A combination of MARC commuter train riders paying more and West Virginia kicking in funds is needed to save the late train to Martinsburg from Union Station. Naomi Smoot has the details:
CHARLES TOWN - Eastern Panhandle legislators met Monday evening to come up with a plan to save MARC Train No. 883.
The officials said they have been collaborating for nearly a week on a letter they plan to send to Gov. Joe Manchin on the issue. In the document, they say that increasing local fares could be one way of ensuring that the Maryland Transit Authority does not eliminate the 7:15 p.m. train from Washington, D.C., to West Virginia.
Legislators said some commuters suggested a fare increase at the MTA hearing.
A fee increase, they also noted, was earlier considered by MTA, though Maryland state lawmakers rejected the idea. Under that plan, the agency proposed a fare increase for all riders. This increase, the letter states, would go only to those riding the train into West Virginia, to help cover the cost of service to the state.
"We need, as a state, to become more of a partner," Senator-elect Herb Snyder, D-Jefferson, said during the proposal's discussions.
For those elsewhere, there are two morning trains from Martinsburg to Union Station and three evening trains. The stops in West Virginia are Martinsburg, Duffields in Jefferson County and Harpers Ferry.
The proposal from Maryland is to stop the last train, which arrives in Martinsburg at 9:20 p.m., at Brunswick because it does not have many riders.
877 leaves Union Station at 4:55 p.m. and arrives at Martinsburg at 6:50 p.m.
879 leaves Union Statation at 5:35 p.m. and arrives at M'burg at 7:40 p.m.
883 leaves Union Station at 7:15 p.m. and arrives at M'burg at 9:14 p.m.
Maryland wants to end 883 at Brunswick because between 40 to 50 riders usually are on that train from Brunswick (the last stop in Maryland) into West Virginia.
The other two earlier trains carry considerably more passengers in to West Virginia.
But what is not considered is that fewer people will be willing to take the train if there is not the option of the late train.
The commuters who leave M'burg at 5:25 a.m. or 6:30 a.m. arrive at Union Station or the earlier stops on the Brunswick line early enough to put in their 8 to 10 hours and catch the first two trains home.
However, there are times when either because work has to be completed someone has to stay later. In addition, most of the train commuters rely on public transit, either Metro or bus service, to get them from the various stations to their places of employment. If Metro breaks down or is delayed, a bus is stuck in traffic, a connection is missed, it can be impossible to make the first two trains home.
If the late train is not there as a final resort, then people are going to either a) move closer to Washington and stop taking the train or travel by car and b) make the already congested highways even more crowded. You don't know what traffic congestion really is until you've been on I-270 or I-495.
Why other West Virginians should care:
The Eastern Panhandle is the fastest growing part of the state. The Eastern Panhandle also providing large amounts of tax dollars to the rest of the state - tax dollars that are not returned here on a dollar per dollar basis. Much of the money we send to Charleston goes to pay for projects in other parts of the state and not back in the Eastern Panhandle.
A good part of why we're able to do that is because people are able to commute to the DC area to work where they can make considerably more money.
The reason they're willing to live out here and commute that far is because commuting by train makes the long commute bearable. The Eastern Panhandle is not going to be as attractive an alternative for housing if the train service is not a viable alternative.
Without the train service, housing prices will go down, people will begin to migrate closer to the Washington area, and the taxes we send to Charleston will drop as well.
Even for people who don't commute daily to Washington by train, having the option of traveling in one or two days a week or a month makes Jefferson and Berkeley counties a more attractive place to live because there is that option.
But without the last train, people are going to decide it is not worth the risk of getting stranded in DC on a regular basis just because the last train is not there as a final option to get home.
Already commuters have to literally run - and you should see how fast women in their 50s can run even weighed down with their laptops and briefcases when they have a train to catch - to catch the first two trains.
This should be looked at the same way any other economic development funding is looked at - does it keep people with good paying jobs living in the state? The answer is clear that it will.
The state needs to recognize that spending money to keep the 7:15 p.m. from Union Station running is not just a service to residents here, but a sound investment for the state's tax coffers. |
