Posts tagged Commuter Rail
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More lanes on I-95 won’t fix Virginia’s traffic woes, VDOT says
If you want to ease congestion and improve travel times on Interstate 95, widening the roads won’t do the trick. Keep reading…
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What MARC should learn from my most frustrating commute
This past summer was a particularly frustrating time to be a MARC commuter. Delays during July and August were the worst I had endured since choosing it as my primary transportation mode to work. To see just how much of my time was spent delayed, I logged my commute from Odenton to Union Station for the month of September 2018. Keep reading…
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Is MARC’s newest plan to improve service a step backwards?
The MARC Cornerstone Plan lays out how the country’s ninth-largest commuter rail system aims to increase ridership and improve reliability and service. However, the latest iteration the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) released in November has no timeline for some important goals, and lacks information that existed in previous versions of the plan.v Keep reading…
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National links: After 6 months, London’s low-emission rules cut air pollution by a third
London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone has resulted in less air pollution and fewer cars. One year after super typhoon Yutu, residents are still picking up the pieces. Why the New York bodegas may lose their swag. Keep reading…
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Maryland and Virginia’s commuter rail look great together on one map
Maryland’s MARC train and Virginia’s VRE are very similar regional rail systems. This map shows what they might look like as a single integrated regional network. Keep reading…
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The saga of Waldo Schmitt, the crustacean biologist obsessed with building a commuter rail subway in DC
Prior to World War II, there were even more commuter rail lines leading into DC than there are now. Most of them ended at Union Station, just like they do today. But in the 1940s a man named Waldo Schmitt proposed a commuter rail subway to bring workers closer to the center of downtown, and to connect rail lines from the east and west. Keep reading…
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Battle of Braddock: Dems want to flip a Republican-held seat in Fairfax County
In case you haven't heard, there are some important elections coming up in Fairfax County. The county's Board of Supervisors will have a lot of open seats up for grabs, and candidates are already lining up. In the Braddock District, that includes a race between two Democrats looking to flip one of the Board's two seats held by Republicans. Keep reading…
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Lessons MARC should learn from my most frustrating commute
This past summer was a particularly frustrating time to be a MARC commuter. Delays during July and August were the worst I had endured since choosing it as my primary transportation mode to work. To see just how much of my time was spent delayed, I logged my commute from Odenton to Union Station for the month of September 2018. Keep reading…
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Top posts of 2018: Rail in the region used to be far more robust. Here are all the railroads we had in 1921.
In 1921, you could take the train from downtown DC to Annapolis, from Baltimore to Harrisburg, or Winchester to DC. I built a subway-style map of the rail service our region once had. Keep reading…
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Better transit, congestion pricing, and 18 other big ideas from a business group’s transportation blueprint
The super-Washington region, including DC, Baltimore, and Richmond, should improve the MARC and VRE rail systems including running service through DC. It should finish networks of trails and try congestion pricing in DC and adjacent parts of Arlington. It should improve bus service, promote employer incentives to not drive alone, increase equity, do more with technology, and better fund and govern transportation in the region. These are some of the recommendations from a wide-ranging new Blueprint for Regional Mobility, released Monday by the Greater Washington Partnership. Keep reading…