MARC Facts

For general MARC information.
For MARC Brunswick Line information.
For MARC Camden Line information.
For MARC Penn Linen information.

General MARC information.

Under Maryland law, MARC must operate with a fare box recovery higher than 50%. Recently the actual fare box recovery has been nearly 60%.
The information below is our current understanding of MARC's current operating situation.

Locomotives
Type Num. Year Motive Power HEP
Diesel/Electric
Morrison-Knudsen		 25 Diesel/Electric locomotives can be used on any line.
GP39 6 1966 2300 hp 475 kW
GP40 19 1966/71 3000 hp 425 kW
Electric  10 Electric locomotives can be used only on the Penn Line.
AEM7 4 1986 7000 hp 500 kW
HHP 6 2001 8000 hp 1000 kW
HEP stands for Head Engineer Power. It is an electric generator that provides electric power for the lights, heat, and air conditioning.

The AEM7 locomotives require overhaul before they can be put back in service.

The HHP (High Horse Power) locomotives were aquired recently at AMTRAK's request. The hope was that the high accelerations provided by the HHP could open an additional train slot. Unfortunately these highly sophisticated engines require constant maintance.

Passenger Cars
Car Type Num. Seats Lines
Summitomo Mark II
5 seats across)		 60 110 Any
Kawasaki Mark III
Double Decker		 50 130 Any
Gallery Cars 12 140 Brunswick
Total 122 14,780

The gallery cars have a low entrance and can be used only on a line with all low platforms. Because the Penn and Camden lines have a mix of platform hights, the gallery cars can not be used on those lines.

By Federal Railroad Administration rules, each rail car must be taken out of service every 180 days for a safety inspection. This often results in a significant fraction of the fleet being out of service at any one time.

There are plans to build additional space at Union Station for midday storage of train sets. One might ask why store them at Union and not run them all day or store them at the far end of the line where they spend the night. There are two reasons. First, the tracks are congested and running empty train sets takes slots. Second, MARC pays the railroads a fee based on the number of rail car trips taken so MARC would have to pay to run empty cars which makes sense only if they are needed to move more passengers as happens on the Penn Line.

MARC Brunswick information.

There are 5 train sets on the Brunswick line with 4 or 5 cars per set. Two of these trains spend the night and weekends stored in Martinsburg while the rest are stored in Brunswick. All are stored in a Union Station rail yard during the day.

MARC Camden information.

There are 5 train sets on the Camden line with two 3 cars sets, two 4 car sets, one 5 car train set. Sometimes one of the 3 car sets gets an extra car and sometimes the 5 car set gets an extra car. These trains spent the night and weekends stored in Riverside Yard in Baltimore. Two of these sets operate on the Penn Line during the mid-day while the others are stored in a Union Station rail yard.

MARC Penn information.

There are 6 train sets on the Penn Line (four electric and two diesel) with one 8 car set, two 7 car sets, and three 6 car sets. These train sets spend the night and weekends stored at Baltimore's Penn Station. When not in use during mid-day, the trains are stored in the Union Station rail yards. During rush hour the trains wait in each station for 15 to 20 minutes, which provides a buffer for late trains. Space limitations to store trains in Baltimore and Washington prevent the addition of train sets or cars to train sets.
In the morning, three trains deadhead to Perryville.
Train 411 is the first "second departure" for a train set from Baltimore.
During mid-day, all six train sets are stored at Union Station. Mid-day Penn Line service is provided by two trains sets borrowed from the Camden or Brunswick lines.
The Penn Line has major congestions issues, there are few slots into which to place additional train sets even if there were some available.