Marc Train service is hit or miss on reliability. Constant delays or cancellations and if the train happens to actually be running on time, be ready to be packed in like sardines during peak times. If you need to get there on time you're typically better off just driving. read more

Today I watched as a drug addict tried to exit an inbound turn style while someone was going through it. This resulted in a battle of body weight and the drug addict lost. Then she climbed over the short wall and left. It was an invigorating way to start my morning. read more

So I ride Marc from 2-3 times a week from Edgewood to Baltimore. For the most part the conductors treat you like crap and never have any information about how to help you or where and when trains leave. ( there are some exceptions, like Joe on Penn line ) Whenever I have asked they have told me to go to customer service. So freaking lazy!! Know your product! If they weren't union they'd be toast! Lazy and rude! read more

I love the MARC train. I commuted three plus years to DC from baltimore penn station every wkday. Sometimes I took the camden to DC and loved the scenic even more chill atmosphere on that line. Now I only ride it from penn station to halthorpe or bwi sometimes. You can't beat the prices, especially if you have a pretax account on commuterdirect. There is cross reciporicity between tickets on the two lines so you never have to worry about them not honoring tickets should you need to switch lines to get home due to delays etc. I've been in all sorts of transportation mess and breakdowns but I still love the MARC train. It has a southern relaxed hospitality that is missing from commuter trains in nj and new york. The conductor is friendly and polite to commuters and tourists. riders are also friendly and polite...most don't talk and so I often get a nice peaceful contemplative ride. There is no way you can compare the marc to amtrak because of the price differential .For a low budget option, the train is clean and the ride is very calming even if there are hundreds of people all around you. The newer cars are amazing; you can even charge your phone in your seat now if you happen to get on one of those... read more

I USED to live in Crapitol Heights, MD for 13 LONG years. I work downtown near Archives. For the first few years I took the metrobus and Metrorail to/from work. But I quickly got very tired of having to deal with the ghetto drama on the bus and subway. Riding the F14 to Naylor Road to catch the green line was like being the only nerdy white guy in a prison cell with a bunch of drunks, druggies and thugs. I would look around the bus passengers wondering if I was the only one employed on that bus, it sure looked like it. Only to get off and ride Metro's green line into town, I HATED it, totally crowded with PG county and SE DC's worst representatives. Small kids as well as teens cussing, horsing around, even threatening passengers with intimidating looks, taking up 2 seats without moving aside for someone else to sit down, I mean it just totally sucked to be among these kids. In fairness to the adults, it was mostly the kids who ruined that commute. Or I'd catch the J12 to Addison Road or Capitol Heights stations, both on the blue line. Not much better. Oh another thing that drove me crazy -- men not offering their seats to women or elderly people. Some of the rudest crap I've ever witnessed. I ALWAYS gave my seat up, even if I was sitting near the window, JUST to piss the guy sitting on the outside off. You ass! So in an effort to eliminate that stress from my life, I bought a motorcycle and started riding that to work, which was cool at first cause parking was cheap, then DC upped the price for motorcycles to park and I kept getting tickets because I didn't get out to feed the meter in time, which made riding my motorcycle in less appealing. So I bought a bicycle! I figured I'd do ANYTHING NOT to have to ride on metro and deal with that chaos, noise and rudeness. I think the adults on their cellphones was just as bad as the rowdy teens. I'm sorry, I just DON'T wanna hear your curse-infused conversation about nothing. And for about 7 years I happily rode my bicycle to work downtown, it was free, I got great exercise, totally defined my midsection and was pretty stress free and a great workout coming home uphill. But then in 2013 my bike was stolen downtown, go figure. So I'm back on metro, parking at the Capitol Heights station to avoid that dreadful bus, but paying out the wazoo to park 22 days a month. Finally, I said enough is enough. I literally put my house on the rental market, found a great tenant and got the hell out of Crapitol Heights for good. Moved to Crofton/Odenton area and discovered this MARC train. I. LOVE. IT!!! No ghetto drama, no rowdy teens, no screaming cursing elementary school kids, no Shanaynay with her 3 kids, 2 in a giant stroller, no jerky train rides, no daily train delays and breakdowns, the parking is free at Odenton, the trains are clean, quiet, WAY comfy, rarely crowded to the point of having to stand, I've only seen that happen once, people that ride the MARC tend to be professionals who opt to live AWAY from the ghetto drama and crime of the city, so the ridership (and I'm talking all races) is much more respectful of others, friendly to chat with and theres even a QUIET CAR where you can not use your cellphone for calls, volume must be turned off, conversations must be kept to a minimum, it's great, I ALWAYS get on the quiet car. The ride in from Odenton to DC is 30 minutes, the ride home is 20 minutes because I catch the 5:10 Penn Line EXPRESS train. The ride is smooth, and I believe there is even a restroom on one of the cars just in case nature calls during your commute. Thats pretty friggin awesome. It is a totally stress-free ride (so far). Even if a train breaks down, which I heard occurs, I'm not even gonna sweat it, ANYTHING and I do mean ANYTHING is better than riding that dreadful metro. OH and did I tell you it only costs $125 for me for a monthly pass between Odenton and DC, both ways? ONE TWENTY FIVE!!! Riding metro and paying to park was running me close to $300 a month, thats INSANE. The stress in my life has dropped by 95% since taking the MARC train to downtown. Once I get off the train, I walk 9 blocks straight down E street to my job, even in the rain, I REFUSE to get on any metrobus. Ugh! I'm very fortunate indeed now. I'm happier because the stress is gone. Can't ya tell!? I done sat here and wrote a book! LOL There is no way on god's green earth I would EVER ride Metro again. EV--VER!! Snow days when MARC is cancelled, this little piggy will be staying home! :) read more

Have been riding Marc on and off for the past six years and the service is getting progressively worse, both the mechanical and customer service part. Late trains are the actual norm now, to the point where I am surprised when a train arrives/ departs on time as scheduled. Breakdowns happen constantly as well, due to the lack of any diligent maintenance. The conductors by and large do their job, but expect a surley manner and grimacing face from them as well, as if they are hating life itself. All this combined with increased fares deserves my two star rating. read more

My morning commute on the 407 is always very pleasant. The conductors check your ticket and dont bother you. Now my evening commute is always disturbed by the obnoxiously loud, airline stewardess reject train conductor on the #430. This woman bascially yells into the microphone every evening, repeating herself 3-4 times for 2-4 minutes. She list every stop on this train as well as 2 additional different trains. I am aware that passengers especially new passengers get on the wrong train but even with all of her loud announcements that doesn't prevent that from happening. I don't think people really pay her any attention except for wishing for the end of her announcements. Many passengers complain about her everyday as she yells to announce each station stop and repeats that 2-3 times. I take this train because its an express so i only have to endure her for 30-50 mins depending on what time i get on the train. She starts the train announcement 10-15 mins before the train departs. I just wish that she wasn't so loud and constantly repeating a lot of unnecessary information. Bring your headphones and play your music loudly so you don't have to listen to her. The other conductors are more pleasant and less annoying and are not so repetitive. The best part about my evening commute is getting off of the train. read more

Every time I take the marc train from union station, the employees at the station are the rudest assholes I've ever seen. There's no signs for anything, the trains are on random tracks and sometimes hard to find, and on top of that, if you ask the employees a question like "where can I find train 352?", they won't even answer you and just say "go inside" with the rudest attitude you've ever heard. It's not even a one-time issue, it happens almost every time! Miserable egotistical employees that need a beating. I would do it but I can't have anymore issues on my record. read more

I wish it ran later, but that is seriously my only complain for MARC. I've been riding the Brunswick line daily (Germantown-Union Station) for a little over 2 months, so I'm still a noob. However, compared to Metro it is like a golden carriage driven by angels and sunshine. It's relatively reliable (as long as it's not too hot, deer and people stay off the tracks, and the freight train traffic is reasonable), the seats are comfortable (and you can usually get one), the AC works, you don't feel like you need to shower after riding, the conductors are very friendly and you can understand the station announcements, food and drink are allowed (even alcohol), and it gets me to Germantown with only the briefest glimpse of 270 traffic as we cross over. Yes, it runs less frequently than Metro, but you get used to it. They do a great job of letting you know via texts and emails that there will be a problem with the train that day. Again, compare to WMATA....there is no comparison. At $125/month I am only paying $6.25/day to ride, and the parking is free. Total no-brainer decision vs. Metro where I'd be paying $15.15/day to ride and park (and would have to drive to Shady Grove). I can't believe the train isn't more crowded, really. read more

My home away from home. Take the Marc so often from DC to Bmore and back, and for $7 a trip you can't beat the price. Plus, on days where every Amtrak train is delayed for some stupid reason, you find yourself thanking the higher powers that the slow and sturdy Marc is on time! read more

A surprisingly cheap and convenient way to get to BWI from Union Station during daylight hours. If you want to ride MARC up to BWI to catch a late night flight, fuggedabowdit, it isn't running. Obviously, the same is true if you land at BWI late at night. A half star deduction for kinda old train cars and another half star deduction for the kiosk cutting off ticket sales 10 minutes before departure. But that's probably an Amtrak failure - no surprise there. Ride MARC, the train, that is. read more

It's a busy metro stop as you see many passengers with luggage who will then take MARC to their next destination. It's one of the bigger stations and has its own food court. read more

MARC is a convenient and cheap way to get from Baltimore to DC. Sure you have to deal with the bus ride from BWI to the MARC/Amtrak station, and the schedules on some of the lines are only convenient for commuters, but for $7 from Camden to Union Station, can you really complain? Trains are generally clean, and usually empty depending on when and which line you go on. Park and ride is available at some of the stations as well. read more

easy to get to from our hotel and great for connecting to other lines.

Although I have a lot of opinions on the MARC train's Penn line (please refer to my Baltimore MARC train review), I want to chastise DC for--surprise!--only running the Brunswick line in one direction. Whaaaa..?!, you may ask. Yes, indeed: it is not possible to ride the Brunswick line train in the morning from DC to Rockville, for example. Likewise in the evenings, the reverse commute is not available as well. No wonder the public transport system is not hitting it big in the States. Every morning, I see and hear the Brunswick line but, because of the direction I need to go, it is a useless eye sore for me. Big Yuck. read more

Positives: **I GIVE MARC 3 STARS FOR NOT HAVING TO DRIVE** 1. Don't have to drive thru traffic to get to and from DC 2. Smooth and quiet train ride to and from DC 3. Climatized cars (both AC & Heat) 4. Quiet Cars 5. 80% reliability 6. Food & drinks allowed Negatives: 1. Unreliable during severe weather conditions due to lack of staff or problems on tracks 2. No weekend, late mornings or evening service 3. Old, dirty trains (except for newer double decker trains) 4. Unfriendly staff 5. Weekly schedules tailored to govt. workers only; not all of work 6-2,7-3,8-4 or 9-5 or are off on holidays! 6. Trains are late exiting the originating station at times (ie: Laurel) yet always on time leaving Union Station read more

Needed to make a quick day trip from Washington DC to Baltimore. Amtrak tickets are outrageous and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the MARC train cost 1/3 less than the Amtrak!! Train was on time and arrived several minutes early both going and coming back. The train is mostly for commuters and has limited departure times. Another criticism is that there are a few too many stops along the way. I wish they had some express trains that only stopped in DC and Baltimore. Depending on the "line" you take, the commute can be anywhere from 40min to a little over an hour. Overall was very impressed with the cost and the timeliness. read more

I am so happy that trains run on weekends now, but finding that schedule online is quite the scavenger hunt. I hope that MARC expands service. More reliable inter-city public transit is key to solving our energy, traffic and pollution problems. read more

More times than any hard worker should, I've been caught on this train for hours on end after a long day. If I didn't have to take it, I wouldn't. read more

Buy a ticket at Union Station or an Amtrak Kiosk. West Baltimore has NO ticket machine. Train to DC at night runs late. So your 5:31PM train will arrive 10 minutes late, but you are expected to get to the station on time. When you exit WEST BALTIMORE (sketchy neighborhood), ask where the exit is. It's the last 3 cars. You can buy a monthly pass. That's 216.oo Dollars a month. It's accepted on local buses. Trains and trolleys (as well as MARC trains). Baltimore has the WORST PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. ALL buses are late and NO ONE IS EVER HELD ACCOUNTABLE. I am being generous with 1 star. I don't have to be. The Governor should lead Baltimore infrastructure so that people would want to invest in it. It will never happen. The end. read more

Train is way overcrowded because of laziness of wanting open another car up. When I requested it be open I was told there is seating. I asked to have them show me and she responded with "there is some upstairs." In a very dismissive matter. I checked and there was zero seating available. I was forced to stand the entire ride. As a monthly ticket rider I am very upset and disturbed Marc would treat its riders this way. I will be looking at different methods of transportation in the future. read more

I'll start off by saying I take the MARC on the weekends when I need to get to Baltimore and do not commute during the week with it, so I can't speak to the service during those times. The MARC train has always been on time for me with plenty of room. It's cheap, efficient and perfect for someone like me who does not have a car. The kiosks in Union Station making ticket purchasing easy and you can also use the charm city app for easy purchasing. While it has its faults, I think it's great given how cheap it is - there's no other way to get to Baltimore from DC for $8 if you don't own a car. read more

This train is a mess. Sometimes it just doesn't show up. There is always a problem. It has added 2-3 hours to my commute regularly. If you have a certain time to be to work, don't rely on this train. This train makes me regret working in DC. I pick up the train at perryville, or Aberdeen. read more

Rode the train to Union station and it arrived 15 minutes before my next train on the VRE was to depart. The Marc train was stopped waiting for a track, then parked on the wrong track and had to walk to the back of the train to exit. Thanks to the MARC train I missed my train. I used to ride the MARC train daily for work and I am so glad I don't have to ride this sorry excuse of transportation! read more

This was our first time to DC and we learned quickly that the best way to get around is using the Metro. Our hotel shuttle dropped us off at Union Station. From Union Station, you can easily walk to the Capitol Building, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, Japanese-American memorial, Postal Museum (next door), and National Botanical Gardens. We bought SmartTrip cards that we can load up with our credit card to travel anywhere the Metro train went. The lines are color coded. At first it may seem confusing but after riding it for a few days, we knew exactly how to ride the Metro. We rode the Metro all the way to Tyson Center in Virginia and also to Alexandria, VA. Our mistake was flying into Washington-Dulles Airport which is too far from downtown DC. We should have flown into Ronald Reagan Airport which has a Metro station right across from it. We rented a car from Dulles Airport and it ended up being a waste of money since we never drove it during our stay except to drive back to the airport. The Union Station has shopping and a food court. The food court is okay. But it was convenient. There are also kiosks where you can get maps and book tours. There was one booth which was run by the Cherry Blossom Festival committee and the lady who worked there was so nice. She told us of events going on during Cherry Blossom Festival and the festival that was happening with the fireworks at night. She explained how we could get there using the Metro. read more

You definitely have to get to the train station on time. The train gets really crowded so it maybe hard finding a seat. But, the unlimited pass is cheaper than WMATA (aka Metro) + it travels at a reasonable speed. read more

On time and clean. A shuttle took us from the airport to the train station. Pick up stations are marked. I asked someone from the information desk who was helpful. Morning commuter riders from the North were on the train. A rider helped us find our stop in DC. No problem! read more

Meh. As a metro station, Union Station has exactly one thing going for it: it is connected to actual Union Station, where you can catch an Amtrak, VRE, or MARC train and continue on your voyage. I guess you can also access the Union Station food court, which has definitely seen better days. As a metro station, this one is otherwise pretty mediocre. It is always crowded. I don't think passengers are funneled through the exit (and the entrance into actual Union Station) very well. The station always seems dirty. The entrance can be difficult to find from Union Station. The exits onto the street aren't particularly useful, and the Union Station area is not particularly pedestrian friendly because of all of the major intersections and the big traffic circle right in front of the station. I guess you can walk to the Postal Museum and H Street from here, but the pedestrian connection to H Street (and connection to the H Street streetcar, which doesn't actually run to Union Station) are not as walkable as you'd like. Union Station is lucky it's such a major transit hub: otherwise, this would be a 1-star review. read more

So disappointed everyday NOT RELIABLE. I have not been a entire week riding with no delays that there is always. Major delay on the Camden line sometimes without notice to customers pointless to be added to alerts because alerts come after we wait over 10 to 15 mins read more

Really MARC gets 3.75 stars...i'd choose the train ANYDAY over sitting in DC Metro area traffic from 3p-630p and 90% of the time the train is reliable. I ride the Penn Line and love the express trains. They've made great improvements over the last couple years esepcially during the summer months. During the winter of 2011, the train was the only reliable transportation to DC...it may have been running 15 minutes late or so, but sure beat the heck out of attempting to drive! It's WAY cheaper than the Metro AND parking is free at the majority of the train stations. If you must commute from Baltimore--Washington, take the Penn Line! read more

Great location. Amtrak's last stop from New York to Washington. Close to our hotel. Offers different types of food. We were going to be here for the weekend, and cause i wasn't able to get monday off, we were going to leave on sunday. So we had decided to find our way around, mind you we have never been here before so we didn't really know which way to go. so we kept stopping, trying to get our bearings and reading signs. There was this old guy, kind of homeless type that got really close to my brother and then started yelling at us cause we were in his way, now true we did get in people way but most people could see that we where not familiar with our surroundings and they were politely going around us. We were standing near a guardrail and we were in his way. I don't see it and to start yelling, i told him buzz off, and i guess he heard my accent from NY. He just walked away. yelling of course. Then there was a lady, homeless type that kept saying something to me, i just ignored her. Who knew that there was more to come, apparently there is an issue with homeless people in the area. For the most part the station was cleaned and the subway was downstairs, (Metro) they had buses upstairs as well as the garage. They also seem to have a place to rent bikes or leave bikes for awhile. I guess the only down thing that i can think of is when we were trying to eat breakfast at Macdonalds, there was a guy asking for money so he can eat, now this is the same guy who the night before ask us if we can spare a dollar. So i'm assuming that they hang out here. read more

The AC on the MARC #428 today was so low, that it was hard to breathe! They need to adjust the temperature, especially on hot conditions.

A very stress free ride. if you have a MARC station near you and can commute to work and your job pays for it i say do it.

Hello MARC train riders who are looking for a new home! Check out this property for sale in Harpers Ferry, WV ... it is right across from the MARC train station: http://www.199highstreet.com read more

Conductor from Gaithersburg md to union station in the morning around 7:40 is very rude. He won't let us on because we ran across the tracks trying to catch the train. But we had all kind of day to do that. Good thing we were not late to work. My suggestion is if you pissed off at your work don't do it. Don't try to cause others from being late to work. read more

Like most Metro stations that board inside, this station definitely left a legacy. I was ultimately amused with this station, not only for it's ability to be an inside-boarding station, but also to be one station that ultimately is very well-maintained and clean. Although I did end up getting chased down the stairs one time by a pair of dude's who thought I was someone else, I was able to keep the person far away from me. Even though I had discovered a problem with my ticket earlier in the one week(and had been marked down by an employee), I was able to safely travel through the gate without these guys chasing behind me. Obviously, when the kid noticed I didn't turn my head after he called someone elses name, the kid ran off, and stopped chasing me. But I ended up "running" down the escalator(litterally). Although Metro is normally pretty up on security, and is pretty tight at most stations, this security issue didn't leave a lasting impression. Although I came back later that week and told the employees about the issue, it didn't seem like much to them. They understood why the ticket had a problem, and took my case onto the books. Despite this one problem, I don't feel this left any negative impact in my life. If I'm ever in the area again, I'll indeed continue to use the metro, as it is the only way to travel in the Washington, DC area. And coming from the only train station in the city, is a big plus for reliability to shuffle people to/from their destination fairly quickly. I only found a few small problems. There are two essential entrances. One is right by the door, but that one has the impact of being for those who need to buy a ticket still, and although the other further back has an elevator and escalator, I find this one to be a little problem in security(the lights were lit only bright enough for people to see and no further for security to take note of problems). Personally, if security had been around, and had been travelling between the two locations, they would have spotted the incident, but they didn't. Please adjust the lighting here to make it brighter in the escalator area, and keep security moving! Their wasn't any person in the station master's office at the time this incident occurred, but, that's not the point here, it's been noted and straightened out why I went through the gate and not through the turnstiles that time, and I'm thankful for my ticket's problem. read more

Best discovery in 2013. Metro was ruining me. these guys get me from Germantown to DC and back every day for 125 dollars a month. This equates to about 6 dollars a day and that cannot be beaten. Thank you Marcus for the hook up. read more

I recently took a vacation to Washington DC. My family stayed in Frederick, MD which is on a branch of the Brunswick line. Since it is not on the mainline there were only 3 trains in the morning and 3 at night running to Frederick which made it hard to make plans. The first day of vacation when we were going home, the locomotive a GP39H-2 couldn't provide enough power to get air conditioning in the cars so we rode most of the trip without air conditioning on the middle of June!!!!! But other than that, it was a very pleasant ride considering if we were to drive, not only would we have to deal with traffic but my mom isn't the best driver in terms of reading the signs... etc and my brother gets very frustrated when that happens so I am very thankful for the train. It took us 90 minutes to get from Frederick to DC and from DC to Frederick which was very bad! But all in all.... I would definately recommend MARC to anybody!!!! read more

omg. so they have a new website for baltimore that totally sucks...just give me the damn marc train schedule..who did u pay off for this debacle. good job screwing up and making a bad website worse....and how much did this cost us. an eighth grader could have come up with something better. read more