Express MARC service can help Maryland grow more equitably

Big changes are coming to Maryland’s transportation infrastructure in the next decade. In 2026, work is scheduled to begin on a replacement of the 150 year old tunnel Amtrak currently uses through downtown Baltimore. Last year, Governor Wes Moore re-committed to building the Red Line, a rapid transit line to connect east and west Baltimore abandoned by his predecessor.

These investments are important, but will take years to implement. Governor Moore has the power to speed up Maryland’s development right now by converting some MARC commuter trains between Baltimore and Washington, DC to express service.

Express trains would cut the travel time between the cities in half, putting hundreds of thousands of jobs within reach for Baltimoreans. Express trains would also help Washingtonians escape one of the most expensive housing markets in the country, giving a boost to Baltimore’s declining population. The trains, the tracks they run on, and all the other necessary infrastructure already exist, Maryland leaders just need to give the go-ahead to implement this transformational change.

Washington DC and its suburbs are some of the most expensive places to live in the US. The median house price in DC as of March 2024 is $643,000 – 67% higher than the national average. DC’s housing market has been red-hot for much of the past decade, the median price shot up from $470,000 in 2013, and shows no sign of slowing down as the metro area’s population continues to grow.

Just 40 miles to the north, Baltimore has the opposite problem. Every census since 1950 has shown a population decline in the city, and the Census Bureau estimates it lost another three percent of its population just between 2020 and 2022. As a result, Baltimore has a particularly weak housing market, with a median sale price 51% below the national average. As of March 2024, that price is just $215,000 – about one third the median price in DC. Baltimore has such an oversupply of housing that the city spends around $88 million a year caretaking abandoned properties, while the state of Maryland recently spent another $75 million to demolish others.

Maryland already serves these two cities with MARC commuter rail, bringing passengers from three stations in Baltimore to Union Station in downtown DC. The area surrounding these stations typifies the complimentary nature of the two cities. There are over 300,000 jobs within two miles of Union Station, nearly equal to the number of jobs in all of Baltimore. Jobs in the area around Union Station also have higher average salaries than those in Baltimore. Meanwhile, the areas around the three stations in Baltimore offer some of the most affordable, walkable, urban living on the east coast.

So why don’t more people take advantage of MARC? In short: the train takes too long.

It takes MARC trains running along the Penn Line more than an hour to get from Baltimore to DC, a travel time which includes six stops along the way. Add in the time it takes users to get to and from MARC and even a “short” commute can stretch to 90 minutes.

Making MARC trains express could cut their travel time in half. Amtrak Acela trains running on the same tracks with similar locomotives make the trip directly from Baltimore to DC in an average of about 32 minutes. The Acela is too expensive and infrequent to serve commuters, costing between $18 and $78 one way and only running once every two hours. MARC starts at only $9 one way, costs even less with monthly passes, and runs every 22 minutes during rush hour.

Surveys consistently show that people rank convenience as the most important factor when deciding whether to take public transit. Converting every other train to express would make living in Baltimore convenient for many DC workers while still serving users at the other stations. Adding more express trains would be better–but since MARC shares tracks with Amtrak and freight trains, more frequent trains may require building additional tracks, an expensive and lengthy project.

There are few viable substitutes which could connect Baltimore and DC better than express MARC service. Maryland has some of the most congested highways in the country, and expanding the highways between Baltimore and DC would take years, cost billions, and serve only the few commuters who could afford to park in downtown DC. Expanding highways would also undermine Maryland’s climate goals, which include cutting transportation emissions by 49%.

Without express MARC trains making Baltimore-to-DC commutes easier, Baltimore will continue to lose population and DC’s unaffordable housing will push the city’s workers to far-flung car-dependent suburbs, increasing commutes and traffic in the region. Maryland may also lose out to Virginia, which hosts most of the recently extended Silver Line. The line now runs for 40 miles, the same distance between Baltimore and DC.

Express MARC trains between Baltimore and DC would bring much needed growth back to Maryland’s biggest city and relief to one of the most over-saturated housing markets in the country, all without costing the state a dime. Governor Moore says he wants to use public transportation to spur equitable growth in Maryland, and here’s where he can start.