The head of the Maryland Transit Administration offered beleaguered MARC train commuters an apology and a series of explanations yesterday for what he called six weeks of service "far below what customers expect or deserve."
In an e-mail to MARC riders, MTA Administrator Paul J. Wiedefeld disclosed that on-time performance during June had fallen to 63 percent on the Camden and Brunswick lines, and 81 percent on the Penn Line.
"Although some service disruptions are unavoidable, there were instances where we could have taken actions to reduce the anxiety, frustration and inconvenience that you and your family, friends and colleagues experienced," Wiedefeld wrote.
The MTA chief said he has ordered "corrective steps" and has instructed MARC officials to meet with Amtrak and CSX to analyze recent service disruptions. Amtrak owns the Penn Line, MARC's busiest, which runs between Perryville and Washington via Penn Station. CSX owns the Camden Line between Baltimore's Camden Station and Washington's Union Station, and the Brunswick Line, serving Western Maryland and West Virginia.
MARC has had no catastrophic breakdowns in recent months, but riders have complained of persistent late performance in recent weeks, at a time when the soaring price of gasoline has spurred demand. According to the MTA, ridership in May was 6 percent higher than in the same month last year.
"I notice the trains have certainly been more crowded, and we experienced a few more delays," said John W. McDowell, who commutes to Washington from the Halethorpe station on the Penn Line.
John Walsh of Catonsville, who also commutes from Halethorpe to Washington, said he has noticed problems cropping up earlier in the morning on the Penn Line.
"More and more frequently, you have the 6:08 departure or earlier already in difficulty, so it cascades through the whole day," he said. "It's now to the point where every day you go to the train and you don't know what you're going to find."
In his e-mail, Wiedefeld listed things that have gone wrong on a commuter train line.
* Hot weather taking a toll on tracks and equipment.
* A storm that blew down trees on the Brunswick Line.
* A fuel tanker that overturned on Interstate 95, forcing closure of the Camden Line.
Wiedefeld noted that MARC's fleet of diesel locomotives is 40 years old and "increasingly unreliable," but he told riders that help is on the way - next year. He said MARC has ordered 26 new diesel locomotives and expects delivery at a rate of two a month starting early next year.
