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MARF 2006 Day 1 report


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#1 KevinKorell

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Posted 23 August 2006 - 09:38 PM

Day 1 of the MARF 2006 event was successful. We all had a good time, mostly riding MARC trains on the Penn and Camden Lines. We wisely decided to have dinner at Washington Union Station instead of waiting until we got back to Baltimore. Now I want to be a good Forums Leader and not let my feelings get out of hand, but Baltimore's mass transit system, mostly its light rail, is a piece of garbage. The trains run nowhere near on a schedule. Through service from Penn Station to anywhere has been totally cut, so that the MTA can show off its new double track line by running double the number of trains up to Timonium. The connections between the Penn Shuttles and the other trains at Mount Royal are horrendous. We had to wait an hour for a train to Hunt Valley tonight at North Avenue, with no explanation from anyone as to what was going on. Then finally on our way northbound from there, we got dumped at Timonium Business Park to wait for the next train. Tomorrow is our actual real official day on the Metro and light rail, and I hope I can say better things about it. I've ridden it before but when you really want or have to get someplace, the light rail is nonfunctional. If anyone has said anything bad about New Jersey's light rail services, this one will make you forget your troubles. Anyhow, we had Alan Burden, Mike Hammond, Jishnu Mukerji, Ross Kudlick, and Skip Howard, besides Michael and myself involved today. Tomorrow we hope to meet up with Don and Penny Weinstein, Rick Metcalfe, and Ted Patchell. Then it's off to Philadelphia, where even SEPTA will be a cake walk compared to the light rail system we endured today.


Kevin Korell


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Lakewood, NJ


#2 JAChooChoo

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Posted 23 August 2006 - 10:53 PM

Through service from Penn Station to anywhere has been totally cut, so that the MTA can show off its new double track line by running double the number of trains up to Timonium. The connections between the Penn Shuttles and the other trains at Mount Royal are horrendous.

Before I moved from Baltimore to Atlanta, I rode the Light Rail frequently, and timekeeping was generally very good - even with single track. The Penn Station stub was always an anomaly, very low ridership, and generally missing the Hunt Valley trains by 3 minutes. Interestingly there is provision for a northbound lead from Penn, and also an east side loop to downtown in the vicinity of I-83 (which is also proposed to be turned into a surface boulevard).

All said, it is better than Pittsburgh's Penn Station stub.
J. Alan Crumbaker

#3 KevinKorell

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Posted 24 August 2006 - 08:31 PM

Very true, the Baltimore Penn Station Stub is better than the Pittsburgh Penn Station Stub, at least in terms of service frequency. However, I believe that Pittsburgh's does at least offer through service to the southern destinations of the light rail system (albeit only operating during rush hours). Yes, Baltimore's Penn Station line is supposed to be part of a future new extension to the east. Maybe as far as the White Marsh area, IIRC. Hopefully at that time it will rate through service at least through downtown to Camden Yards, if not further.


Kevin Korell


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