The Maryland Area Rail 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 2023, the system had a ridership of 3,860,600, or about 14,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2024, less than pre-COVID-19 pandemic weekday ridership of 40,000.
The Orange Line is one of the six rapid transit lines of the Washington Metro system, consisting of 26 stations in Fairfax County and Arlington in Northern Virginia; Washington, D.C.; and Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The Orange Line runs from Vienna in Virginia to New Carrollton in Maryland. Half of the line's stations are shared with the Blue Line and over two thirds are shared with the Silver Line. Orange Line service began on November 20, 1978.
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.
Bethesda station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro system in Bethesda, Maryland. It is one of the busiest suburban Metro stations, serving on average 9,142 passengers each weekday in 2017. The Purple Line, a light rail system currently under construction, will terminate at Bethesda, providing rail service to other inner Maryland suburbs such as Silver Spring and College Park, each of which has additional north-south connections by Washington Metro, and New Carrollton, which has Amtrak and MARC connections to both Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.
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 Floridian intercity trains.
Takoma station is a Washington Metro station on the Red Line in the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, D.C., bordering Takoma Park, Maryland. The station is considered to be located in part of Takoma Park's Historic District. It is the last station in the District of Columbia on the eastern end of the Red Line heading to Maryland, located east of the intersection of Blair Road NW and Cedar Street NW. The station's parking lot and bus stops are accessed from Eastern Avenue NW, which runs along the DC–Maryland line.
Silver Spring station is a train station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro and the Brunswick Line of the MARC Train commuter rail system. The Metro station averaged 4,536 daily riders in 2023, making it the 19th-busiest stop in the network and the busiest in the state of Maryland. Trains travelling south from the station quickly cross the border into Washington, D.C., while northbound trains head underground and make their way further into Montgomery County.
L'Enfant Plaza station is an intermodal transit station complex located at L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It consists of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Railway Express commuter rail station.
Downtown Largo station is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Lake Arbor, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with a Largo postal address.
Deanwood station is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in the Deanwood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, D.C., United States. The station was opened on November 20, 1978, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for only the Orange Line, the station is the final station in the District of Columbia going east. The station is located at Minnesota Avenue and 48th Street Northeast.
Cheverly station is a side-platformed Washington Metro station in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on November 20, 1978, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Orange Line, the station is the first station going east in Maryland on the Orange Line. The station is in the residential area of Cheverly at Columbia Park Road near U.S. Route 50. It is a commuter station with 530 parking spaces.
Landover station is an island-platformed Washington Metro station in Landover, Maryland, United States. The station was opened on November 20, 1978, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for the Orange Line, the station is in a residential area of Landover at Pennsy Drive near Landover Road. It is primarily a commuter station, with parking for over 1,800 cars, but it also served the now-demolished Capital Centre, the former home of the Washington Bullets and Washington Capitals.
College Park–University of Maryland station is a Washington Metro and MARC station located in College Park, Maryland, near the University of Maryland, College Park campus. It is served by the Metro Green Line and limited service on the MARC Camden Line. The light rail Purple Line is planned to begin service at the station in 2027.
Greenbelt station is a Washington Metro and MARC station in Prince George's County, Maryland. The station is the northeastern terminus of the Green Line of the Washington Metro. MARC commuter rail trains on the Camden Line also stop at Greenbelt on a set of tracks parallel to the Metro tracks.
The Purple Line is a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) light rail line being built to link several Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.: Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton. Currently slated to open in late 2027, the line will also enable riders to move between the Maryland branches of the Red, Green, and Orange lines of the Washington Metro without riding into central Washington, and between all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system. The project is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), an agency of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), and not the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates Metro.
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 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, though a majority of trains 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 riders as the Brunswick and Camden lines combined.
Van Dorn Street station is a Washington Metro station straddling the boundary between Fairfax County and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia, United States. The station's island platform lies in unincorporated Rose Hill in Fairfax County, while the station's entrance and parking facilities are in Alexandria. The station was opened on June 15, 1991, and is operated by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). Providing service for only the Blue Line, the station is located at South Van Dorn Street and Eisenhower Avenue, next to the Capital Beltway. From 1991 to 1997 it was the southwestern terminus of the Blue Line.
Capital Beltway was a railway station in Lanham, Maryland. It was built in 1970 by the Penn Central Transportation Company in partnership with the state of Maryland, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), and Prince George's County. The station was located on the Northeast Corridor approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Union Station in Washington, D.C. Its purpose was to provide a stop near the Capital Beltway ring-road for the new high-speed Metroliners. Amtrak used the station until 1983 when New Carrollton opened to the south.
Lanham station was a regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located just outside the Capital Beltway off Route 450 in Lanham, Maryland. It was served by the predecessor of today's MARC Penn Line, until August 1982.
