WASHINGTON – MARC service will be impacted this week following an accident Friday night involving an Amtrak rail car.
A train was damaged when a wheel lost contact with the track in Odenton. No one was hurt.
The Maryland Transit Administration says, as a result of ongoing track work, the Bowie State University station will be closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for all north and southbound lanes. No service will be provided to or from that station.
Additionally, the Odenton station will have “significantly reduced service” on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for all north and southbound trains.
The MTA provided the following details for passengers this week:
Passengers traveling from Bowie to Washington, DC:
- Option #1 — Drive to Muirkirk MARC Station on the Camden Line. All Camden Line trains will operate with one additional railcar due to this service disruption. Muirkirk station is located at 7012 Muirkirk Road, Beltsville, MD and is located 9 1/2 miles from Bowie State. There is ample, free parking available at this station. A new Camden Line schedule–including an additional, earlier 3:30pm departure from Union Station–takes effect on Monday. Click here to download a copy.
- Option #2 — Drive to New Carrollton MARC/Metrorail station. New Carrollton is located at 7600 Garden City Drive, New Carrollton, MD and is located 12 miles from Bowie State. Parking is $5-$8 per day. The Washington Metro Option will be open and MARC passengers can ride Metro at no additional cost.
- Option #3 — Drive to Bowie Park-And-Ride Lot and utilize Washington Metrobus service to New Carrollton. Buses depart every 5-10 minutes during the rush hour and the trip time is 12-17 minutes. MARC weekly and monthly passes are always honored on these bus routes. There is ample, free parking available at this lot. The Washington Metro Option will be open and MARC passengers can ride Metro at no additional cost.
Passengers traveling to Bowie State in the morning and back in the evening:
- Transfer to Washington Metrobus Routes B21, B22, and/or B27 at New Carrollton station. MARC weekly and monthly passes are always honored on these buses. Click here to download the schedules. The bus operates from New Carrollton to Bowie State University; the stop is located in Henry Circle on campus.
For Odenton service:
- Morning Southbound service: regular schedule. All trains will stop, minor delays are possible.
- Afternoon/Evening Northbound service: The following departures from Union Station will not stop at Odenton: Train 422 (1:20pm), Train 424 (2:20pm), Train 634 (4:40pm), Train 440 (5:25pm), Train 446 (6:40pm). All northbound trains will board passengers on the southbound platform. Northbound service will resume with Train 448 (7:40pm). All northbound trains will board passengers on the southbound platform.
- Evening capacity will be limited at Odenton, although morning service will operate as normal. We encourage passengers to consider Camden Line service; click here to download a copy. There is ample, free parking available at Dorsey station.
- Morning Northbound service: All northbound Penn Line trains will not stop at Odenton. See below for alternate transportation arrangements.
- Afternoon Southbound service: The following departures from Penn Station will not stop at Odenton: Train 439 (3:45pm), Train 641 (4:18pm), Train 443 (4:47pm), Train 445 (5:25pm). Southbound service will resume with Train 449 (6:25pm). See below for alternate transportation arrangements.
- Alternate transportation to Odenton in the morning and from in the evening: MTA will provide shuttle bus service from Savage on the Camden Line to Odenton station. Northbound trains depart Union Station at 6:32am, 7:00am, 7:40am and 8:00am. Travel time to Savage is approximately 35 minutes, each arrival will be met by a bus. In the evening, buses will depart Odenton at 3:40pm, 4:25pm, 5:10pm, and 6:05pm for the trip to Savage and transfer to a southbound Camden Line train.
The MTA has also announced a new MARC Camden Line schedule and service, beginning Monday:
- An additional, earlier afternoon eastbound train, which will depart Washington Union Station at 3:30pm. This train will operate between Washington and Dorsey; it will not serve Camden Yards station. Passengers traveling from Washington to Baltimore in the 3:00-3:30pm timeframe are encouraged to use Penn Line Train 426, which departs Union Station at 3:23pm.
- An additional morning eastbound train, which will depart Washington Union Station at 7:40am.
- An additional evening westbound train, which will originate at Dorsey (no service from Camden Yards) and will depart at 4:45pm.
- The 5:53pm departure from Union Station will add a stop at College Park at 6:04pm. This closes what is currently an hour and thirty minute gap in service to College Park.
- Customers should note that most afternoon train numbers will change with this new service, however, train departure times are not changing. The only exceptions to this are:
- Train 853, which will now depart Camden Yards and all stops to Washington 10 minutes later (will now depart at 3:40pm).
- The addition of the College Park stop on the 5:53pm departure from Washington Union Station will result in slightly later arrivals at Muirkirk and all stations en route to Camden Yards.
(The above travel information is via the MTA website)
