UPDATE: Thursday – 9/12/2013, 12:31am ET
WASHINGTON – Amtrak train 151 is canceled on Thursday morning due to Wednesday’s service disruptions.
MARC passengers should plan to ride MARC trains 517 or 523. This primarily affects riders from Perryville, Aberdeen and Edgewood.
EARLIER: Wednesday – 9/11/2013, 5:35pm ET
WASHINGTON – All MARC trains will be able to operate north of Baltimore this afternoon and evening.
Trains will continue to Martin Airport, Edgewood, Aberdeen and Perryville. Riders should expect 10- to 15-minute delays however as train congestion lingers after the midday service outage.
Earlier, commuter trains were terminating at the airport and Edgewood with buses transporting riders the rest of the way.
EARLIER: Wednesday – 9/11/2013, 4:15pm ET
WASHINGTON – Amtrak has resumed service between D.C. and Philadelphia but the rail service says passengers should expect delays of one to two hours.
Crews continue repairing overhead wires that were damaged in the area of Elkton, Md., which is north of Baltimore. The damage shutdown the rails for at least four hours.
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“For anyone who is planning to travel this afternoon go ahead and make sure you check before you head over to the station or head over to the station and just pack your patience. ” — Craig Schulz, Amtrak spokesman |
“Our crews are out there on the scene. They are still assessing the damage, its rather extensive. So the repairs are going to take probably quite a bit of time,” says Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz.
Acela Express, Northeast Regional and other services were affected along the busy northeast corridor.
Although service was restored, trains are running along a single track between Philadelphia and the District but at reduced speeds.
“There is still some significant residual congestion and other delays as a result of all of this. But the good news is that once again the trains are running,” Schulz says.
Passengers can expect delays of one to two hours but it could take hours before service is back on schedule. Passengers should check on their train’s status before going to the station, he says.
Passengers can visit amtrak.com, download the mobile app or call 1-800-USA-RAIL to check a train status.
“For anyone who is planning to travel this afternoon, go ahead and make sure you check before you head over to the station or head over to the station and just pack your patience,” Schulz says.
Service was suspended before 10 a.m. Amtrak first reported the wire damage at 8:45 a.m. via its Twitter account.
Passengers Stranded
D.C. resident John Heltman boarded an Amtrak train in the District about 11 a.m. and was supposed to arrive in New York City by 2:30 p.m. Instead his train stopped at Baltimore’s Penn Station where passengers for multiple trains were left to wait and figure out what to do next.
“It’s not just our train, it’s a bunch of other trains. So the whole station is crowded with people who are confused,” Heltman says.
Heltman wasn’t sure how he would get back to D.C. or continue on to New York. He hoped to be able to buy a bus ticket to travel north, he says.
Amtrak is offering refunds or vouchers for passengers who paid for a ticket but don’t want to navigate the delays and disruptions.
MARC Service
All afternoon and evening MARC Penn Line trains operating north of Baltimore will terminate at either Martin Airport or Edgewood Wednesday afternoon. Bus service will be provided from there to points north to Aberdeen and Perryville.
MARC service between D.C. and Baltimore is not affected.
WTOP’s Michelle Basch and Amanda Iacone contributed to this report. Follow @WTOPtraffic and @WTOP on Twitter.
