Workers riding Virginia’s and Maryland’s commuter trains endure frustration at least weekly, with delays and cancellations being a hidden — but certainly not secret — cost in the price of a ticket. Trains are delayed at least one day each week on both the Virginia Railway Express and Maryland Area Regional Commuter lines, with Virginia’s riders more likely to be delayed twice a week.
“There’s been a lot of lateness,” said Dreama Bynane, who commutes on MARC’s Brunswick line from West Virginia. “Either I get stuck at the station for 40 minutes or I’m stuck on the train for hours.”
The Brunswick Line and VRE’s Fredericksburg Line have been the region’s worst performers this year, late nearly 20 percent of the time. The Manassas VRE doesn’t fare much better, with one of roughly every seven trains pulling in late.
| On-time performance | |||||
| MARC | VRE | ||||
| Brunswick | Camden | Penn | Fredericksburg | Manassas | |
| July | 76% | 90% | 86% | 56% | 70% |
| August | 90% | 88% | 90% | 78% | 87% |
| September | 82% | 84% | 94% | 83% | 90% |
| October | 59% | 81% | 92% | 88% | 90% |
| Year to date | 82% | 89% | 89% | 82% | 86%* |
| * Compiled by averaging VRE monthly data through October | |||||
| Source: MARC and VRE reports | |||||
Trains are subject to a plethora of disruptions every day — in October, MARC’s Brunswick Line faced delays and cancellations from flooding, two people hit by trains, replacement of tracks and ties by CSX, warning system breakdowns and signal problems. The line’s on-time performance was 59 percent.
| A bad day for VRE | |||||
| Morning service Thursday | |||||
| Train 321 canceled | |||||
| Train 322 canceled | |||||
| Afternoon Service | |||||
| Train 307 delayed 57 minutes | |||||
| Train 309 delayed 46 minutes | |||||
| Train 311 delayed 15 minutes | |||||
| Train 329 delayed 86 minutes | |||||
| Train 333 delayed 41 minutes | |||||
| Train 335 delayed 13 minutes |
The best the region has to offer is MARC’s Camden and Penn lines between Baltimore and Washington. Those trains average just under 90 percent on-time performance this year. On-time performance for both rail lines means a train arrives at its destination within roughly five minutes of its scheduled time.
But Rafael Guroian, chairman of the MARC Riders Advisory Council, said even that performance is nothing to write home about.
“There’s a threshold to the amount of delays you encounter before it gets to a point where it becomes ridiculous,” he said, noting that 90 percent on-time performance is roughly the limit. “Unfortunately, 2010 has been a year of ridicule. Beginning with the Penn Line in the summer and the Camden and Brunswick lines this fall, it has been ridiculous.”
In June, MARC made headlines when a Penn Line train stalled and stranded 900 passengers in sweltering heat for more than two hours.
In July, the VRE’s Fredericksburg Line was plagued by weather-related delays and slowdowns caused by the switch from Amtrak to operating contractor Keolis. Nearly half the line’s trains were delayed.
“It was a dismal month,” said VRE Chairman Paul V. Milde III.
Roughly half of delays are caused by outside forces — namely track owners CSX, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, according to MARC and VRE data. On Friday three of MARC’s Penn Line trains were canceled and others delayed up to 80 minutes because of a stalled Amtrak train.
Still, that doesn’t mean it can’t get better.
“About 45 percent of delays are well within our control — that gives us plenty of room for improvement,” Milde said.
He said VRE plans to add new locomotives by mid-summer. The move is expected to increase efficiency because the locomotives can haul more people and run faster.
The Maryland Transit Administration is taking what Guroian called “Band-Aid” steps to address its capacity problems and allow some trains to haul more people, but doesn’t plan to overhaul its aging locomotives.
Increasing ridership is a double-edged sword. VRE is averaging more than 17,000 riders each day, a record. MARC ridership has increased more than 10 percent in the last two years and averages about 34,000 per day.
But with more riders come more delays because of heavier hauls and increased wait times, Guroian said.
While the agencies accommodate riders with other options when trains are cancelled, delays will always be a risk when riding rail.
“There’s no way around it,” said Lindsay Baldino, who takes VRE daily from Lorton. “It’s picking your poison when it comes to public transportation.”
