Virginia Railway Express (VRE) is a commuter rail service that connects outlying small cities of Northern Virginia to Union Station in Washington, D.C. It operates two lines which run during weekday rush hour only: the Fredericksburg Line from Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the Manassas Line from Broad Run station in Bristow, Virginia. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,537,000, or about 5,900 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023.
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 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,860,600, or about 12,400 per weekday as of the fourth quarter of 2023, less than pre-COVID-19 pandemic weekday ridership of 40,000.
The Red Line is a rapid transit line of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 27 stations in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is a primary line through downtown Washington and the oldest and busiest line in the system. It forms a long, narrow "U," capped by its terminal stations at Shady Grove and Glenmont.
Rockville station is an intermodal train station located in downtown Rockville, Maryland, United States. It is served by the Washington Metro Red Line, MARC Brunswick Line commuter trains, and Amtrak Capitol Limited intercity trains.
Newark station is a train station in Newark, Delaware, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, serving a limited number of Amtrak Northeast Regional trains and SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line regional rail trains.
Washington, D.C. has a number of different modes of transportation available for use. Commuters have a major influence on travel patterns, with only 28% of people employed in Washington, D.C. commuting from within the city, whereas 33.5% commute from the nearby Maryland suburbs, 22.7% from Northern Virginia, and the rest from Washington, D.C.'s outlying suburbs.
The Frederick Branch is a railroad line in Frederick County, Maryland. It was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in 1831, and is now owned by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). The 3.4 mi (5.5 km) branch extends between Frederick Junction – a wye with the Old Main Line Subdivision of CSX Transportation on the west side of the Monocacy River – and its terminus at East Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland. The wye at Frederick Junction was the first example of its kind in the United States and is still in use today.
The Camden Line is a MARC commuter rail line that runs for 39 mi (63 km) between Union Station, Washington, D.C., and Camden Station, Baltimore, Maryland, over the CSX Capital Subdivision and Baltimore Terminal Subdivision. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad began running commuter service from Baltimore to Ellicott City over part of the current line's trackage on May 24, 1830, making this corridor one of the country's oldest rail routes still in operation. The line was extended to Washington on August 25, 1835. The Camden Line is the shortest MARC line. As of 2019, the Camden Line is a weekday-only service.
The CSX Cumberland Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Maryland and West Virginia. The line runs from Brunswick, Maryland, west to Cumberland, Maryland, along the old Baltimore and Ohio Rail Road (B&O) main line. At its east end, the Cumberland Subdivision becomes the Metropolitan Subdivision; at its west end at Cumberland, Maryland it becomes the Cumberland Terminal Subdivision. It meets the Shenandoah Subdivision at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and the Lurgan Subdivision in Cherry Run, West Virginia.
Martinsburg station is a railway station in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States, served by MARC Brunswick Line commuter rail service and Amtrak Capitol Limited intercity rail service. The station has one side platform serving a siding track of the CSX Cumberland Subdivision, with a footbridge crossing the siding and the two main tracks to provide access to the preserved Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Martinsburg Shops complex.
The Penn Line is a MARC passenger rail service operating between Union Station in Washington, D.C., and Perryville, Maryland, along the far southern leg of the Northeast Corridor; most trains terminate at Baltimore's Penn Station. It is MARC's only electrified line. However, a majority of trips remain diesel powered. With trains operating at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour (201 km/h), it is the fastest commuter rail line in the United States. The service is operated by Amtrak under contract to the Maryland Transit Administration. MARC sets the schedules, owns most of the stations, and controls fares, while Amtrak owns and maintains the right-of-way, supplies employees to operate trains, and maintains the rolling stock. It is the busiest of MARC's three lines, with twice as many trains and ridership as the Brunswick and Camden lines combined.
Germantown is a passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is one of the busiest stations on the Brunswick Line along with Silver Spring and Rockville stations. All Brunswick Line trains stop at this station.
Boyds is an active commuter railroad train station in Boyds, Montgomery County, Maryland. Located on Clopper Road west of the junction with Maryland Routes 117 and 121, the station services trains of MARC's Brunswick Line between Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, West Virginia, along with some trains to Frederick, Maryland. Trains for Amtrak's Capitol Limited bypass the station. The next station west is Barnesville and the next one east is Germantown. Boyds station consists of two low-level side platforms and a single three-sided glass shelter, along with a small parking lot. Boyds station includes a 1931-built pedestrian tunnel originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Barnesville is an active commuter railroad train station in Barnesville, Montgomery County, Maryland. Located on Beallsville Road, Barnesville station services trains of MARC Train's Brunswick Line between Union Station in Washington D.C. and Martinsburg, West Virginia. Additional trains operate to Frederick, Maryland. Amtrak's Capitol Limited operates through the station, but does not make any stops. The next station west is Dickerson while the next station east is Boyds. Barnesville station contains two low-level side platforms, connected by a pathway across the tracks.
Point of Rocks is a historic passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, WV, located at Point of Rocks, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. The station was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1873, and designed by E. Francis Baldwin. It is situated at the junction of the B&O Old Main Line and the Metropolitan Branch. The Met Branch also opened in 1873 and became the principal route for passenger trains between Baltimore, Washington and points west.
Brunswick is a passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia. The station house, located at 100 South Maple Street in Brunswick, Maryland, is a former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad depot that is a contributing property to the Brunswick Historic District, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since August 29, 1979. The station was designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin and opened in 1891 on Seventh Avenue. Several years later the building was moved to its current location. It is a wooden frame building with stone walls up to the window sills, and features Palladian windows in the roof dormers.
The West Virginian, later known as the Potomac Turbo and Potomac Special, was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Washington, D.C., and Parkersburg, West Virginia. This route was previously served by the Baltimore & Ohio's (B&O) train of the same name, and was the first of several services in the state of West Virginia established at the behest of US Representative Harley Orrin Staggers, the powerful chair of the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee. This patronage earned the train the derisive sobriquets "Harley's Hornet" and the "Staggers Special".
The Blue Ridge was a daily Amtrak passenger train that operated between Washington, D.C., and Cumberland, Maryland. Service began in 1973; it was merged into the MARC Brunswick Line commuter rail service in 1986.
On February 16, 1996, a MARC commuter train collided with Amtrak's Capitol Limited passenger train in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, killing three crew and eight passengers on the MARC train; a further eleven passengers on the same train and fifteen passengers and crew on the Capitol Limited were injured. Total damage was estimated at $7.5 million.
