NARP pushes for funding from WV for commuter rail

[CHamilton]

West Virginia Passengers Need Your Help

For several decades, the Brunswick Line of Maryland’s MARC commuter rail service has served the West Virginia towns of Harpers Ferry, Duffields, and Martinsburg. Hundreds of commuters use this line every day to commute to and from their jobs in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. Like many other commuter rail services, the Brunswick Line has enjoyed increased ridership in recent years....

West Virginia’s legislature recognized the importance of commuter rail last year by passing the Commuter Rail Access Act. Under the terms of the legislation, West Virginia will for the first time contribute funds to offset the costs of operating the trains. Provision of these funds will, in turn, allow Maryland and West Virginia to negotiate a formal interstate agreement for operation of these services. Such an agreement will, in addition to making possible future upgrades to the service, give West Virginians a voice in the Maryland Transportation Administration’s discussions concerning the line.

But there is a problem. The Governor’s recommended budget for 2015 contained no appropriations for the fund established by the Commuter Rail Access Act. Without funding, the interstate agreement demanded by the act cannot be signed. Maryland Transportation Authority officials have repeatedly stated that no agreement can be made without regular funding from West Virginia. No agreement means that the current status quo will persist, an unacceptable outcome for West Virginians.

 

[XHRTSP]

Dumb question, but how does this line even exist in West Virgina if the state never took part in funding it?

 

[the_traveler]

I can't speak for the other locations, but the station in Harper's Ferry is just off a River bridge. One end is in WV and the other end is in MD.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Keep in mind that West Virginia is where the Rich Companies that own the Mines have Polluted the Drinking Water, Rivers and the Air and the State Officials made Excuses for these Robber Barons so it would be a Shock if they Voted Money to help Support a Rail Line that carried people to that Horrible Washington D.C. where the Evil Socialists are plotting to Ruin the Country! (Sarcasm intended!) They have No Shame!

 

[Anderson]

WV is also home to a number of "exile" federal workers who don't want to live in Maryland or DC for a number of reasons (taxes, state legislation, etc.).

 

[MikefromCrete]

It was probably an operational issue. Just like Kenosha, Wis., is the northern terminus of Metra's UP North Line. Existing railroad facilities made it easier to terminate the train there than in Maryland.

 

[neroden]

Dumb question, but how does this line even exist in West Virgina if the state never took part in funding it?

The MARC Brunswick Line runs through a section of West Virginia which is very narrow, known as the "Eastern Panhandle".

Harpers Ferry is actually on the border. Duffields and Martinsburg are within 15 miles of the Maryland border. Martinsburg serves as a commuter station for Hagerstown MD only 20 miles away.

So Maryland figures it's getting its money's worth. The line will continue to be operated for the benefit of people driving across the border from Maryland. The point made in the NARP article is: as long as WV spends no money, it gets no voice. The desires of Martinsburg commuters will be secondary to the desires of Hagerstown commuters.

 

[Ryan]

Edit: This is a reply to Mike.

That's not really the case here, the trains actually deadhead back to Brunswick, MD after servicing West Virginia to overnight in the yard there.

Here's all the MARC equipment laying over in Brunswick on a Saturday (as seen from the Capitol Limited):



MARC Brunswick by Ryan Stavely, on Flickr

 

[fairviewroad]

Dumb question, but how does this line even exist in West Virgina if the state never took part in funding it?

From the article:

About 400 commuters catch the trains daily in West Virginia. A surchage is placed on tickets sold in West Virginia to help offset the cost of running the trains into West Virginia.

Officials with the Maryland Transit Administration, which operates the MARC commuter lines, have told Snyder that if West Virginia contributes $500,000 to the operation of the trains into West Virginia, the surcharge would be eliminated.

 

[Ryan]

That doesn't explain why MARC runs trains into an adjoining state.

The answer for that lies with Amtrak, actually. From 1973 though the mid 80's, Amtrak operated the Blue Ridge, a train between Cumberland (originally, sometime between 1973 and 1985 it was truncated to Martinsburg) and Washington. When the Maryland MTA took over commuter service from Amtrak they continued running the train all the way to Martinsburg.