom on the Brunswick Line and Camden Line.
Introduced in September 2026, one weekday round trip operates between and Camden Station via the Brunswick and Camden lines, bypassing Union Station.
Penn Line
The Penn Line is a line that runs along the far southern leg of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Perryville, Maryland, via Baltimore Penn Station. Most trains operate along a stretch between Washington and Baltimore Penn, with limited service to Martin State Airport and Perryville. It is the fastest commuter rail line in North America, with equipment capable of operating up to . Descended from Washington–Baltimore commuter routes operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad, it is by far the busiest MARC line, with almost twice as many trains and twice as many passengers as the other two lines combined. The Penn Line is the only electrified MARC line, and its only line that operates on weekends.
Camden Line
The Camden Line is a line that runs on CSX-owned tracks between Washington, D.C., and Camden Station in Baltimore. It is descended from B&O commuter routes running between Washington and Baltimore. The B&O began operating over portions of this route in 1830, making it one of the oldest passenger rail lines in the U.S. still in operation.
Brunswick Line
The Brunswick Line is a line that runs on CSX-owned tracks between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a branch to Frederick, Maryland. It is descended from Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) commuter service between Washington and its northern and western suburbs.
History
Origins All three MARC lines date from the 19th century. Service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) between Baltimore and Ellicott City began on May 24, 1830, over part of what is now the Camden Line. B&O service between Baltimore and Washington, the modern Camden Line route, began on August 25, 1835.
The B&O's main line was extended to Frederick Junction (with a branch to ) in 1831, to in 1832, to and in 1834, and in 1842. The B&O completed its Metropolitan Branch in 1873; most service from Martinsburg and Frederick was then diverted onto the Metropolitan Branch to Washington, and the old main line became a secondary route. This established the basic route for what would become the Brunswick Line.
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B) completed its line between Baltimore and Philadelphia in December 1838, save for the ferry across the Susquehanna River, which was not bridged until the 1860s. Although the B&O was chartered with the unspoken assumption that no competing line would be built between Baltimore and Washington, the Pennsylvania Railroad-owned Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) was completed between the two cities in 1872. The PW&B was initially hostile to the Pennsylvania (PRR); however, the PRR acquired it in a stock battle with the B&O in 1881. The PW&B soon began operating PRR through servicethe ancestor of Penn Line servicebetween Washington and Philadelphia in conjunction with the B&P. Meanwhile, the PRR ended B&O trackage rights over the PW&B in 1884, forcing it to open its own parallel route in 1886. The PW&B and the B&P were combined into the PRR's Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad in 1902.
The B&O ended local service on the Frederick Branch in November 1949. All B&O passenger service between Baltimore and Philadelphia ended in 1958; local service from Washington was curtailed to Camden Station. The B&O continued to offer local service to Brunswick plus long-distance service, while the PRR operated a mix of local, intercity, and long-distance service on the Northeast Corridor. Local service north of Baltimore on the PRR ended around 1964.
Public takeover
In the mid-20th century, passenger rail service declined owing to a variety of factors, particularly the advent of the automobile, even as commuting between suburban locations and urban business districts remained common. In 1968, the PRR folded into Penn Central, which took over its passenger operations. On May 1, 1971, Amtrak took over most intercity passenger service in the United States, including some of Penn Central's former routes. The B&O and Penn Central continued to operate their Washington–Baltimore and Washington–Brunswick commuter routes without subsidies.
Amtrak initially operated the Washington–Parkersburg West Virginian, later renamed Potomac Special. The Potomac Special was cut back to a commuter-based Washington–Cumberland trip, the Blue Ridge, on May 7, 1973. In early 1974, the B&O threatened to discontinue its remaining unsubsidized commuter services, citing heavy losses. On March 1, 1974, the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) began a 50% subsidy of the B&O's Washington–Brunswick and Washington–Baltimore servicethe first state-sponsored commuter rail service to Washington. In 1975, the state signed an operating agreement with the B&O, under which the state provided rolling stock and reimbursed the railroad for all operating losses. On October 31, 1976, Amtrak introduced the Washington–Cincinnati Shenandoah and cut the Blue Ridge to a Washington–Martinsburg trip. In the late 1970s, West Virginia began to fund the B&O shuttles between Brunswick and Martinsburg; the shuttles were soon incorporated as extensions of Brunswick service in order to secure Urban Mass Transportation Administration subsidies. In December 1981, MDOT purchased 22 ex-PRR coaches for use on B&O lines. The Maryland State Railroad Administration (SRA) was established in 1986 to administer contracts, procure rolling stock, and oversee short line railroads in the state.
Conrail took over the unsubsidized ex-PRR Baltimore–Washington service from Penn Central at its creation on April 1, 1976. MDOT began subsidizing that service after Conrail threatened to discontinue service on April 1, 1977. Prior to 1978, most ex-PRR Baltimore–Washington service was operated by aging MP54 electric multiple units, most dating back to the line's 1933 electrification. In 1978, Amtrak and the City of Baltimore negotiated with the New Jersey Department of Transportation to lease a number of new Arrow railcars to replace the MP54s. With funding from Pennsylvania and Maryland, Amtrak used some of the cars to initiate a Philadelphia–Washington commuter trip, the Chesapeake, on April 30, 1978. The Chesapeake stopped at some local stations but fewer than the Conrail service; it provided commuter service from north of Baltimore for the first time since the 1960s.
BWI Rail Station opened for Amtrak and Conrail trains on October 26, 1980. In August 1982, Conrail trains began stopping at Capital Beltway station, used by intercity trains since 1970. and stations were closed. Two additional round tripsone in the peak direction, and one reverse for commuters working in Baltimorewere added on July 5, 1983. On October 30, 1983, Amtrak and MARC moved from Capital Beltway into a new platform and waiting room at nearby New Carrollton station, which had been served by the Washington Metro since 1978. The Edmondson Avenue and Frederick Road stops in Baltimore were replaced by West Baltimore station on April 30, 1984.
In 1981, MDOT began installing highway signs to point drivers to commuter rail stations. The Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981 allowed Conrail to shed its commuter rail operations in 1983 in order to focus on its more profitable freight operations.United States. Northeast Rail Service Act of 1981. (Title XI, Subtitle E of Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981.) Section 1136. Approved August 13, 1981. On January 1, 1983, public operators (including Metro-North Railroad, NJ Transit, and SEPTA Regional Rail) took over Conrail commuter rail systems in the Northeast. MDOT began paying Amtrak to run the ex-PRR Washington–Baltimore service. That service was branded as AMDOT (Amtrak Maryland Department of Transportation). In October 1983, with low patronage and largely duplicated by the MDOT-subsidized service, the Chesapeake was discontinued. In 1984, the SRA introduced a unified brand for its three subsidized lines, MARC (originally short for Maryland Rail Commuter, later modified to Maryland Area Rail Commuter). Operations remained the same, but public elements such as schedules and crew uniforms were consolidated under the new name. MARC soon dubbed its three lines the Penn Line, Camden Line, and Brunswick Line.
Improved service
In October 1986, MARC began testing an Amtrak AEM-7 locomotive, aiming to replace the Arrows with push–pull trains. On February 27, 1989, MARC increased Washington–Baltimore service from 7 to 13 weekday round trips. A new park-and-ride station opened at , while the previous Bowie station was closed. Two more round trips were added in May 1989.
On May 1, 1991, MARC service was extended north from Baltimore to with intermediate stops at , , and . Between 1988 and 1993, MARC expanded service from 34 to 70 total daily trips across the system. In 1995, 800 parking spaces were added to Odenton station.
From 1989 to 1996, the Camden Line had high ridership growth and substantial changes to its stations. A new station at just off Route 32 was opened on July 31, 1989. MARC began service to Greenbelt station on May 3, 1993, seven months before Metro began serving the station. On January 31, 1994, MARC expanded midday service on the Camden and Brunswick lines, opened Laurel Racetrack station to relieve a parking shortage at Laurel station, and closed the underused Berwyn station on the Camden Line. On December 12, 1994, Muirkirk station (originally planned as South Laurel) was opened to reduce congestion on nearby Route 1. In 1996, a $1.2 million project added 600 parking spaces at Savage station to relieve crowding. In July 1996, the Elkridge station was closed and replaced with Dorsey station, which has a larger parking area and a dedicated interchange with Route 100.
On April 30, 1987, the B&O was merged into CSX. CSX continued to operate Camden and Brunswick Line service. On July 6, 1987, MARC opened Metropolitan Grove station – the first new station on the Brunswick line in over a century.
1996 Silver Spring collision