TRAIN DERAILMENT
MARC Commuter Service Is Expected to Return To Normal by Monday
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 18, 2006; Page B04
Maryland transit officials hope to resume MARC commuter train service by Monday morning's rush hour after a train derailment canceled service yesterday on its busiest line.
Three empty coal cars on a CSX Corp. freight train derailed at 7:20 p.m. Thursday near Bowie, striking a utility pole and leaving electric power lines strewn over the tracks. The accident disrupted MARC and Amtrak passenger rail service between Baltimore and the District.
  Investigators check the tracks at the site where three empty coal cars derailed Thursday night near Bowie, knocking down utility lines. (By James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post) |
Amtrak canceled 29 trains Thursday and yesterday before repair crews cleared one of the three tracks. Amtrak service resumed at 6:35 a.m. yesterday with a full daily schedule. Trains were delayed 20 minutes as they slowed to 35 mph through the affected area, an Amtrak spokeswoman said.
Because Amtrak owns the tracks, its trains took priority. MARC was forced to cancel all service yesterday on its Penn Line, which runs from Washington's Union Station to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Baltimore and Perryville. The weekday commuter line averages 18,000 daily one-way trips on 46 scheduled trains.
On Thursday night, Amtrak and MARC officials set up a "bus bridge" between Baltimore and Washington to help passengers reach their destinations.
It could have been worse, said Ira Silverman, MARC's chief transportation officer.
"Any day of the week is bad, but Friday has 10 percent to 15 percent less business," Silverman said.
MARC's Camden Line picked up some of the traffic, causing crowding on trains yesterday morning. Silverman said cars would be added to make the evening commute more comfortable.
Metro officials reported a smooth rush-hour commute at New Carrollton on the Orange Line, a junction for Amtrak and MARC service, although ridership was higher than a normal Friday. Ridership at New Carrollton was 7,242 during yesterday's morning rush, officials said, compared with the more typical 6,573 passenger trips two weeks ago.
Road conditions were normal yesterday on Interstate 95 and other north-south routes, said Neil J. Pedersen, Maryland's state highway administrator.
Pedersen said he was caught in Thursday's mess when his Amtrak train from New York stopped in Baltimore. "My car was in New Carrollton," he said.
Pedersen said he got home 90 minutes later than expected.
The derailment is under investigation, and it is too early to tell whether Thursday's storm played a role, said Robert Sullivan, CSX spokesman. He said there were no injuries, and the rail cars have been removed from the area.
Staff writer Lena H. Sun contributed to this report.
