Penn Line

Maryland transportation officials were adequately prepared to get rail commuters to work today as freight railroads shut down coast-to-coast today and Amtrak stopped passenger service everywhere except in the Boston-to-Washington corridor.Luck and well-laid plans were parts of the local picture in wake of one union's strike against a single freight line, CSX.And part was the result of commuters taking things into their own hands.Maryland's only one of three commuter lines able to operate because of the strike was MARC's Penn Line from Perryville in Cecil County through Baltimore to Washington, D.C.The Camden and Brunswick rail commuter lines were shut down.

A national railroad strike after midnight tonight would disrupt the trip to work for 8,000 Maryland Rail Commuter riders by halting service on two of the state's three MARC lines, transportation officials said yesterday.Riders on the MARC Penn line, which is expected to remain open between Washington and Baltimore's Penn Station, could find already crowded parking lots jammed earlier and bigger crowds on platforms.Drivers could discover that their favorite roads to Washington are clogged earlier in the morning.

A U.S. District Court yesterday ordered 2,350 conductors and assistant conductors not to go on strike against Amtrak, sparing tens of thousands of rail passengers from being left at the gate today.Judge Stanley Harris signed the temporary restraining order against the United Transportation Union in Washington in the late afternoon at the urging of lawyers representing Amtrak, who contended that a strike was illegal.The walkout would have begun at 12:01 a.m. today and shut down all Amtrak passenger service as well as commuter lines that use Amtrak tracks or Amtrak personnel.

Trouble continued to dog the MARC commuter system Monday as trains were delayed for problems ranging from brake failure to malfunctioning traffic signals to downed trees. In the morning, a southbound MARC train experienced mechanical trouble, delaying Washington-bound commuters on the Penn Line, according to the Maryland Transit Administration. In the afternoon, at least one Washington-bound Camden Line train was running more than an hour late, while a northbound train on the same line was reported 37 minutes late as it approached Dorsey station after being delayed by signal problems and a downed tree.

Earlier this month, three MARC locomotives failed in a single 90-degree day, turning a routine commute into an ordeal of up to three hours for more than 1,000 passengers. It was an ominous foreshadowing of what could lie ahead in July and August, the cruelest months in MARC's calendar. As any veteran MARC passenger knows, July and August are typically the months of greatest torment for the commuter rail service. It is in the summer, when soaring temperatures take a toll on both tracks and trains, that the system is most vulnerable to service meltdowns.

In the wake of recent disruptions in MARC trains that have angered hundreds of passengers and frustrated state officials, Amtrak announced Wednesday new measures to answer critics and improve commuter rail service in Maryland. Seeking to make amends for a June 21 incident in which MARC passengers on the Penn Line were left stranded on a train in sweltering heat, Amtrak President Joseph Boardman said Wednesday that no longer will the railroad bypass disabled trains. Boardman made the promise at a meeting with MARC passengers at Union Station in Washington as part of the railroad's continuing response to the "hell train" incident and other service lapses that have focused attention on the commuter rail service and the national railroad that operates the Penn Line.

Snow or no snow, Len Sipes is planning to make his usual train journey this morning from Martin State Airport to Washington and be at his desk by 8:30 a.m. "The federal government is open. I report," said Sipes, press spokesman for a federal agency. Sipes said he's prepared to stay as long as his agency needs him, but he's hoping it won't need him too long. He'd like to catch the 12:20 p.m. Penn Line train out of Union Station, though he's expecting a madhouse as federal workers make an early exodus.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, traffic was slow around Malcolm Drive and Route 140 in Westminster, due to a disabled vehicle. There were no major delays reported on Baltimore transit systems. The Maryland Transit Administration has modified its MARC train service schedules Friday only, in anticipation of patrons leaving work early due to the New Year's holiday. On the Camden line, there will be a 2 p.m. departure from Union Station, making all stops to Camden Yards. The train that usually departs at 5:51 p.m. from Union Station will not operate.

Maryland's commuter train system is getting a major revamping with a timetable that adds midday and rush hour service, a new stop at Laurel Race Course and a cafe-parlor car that will offer food, drinks and first-class seats.The revised schedule unveiled yesterday by Mass Transit Administration goes into effect Jan. 31. State officials said the changes should make train service more convenient and reliable than in the past."What we're trying to do is enhance our service and create a more flexible schedule," said Maryland Transportation Secretary O. James Lighthizer.

One man died early Saturday morning in an Anne Arundel County accident that closed Route 100 for more than three hours. A second man has been hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, according to Division Chief Michael Cox. At 6:29 a.m., rescue workers were called to a collision on eastbound 100, just west of Telegraph Road, near the MARC system's Penn Line. The vehicle went off the road and fell about 30 to 40 feet to the train tracks below, with crews taking roughly 20 minutes to free the two victims, Cox said.