"They've been trying to work with us, but they've also been saying, 'Here are our issues,' " he said.
While continuing to negotiate for additional capacity, Wiedefeld said, he has also been working with Amtrak to resolve some of MARC's service problems. A series of breakdowns prompted the MTA administrator to write a letter of apology to MARC riders last month.
Wiedefeld said the MTA has hired an outside consultant to assess how Amtrak has been servicing MARC's vehicles.
"We have tried to get someone in there independently to see if there's anything we can suggest," he said. He said he expects some improvement this month when MARC gets back two of its locomotives that have been in the shop for required maintenance.
Wiedefeld said he's expecting noticeable improvements after MARC takes delivery of 26 new locomotives in February. He said MARC had been scheduled to receive the equipment three years from now but had found a way to cut the wait to nine months by piggybacking on a Utah train line's order.
"It's going to help with reliability, and it's also going to help with capacity," he said. "We're trying to speed up some other things. We're trying to get coaches sooner."
Amtrak's $3.9 billion long-range plan calls for the eventual extension of service from Delaware to Virginia running seven days a week. The first phase of the plan called for the addition of service on weekends, at midday and later at night by this summer.
The MTA did work out a deal with Amtrak late last year under which MARC added an evening rush-hour train out of Washington's Union Station as well as two-late night runs - one in each direction.
The long-range plan calls for improvements in four stages with target dates of 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2035.
Among other things, the program envisions the replacement of the Amtrak tunnel leading to Penn Station by 2020 and the replacement of CSX's Howard Street Tunnel by 2035. The century-old freight tunnel would then be used to extend the Camden Line.
Expansion of MARC has been identified as a priority because of the need to provide transit services to the thousands of new workers who will move to Maryland as a result of the Pentagon's base-relocation process. Among the sites expected to gain workers are Aberdeen Proving Ground and Fort Meade - both of which are served by MARC stations.
By 2035, the MTA hopes to be able to serve more than 100,000 riders a day, compared with slightly more than 30,000 now.
But, like the addition of weekend and midday service, virtually all of the MTA's goals for MARC will require the collaboration of Amtrak or CSX.
michael.dresser@baltsun.com
