Maryland Rail Commuter

An article about transportation improvements in Odenton in yesterday's edition of The Sun in Anne Arundel incorrectly identified the state agency that awarded the county a grant for some of the work.The Mass Transit Administration gave the county $300,000 to make improvements around the Odenton Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) station.The Sun regrets the error.With the opening of a newly widened and landscaped Piney Orchard Parkway last week, 30-year-old plans for a town center in Odenton finally became tangible.

A 22-year-old man remained in a coma yesterday after being struck by a Maryland Rail Commuter service train Friday night in Elkridge, Howard County police said.The man, whose name withheld until relatives were notified, was walking with an unidentified 21-year-old woman on the tracks near Levering Avenue and Lawyers Hill Road about 9: 15 p.m. when he was hit by the Washington-bound train.Police said the couple apparently stepped off the tracks, onto a narrow strip on the edge of a 60-foot drop, after the engineer sounded a warning horn.

Culminating nearly a year of negotiations that one top state official said had "soap opera-like qualities," Maryland gave its blessing yesterday to CSX and Norfolk Southern's $10.2 billion plan to take over Conrail.During a ceremony at Dundalk Marine Terminal attended by several hundred people, Gov. Parris N. Glendening praised the deal, saying it assures continued commuter rail service, infrastructure improvements, more jobs in Western Maryland and, perhaps most importantly, competition between two Class I railroads.

Police logJessup: 9000 block of Dorsey Run Road: A blue 1993 Plymouth Voyager with Maryland tags 501510M was stolen Thursday.Scaggsville: Route 216/U.S. 29: A 1988 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with Maryland tags 08C-337 was stolen from the parking lot of the Maryland Rail Commuter service train station Thursday.Pub Date: 6/10/96

A big boom of an explosion, fire billowing up into the air and heavy rail cars jackknifing through the dark brought residents on both sides of the Brunswick line tracks, immersed in the small things of an early Friday evening, rushing to their windows.Lights in the adjacent Rosemary Village Apartments flickered as the trains slammed into each other.A fireball sent flames down a hill toward the apartment complex, followed by billows of thick, black smoke, witnesses said."All I could do is think that it was going to come down the hill and that this building was going to catch fire," said Ida Phillips, who was washing dishes and looking out a kitchen window when the collision occurred.

A Maryland postal worker who tried to save victims of a deadly rail crash in Silver Spring was named "Hero of the Year" yesterday by the National Association of Letter Carriers.Joan Barr, 31, of Mechanicsville in St. Mary's County was on her way home from work Feb. 16 when she became involved at the scene of the fiery crash of a Maryland Rail Commuter service train and an Amtrak train. Eleven people on the MARC train were killed."I had just punched out and was on my way home when I heard and felt the crash," Barr, a substitute letter carrier in Silver Spring, said yesterday.

WASHINGTON -- Gloomily conceding that the Republican-controlled Congress will redeem its pledge to rein in federal spending, Gov. Parris N. Glendening yesterday urged the Maryland delegation to use its limited clout to cushion the blow to the state's budget.With most of his Cabinet in tow, the governor made a pitch for education funding, environmental programs and Medicaid spending for the poor and elderly."I know that the political winds have shifted in America and the states are going to receive substantially less money," Mr. Glendening said.

Instead of complaining about the long commute to his job in Baltimore, Terence J. Morse is devoting his energies to getting a passenger train back on track in Sykesville."

Instead of complaining about the long commute to his job in Baltimore, Terence J. Morse is devoting his energies to getting a passenger train back on track in Sykesville."

Intrepid Commuter so rarely hears complimentary remarks from those who commute by rail that the slightest cheerful news sets our heart pounding like John Henry driving spikes."

It didn't take long for the first wave of the $3.8 billion stimulus money bound for Maryland to get spent. Gov. Martin O'Malley yesterday announced a series of transportation improvements, from new buses to street repair, that should create, or at least retain, thousands of jobs as contractors gear up for a busier spring. As transportation projects go, the list is duller than a block of reinforced concrete. No major new projects, no ambitious expansions and certainly no "Bridges to Nowhere."

A major criticism of a government-financed stimulus package that relies on spending huge sums to rebuild the nation's public infrastructure is the lag between the measure's passage and the resulting jobs. Maryland Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari has good reason to think that's not much of a problem this time around. That's because he's got a stack of more than $310 million worth of transportation-related projects ready to go. In some cases, there are jobs that might literally be created within hours of the bill's enactment - resurfacing contracts, for instance, that can be immediately expanded to restore miles of aging highway.

Four CSX train cars carrying new automobiles derailed yesterday afternoon in Jessup, blocking passengers on the Camden MARC train commuter line during rush hour, a railroad spokeswoman said. Buses picked up passengers at the Dorsey or Savage Maryland Rail Commuter stations and drove them to their destinations north or south of Jessup, said a spokesman for the Maryland Transit Administration. Misty Skipper of CSX said that an engine was pulling 67 cars into the CSX Jessup Yard when the derailment occurred about 3 p.m. Two of the derailed cars went over an embankment.

All morning trains to Washington on the Maryland Rail Commuter Camden and Brunswick lines will have designated "quiet cars" beginning Monday, the state announced yesterday. MARC Penn Line trains through the 8:10 a.m. departure have quiet cars. Starting Monday, Penn Line train 424, which leaves Washington at 3:34 p.m. for Baltimore, will become the first afternoon train with a quiet car. MARC began designating quiet cars on some trains in January, and they proved popular. Passengers on a quiet car, usually the last car on a train, are asked to turn off cell phones and pagers and keep conversations hushed.

Maryland Rail Commuter train service on the Brunswick and Camden lines will be altered today because of a forecast of a winter ice storm, Maryland Transportation Administration officials announced yesterday. With freezing rain and ice accumulations expected, only MARC trains with an "S" at the top of their displays will operate. The Penn Line will operate on a regular schedule, but its runs may be reduced later depending on the path and severity of the storm, officials said. A severe storm can potentially result in extensive delays.

A 22-year-old man remained in a coma yesterday after being struck by a Maryland Rail Commuter service train Friday night in Elkridge, Howard County police said.The man, whose name withheld until relatives were notified, was walking with an unidentified 21-year-old woman on the tracks near Levering Avenue and Lawyers Hill Road about 9: 15 p.m. when he was hit by the Washington-bound train.Police said the couple apparently stepped off the tracks, onto a narrow strip on the edge of a 60-foot drop, after the engineer sounded a warning horn.

An article about transportation improvements in Odenton in yesterday's edition of The Sun in Anne Arundel incorrectly identified the state agency that awarded the county a grant for some of the work.The Mass Transit Administration gave the county $300,000 to make improvements around the Odenton Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) station.The Sun regrets the error.With the opening of a newly widened and landscaped Piney Orchard Parkway last week, 30-year-old plans for a town center in Odenton finally became tangible.

Culminating nearly a year of negotiations that one top state official said had "soap opera-like qualities," Maryland gave its blessing yesterday to CSX and Norfolk Southern's $10.2 billion plan to take over Conrail.During a ceremony at Dundalk Marine Terminal attended by several hundred people, Gov. Parris N. Glendening praised the deal, saying it assures continued commuter rail service, infrastructure improvements, more jobs in Western Maryland and, perhaps most importantly, competition between two Class I railroads.

A Maryland postal worker who tried to save victims of a deadly rail crash in Silver Spring was named "Hero of the Year" yesterday by the National Association of Letter Carriers.Joan Barr, 31, of Mechanicsville in St. Mary's County was on her way home from work Feb. 16 when she became involved at the scene of the fiery crash of a Maryland Rail Commuter service train and an Amtrak train. Eleven people on the MARC train were killed."I had just punched out and was on my way home when I heard and felt the crash," Barr, a substitute letter carrier in Silver Spring, said yesterday.

Police logJessup: 9000 block of Dorsey Run Road: A blue 1993 Plymouth Voyager with Maryland tags 501510M was stolen Thursday.Scaggsville: Route 216/U.S. 29: A 1988 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck with Maryland tags 08C-337 was stolen from the parking lot of the Maryland Rail Commuter service train station Thursday.Pub Date: 6/10/96