Transit
Halethorpe getting a MARC station replacement
Earlier this week, the Maryland Transit Administration announced that construction would soon start on a replacement MARC station on the Penn Line at Halethorpe.
Halethorpe will get high platforms like this one at Greenbelt.
The Halethorpe MARC station is located on the busiest of MTA's 3 commuter rail lines, the Penn Line. It is located near the Baltimore Beltway, two stops south of Baltimore Penn Station, between West Baltimore and BWI Airport Rail Station.
The current station is severely limiting for rail services. Only one door on an entire train per car on three coaches can open there, and passengers must use steps to board or alight. In order to cross the 3 tracks, passengers must climb a long staircase up to the Francis Avenue Bridge and then down again on the other side.
The new station will be located south of the current platforms. It will include two 700 foot long, high platforms. This will make the station ADA compliant, will speed boarding/alighting, and will allow more than one car to open doors at the station. A new bridge will link the two platforms with staircases and elevators. Canopies will provide protection from the weather.
The reduction in dwell time at Halethorpe will increase the average speed of all Penn Line trains that stop there. This will shorten commutes and lower costs to MTA.
Replacement of the station will cost $17.1 million. Construction will start later this year, likely at the end of summer. The duration of the project should be about two years.
The reconstruction of Halethorpe will leave West Baltimore as the only Penn Line station between Washington and Baltimore with low platforms. While MTA is exploring constructing high platforms at West Baltimore, especially with the proposed Red Line's interchange point there, the curvature of the track makes high platforms a challenge.
MTA also announced this week that thanks to a $6 million grant from the Obama Administration, a new public address system, including next train display screens, will be operational by April 2011 on all three lines. The Brunswick Line's upgrades should be complete by the end of the summer and the Penn Line will have the new system by year's end.
 | Matt Johnson has lived in the Washington region since mid-2007. He has a Master's degree in Community Planning from the University of Maryland and a BS in Public Policy from Georgia Tech. He has worked in the planning field since 2006 and lives in Greenbelt, where he serves on the city's Advisory Planning Board.    |
Comments
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The high-level platform will be great when it's done, because having to trudge up and down the Francis Ave. Bridge to get to the other side of the station just seems to be a horrendous failure in design, and to remedy that will be great.
by Justin..... on May 13, 2010 2:47 pm • link • report
High platforms aren't the norm in this country though. They're almost exclusive to Northeastern commuter railroads such as MARC and NJ Transit, while nearly all Southern and Western systems, such as VRE, use low platforms.
by King Terrapin on May 13, 2010 5:58 pm • link • report
by DavidDuck on May 13, 2010 9:03 pm • link • report
Riverdale is close by to Mount Rainier. There's no need for a station there also, it would interfere with train traffic coming from the west and south. It's CSX tracks anyway.
by Ken Conaway on May 13, 2010 10:11 pm • link • report
Mt. Rainier is the most densely populated city in Maryland, it sits right on an active commuter rail line, and there is zero service. Telling people that they can hike out to Riverdale is not much of an answer.
I am not sure how you deduce that those folks don't need rail service. Welcome to PG County inside the beltway!
Yes, I am very aware that CSX runs freight trains on those tracks. Hard to miss them! A few years back, MTA put together an extensive wish list of improvements to MARC service. Pretty sure they would have to work with CSX on those improvement. But: no sign of service for folks in Mt Rainier in the state's wishlist. Welcome to PG inside the beltway.
by DavidDuck on May 13, 2010 10:40 pm • link • report
The stairs themselves are LONG (4 flights of 12 or 13 if I recall correctly plus landings each way) and are only wide enough for 2 at a time spacing while the bridge itself doesn't really have a sidewalk wide enough for two abrest so the top of the stairs tends to be a second bottlneck in terms of getting folks back to their vehicles.
Anyway it was, and remains, an incredibly convenient station (5min off of I-695) along with the free parking and the mobile coffee stand that operates there each morning. Glad to hear the station upgrade is moving forward.
by Greg on May 13, 2010 11:14 pm • link • report
by David C on May 13, 2010 11:31 pm • link • report
Mt. Rainier doesn't need a MARC stop. The MARC stops on the Camden Line are already spaced pretty closely together. Your very statement "pg inside the beltway" also explains exactly why it doesn't need a MARC stop. Mt. Rainier is on the border of DC, where people can easily find other means of transport (intended for short distance travel) such as Metrobus or Metrorail. Prince George's County easily has far more Metro stations inside the Beltway (on 4 different Metro brancehs) than any other county at 14. Montgomery has 4, and all of Northern Virginia only has 15. MARC is (mostly) for commuters outside of areas served by Metro.
Also, the only reason there is a Garrett Park MARC stop is because there was a B&O station there before MARC was started, otherwise it wouldn't exist or would be placed differently. The MTA was actually planning to close 4 small and underused MARC stops on the Camden and Brunswick Lines (Dickerson and Boyds in MoCo, and St. Dennis and Jessup in Howard and Balt. Counties) about 2 or 3 years ago. They wisely decided against it after MoCo reisdents protested that ridership would grow in the future.
Anyway the fact is that these all were originally B&O stations built over 100 years ago, before the time of automobiles and a train station was critical to most communities so ther were spaced closely together. The only commuter rail agency that does that now is SEPTA in the Philadelphia Metro Area where trains literally stop every minute.
by King Terrapin on May 14, 2010 12:50 am • link • report
Whats the point of Seabrook, New Carrolton, College Park & Greenbelt as Marc Stations than.
Marc does not need to stops back to back (College Park & Greenbelt)which both serve Marc & Metrorail one would be perfectly alright and you could take metrorail to the other if you need to go there.
If your going from DC to New Carrolton it would be cheaper to just take the Orange Line. Excluding the one government building plus the many blue collar jobs that stretch from Lanham to Glenarden whats the point of stopping there instead of just by passing it.
If you say Mt Rainer it to close to Downtown please explain every Marc, VRE & all commuter rail systems with stations along the borders of major cities.
"people can easily find other means of transport (intended for short distance travel) such as Metrobus or Metrorail."
So what metrorail lines are in Mt. Rainer ? West Hyattsville, PG Plaza, Landover, Cheverly there not all that close and none are walking distance and 2 you cant walk to if you tried due to human impact and geography.
Most metrobuses that go through Mt. Rainer all go to the same place but just take different routes getting there not at all convenient.
"MARC is (mostly) for commuters outside of areas served by Metro."
So what happen to Southern, Eastern, North Central Maryland than. Marc is not mostly for commuters outside of areas served by Metro is that was the case why go to Baltimore and not just stay near DC. Marc is for Maryland residents to commuter to job centers whether it be DC or Baltimore; Metro has nothing to do with it.
by kk on May 14, 2010 3:04 am • link • report
Seabrook, New Carrollton, Greenbelt, and College Park are all very sizeable individual towns/employment centers and for the most part are outside of the Beltway. If you rode MARC you would realize that many inbound riders get OFF at New Carrollton to ride the Metro into town. Plus it's an Amtrak station as well. Also taking MARC from New Carrollton to DC, is far, far quicker than taking Metro. That "one government building" hosts a couple thousand workers. Also, you're forgetting about reverse commuters going to Baltimore.
To answer your question. Simple, I already explained New Carrollton. Silver Spring on the Brunswick Line is a major employment hub with NOAA, Discovery Communications, and many other employers within walking distance. I used to ride the Brunswick Line daily and have never actually seen a single person get on there, while 30-50% of passengers will get off there. Similar deal with Alexandria and Crystal City for VRE.
Well, it looks like your another idealist who wants Metro service at your front doorstep. Sorry, won't happen. As for Metrobus, you should take that up with the WMATA, not MARC.
You totally misconstrued my statement. I didn't say it was for EVERYONE outside the Metro service area. Maryland has a very weird shape, so not everywhere is easily served by commuter rail. I do think Southern MD should definitely get some form of rail service though, but that's another topic. I don't really understand the logic of the rest of your comment. Most commuter rail (or regional rail) systems like MARC are mainly designed to bring residents living in areas further away from cities/employment centers (beyond the reach of urban heavy or light rail transit services like Metro) to these cities. Metro-North and LIRR in New York, like MARC, serve very few areas located near NYCTA Subway stations.
by King Terrapin on May 14, 2010 5:44 pm • link • report
Seabrook is about 2.9 miles from New Carrollton; Mt Rainier is about 2.4 miles from Riverdale (and Riverdale is in the wrong direction for most commuters from Mt. R). There are many more people living within walking distance of a train station in Mt Rainier than Seabrook.
If this example does not count, because Seabrook is outside the Metro service area, fine. Garrett Park and Kensington are surrounded by Metro stations in just about every direction, and they both have MARC stations.
I understand that that is a historical accident that they *both* have stations, but clearly MARC has stations within Metro's area, and they are not just destination stations - they are origination stations, too.
And Metro is not close to Mt. Rainier, as kk has commented. In fact, Wheaton is about as close to Kensington as W. Hyattsville is to Mt. Rainier.
So, it may be a historical - but it is not fair. There is no mission statement for MARC that says that it serves people who live in far-flung places, but not inner DC suburbs. I am not talking about building a monorail to Kentucky. I'm talking about a station on an existing line, in one of the most densely populated parts of the state, where commuter trains run but don't stop. If that makes me an idealist, fine, but don't tell me people in Mt. Rainier don't need MARC service.
MARC has published exciting plans to upgrade service, which include $120M for the Camden line. This includes service to Virginia, but not to Mt Rainier.
http://www.mta.maryland.gov/projects/marc%20plan%20full.pdf
That's pretty sad, and it is quite inequitable.
by DavidDuck on May 15, 2010 3:05 am • link • report
A person from Seabrook could drive to New Carrolton
A person from Greenbelt or College Park could drive or take metrorail to the other and take the train from there.
"Most commuter rail (or regional rail) systems like MARC are mainly designed to bring residents living in areas further away from cities/employment centers (beyond the reach of urban heavy or light rail transit services like Metro) to these cities."
By that statement than there should be no Marc stations closer than Gathiersburg or Odenton because all others could be reached via heavy rail or bus.
Just because there was a station anywhere in the past does not mean there has to be one there now. Everything between Rockville - DC, Greenbelt - DC and Odenton - DC should be closed because those all could be handle by heavy rail, lightrail or bus.
Just because Amtrak stops somewhere does not mean Marc does. Every thought that Marc one serves these stations to give space for Amtrak and CSX trains to pass them.
Speaking of College Park and Greenbelt why not have the Penn Line stop at Landover than ?
"Well, it looks like your another idealist who wants Metro service at your front doorstep. Sorry, won't happen. As for Metrobus, you should take that up with the WMATA, not MARC."
Damn sure not true I dont give damn about having stops at your front doorstep; if it was my way there would be no stations in the beltway except for Union Station. Im looking at the logic in where current stations are and what is the reason for them being there.
by kk on May 15, 2010 2:23 pm • link • report
by kk on May 15, 2010 2:24 pm • link • report
Stops between Union and Rockville, Greenbelt, and Odenton could be closed, but in my personal experience on the Penn Line, closing stations like New Carrollton and Bowie State would affect quite a few people, including me, when Metrobus is too slow, late, or doesn't even show up, MARC does, and completes the trip in less than half of the time the bus does.
by Mike on May 15, 2010 3:53 pm • link • report
I realize its a balance - don't want the train stopping every minute. But stops every 2.5 or 3 miles is not excessive compared to services in NY and IL, for example.
And MARC says they want to build lots of extra tracks, which would allow express service. But they have never expressed any interest in serving Mt Rainier, even once they've built out all that capacity.
by DavidDuck on May 15, 2010 11:05 pm • link • report
A Mt. Rainier stop would serve both DC and Maryland, which is a plus.
However, it is located in an auto-dominated area, and it is questionable that many people would use such a stop to get to and from DC. And I doubt that many people would use it to get to Baltimore. Plus the Camden line has extremely limited service, so it's arguable how useful providing service would be.
KT might be interested to know that since 2003 I had been pushing the idea of a streetcar or light rail line on Rhode Island. In the new proposals from DC, a Rhode Island line is included (although I couldn't argue that I had anything to do with it). Plus in the early 1990s, MTA did a streetcar study for Rte. 1 too, in association with planning for the Gateway Arts District.
The interesting thing about Halethorpe is as a station, it doesn't really serve its abutting area (which is in my bike and ped study area). Apparently it is used by lots of people from the general region, who appreciate being able to drive to the station and parking for free, as the station is pretty close to I-95 (via I-195). And because the BWI station offers more frequent service, people who live in Baltimore County's District 1 (Catonsville and Arbutus) are more likely to use the BWI station.
by Richard Layman on May 18, 2010 10:05 am • link • report
On the Penn line they dropped Glendale, Cheverley, Hanover, Frederick Road and old Bowie and built up BWI. Plus ca change.
by old mike on Jul 14, 2011 2:30 pm • link • report
by Melissa on Aug 4, 2011 11:15 am • link • report
by r_madd on Apr 23, 2013 7:26 pm • link • report
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