3 replies to this topic

[KevinKorell]

Friday, August 26, 2011 - 2:20pm

To all Light Rail customers, precautionary and preparedness measures are being taken in the event that Hurricane Irene hits. Service may be suspended due to deteriorating weather condition.

Nothing yet on Baltimore's Metro. And we don't have to worry about MARC since it doesn't run weekends anyhow.

[KevinKorell]

As of Sunday 8/28/11:

MTA Services Recovery

•Light Rail trains service begins at 12:30pm, Shuttle bus service remains for parts of line.
•Local Bus service recovery operations.
•Metro Subway is operating normally.
•Mobility will accommodate scheduled medical trips only.

MARC Service on Monday, August 29

Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 9:32pm

The MARC Camden and Brunswick Lines will have full service on Monday, August 29. The Penn Line will operate on an "S" schedule. Only trains designated with an "S" under the train number will operate. MARC staff have been out today inspecting stations and ensuring that parking lots and pedestrian tunnels are accessible.

For Penn Line passengers, we apologize for the fact that we told you earlier that there would be full service on Monday. Amtrak has encountered numerous unexpected problems as they inspect their railroad, including widespread signal and catenary wire problems and trees across the tracks. Amtrak has asked that we reduce service to permit them to restore full operations faster.

Commercial power is still out at several stations. For those passengers riding pre-dawn or late evening trains, we encourage you to bring a flashlight to the station in the event that parking lot and station lighting has not been restored. Specific situations that we are aware of.

•Bowie State--The pump in the tunnel failed in the middle of the storm. It has been repaired as of 4:00pm Sunday and water is being removed. We recommend that passengers for Bowie State wear old shoes Monday morning or park on the Jehrico Park Road side of the station
•Perryville, Aberdeen, and Halethorpe--As of 6:00pm today *update*, there was no power to the station building and ticket machine or parking lot lights.
Please be careful driving to your station in the morning--several backroads are littered with debris and not all downed power lines have been fixed.

[CNJRoss]

MTA: Hurricane Irene Effects on MARC Service on Monday, 8/29 - Message from John Hovatter, MARC Director

August 31, 2011

MARC would like to thank all of our customers for your patience Monday in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. We know there were some inconveniences with crowded trains during the rush hours.

MARC was in constant contact with Amtrak and CSX officials over the weekend. We didn’t learn what equipment, infrastructure, and crews would be available until late Sunday afternoon and early evening.

Amtrak suffered track washouts and equipment degradation which made its availability for Monday morning problematic. There was a very real possibility of no Penn Line service at all on Monday, but Amtrak worked closely with us to make enough equipment and track available to run our limited “S” service on the Penn Line.

Normally “S” service is only implemented when we expect a significant reduction of commuters to Washington, DC. We suspected that this would not be the case on Monday, but we felt the possible inconveniences of running the "S" schedule were preferable to not running Penn Line service at all.

Two Penn Line trains (the 5:20 pm and 6:20 pm departures) had to turn away additional passengers at Union Station on Monday evening in order to operate safely. Union Station personnel ensured that those people were the first customers on the next trains. In addition, MARC ran the 6:40 pm train to Perryville to minimize the impact on passengers heading north of Baltimore. The vast majority of customers at Union Station understood.

Many of you asked us why we didn’t add additional cars on Monday. We wanted to do more of that, but given the late notice on Sunday evening and the limited availability of crews and cars, we couldn’t.

As a result of this experience, we are looking at making some changes to the “S” schedule that will allow us to better serve our customers should a similar circumstance arise in the future.

We hope you agree that running an imperfect service on Monday was preferable to running no service at all. We did learn a few things and promise to do a better job the next time.


John Hovatter
Director, MARC Train Service

[KevinKorell]

Maryland MTA website, 8/31/11:

Light Rail-Shuttle Bus Service will operate from North Avenue to Hunt Valley

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - 10:00am

Shuttle Bus service will operate from North Avenue to Hunt Valley. Customers coming north bound from Cromwell/BWI on the Light Rail can board the shuttle bus at North Avenue Station and continue their trip north toward Hunt Valley.

Customers utilizing the Woodberry, Cold Spring, and Mt. Washington Stations can board the shuttle bus at any designated bus stop along the Falls Rd corridor. The shuttle Bus will service the Falls Rd, Lutherville, Timonium Fairgrounds, and Hunt Valley Stations.

Customers using the Timonium Business Park Station must use Lutherville Station to access the shuttle service. Customers utilizing the Warren Rd, Gilroy, McCormick, and Pepper Rd Stations can board the shuttle bus at the designated Light Rail shuttle bus stops along McCormick Rd. We thank you for your patience as we work to restore service to the north end of the Light Rail Line.