MARC rail service would be expensive, not convenient

Much has been said about transportation in this year’s local political campaigns. Some of it sounds like Déjà vu.

State senate candidate Arthur Ellis says bringing MARC commuter rail service to Charles County would be quick and inexpensive, using the existing CSX rail line. He said at a recent candidate forum that studies have found it to be feasible. While it may sound appealing to commuters, unfortunately, it is not true.

This concept has been studied. Most recently in 2009, the Maryland Transit Administration undertook a feasibility analysis and found many costs, challenges and a slow ride.

For starters, it would not provide a fast commute. The rail line travels north to Bowie, then would connect to another rail line heading into the city. That’s 25 miles out of your way, nearly twice the distance as taking the commuter bus or driving. Since it would drop you off at Union Station, most commuters would then have to transfer to other services to reach their destinations.

It wouldn’t be cheap or quick to implement. This is a rail spur designed for slower moving coal trains. Tracks and rail road crossings would need to be extensively reconstructed to meet safety standards to carry passengers. The connection between the spur and the northeast corridor would be complex, expensive and take years of study. The northeast rail corridor is already congested and adding a new service there would be a challenge. The MTA estimated the costs at $720 million to make these upgrades.

I appreciate the desire for a quick solution. Big transportation improvements — highway interchanges, new rapid transit lines — take many years, so any ideas that can be implemented quickly are a welcome relief for commuters. Expanding the commuter bus program is one such way to provide immediate relief. No years of studies and construction are needed to expand service. It provides a one-seat ride to many destinations across the city.

While advocating for long-term capital transportation improvements, Sen. Mac Middleton and Charles County’s delegates have also supported growing this popular state program. It’s been successful, now with eight lines and a total of 89 trips leaving Charles County each morning to D.C. Building on this program, the state should also consider ways to speed the buses — using bus lanes at intersections and traffic signal improvements.

But let’s not study a commuter rail proposal — again — in the false hope of an easy solution. Andrew J. Scott, La Plata