Marc's Westbound Brunswick Line

The Brunswick Line is a 74-mile (119 km) commuter rail line that runs between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a 14-mile (23 km) branch to Frederick, Maryland. It is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and operated by Alstom on tracks owned by CSX Transportation. The line offers weekday service towards DC in the morning and away from DC in the afternoon and evening. While there is a proposal to improve service, there are currently no westbound trains from DC in the morning or afternoon.

The Brunswick Line is a 74-mile commuter rail line

The Brunswick Line is descended from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) commuter service between Washington and its northern and western suburbs. The B&O began providing commuter trains between Washington and Martinsburg in the mid-19th century and continued to do so after Amtrak took over most intercity passenger services in the United States in 1971.

In the 1970s, the state of Maryland began subsidizing the B&O's commuter services, and in 1975, it assumed full responsibility for the subsidy and equipment replacement. In 1983, the state government of Maryland took control of its commuter railroads, including the Brunswick Line, and organized them under the MARC service name.

The Brunswick Line typically has four to six single- or bilevel passenger cars and one or two diesel locomotives. The trains operate in a push-pull configuration, with the cab car typically facing Washington. The line offers weekday service, with nine trains in each direction during morning and evening rush hours and an additional train outbound from Union Station on Fridays.

The Brunswick Line serves several stations along its route, including Union Station, Rockville, Silver Spring, and more. Connections to the Washington Metro's Red Line are available at Rockville, Silver Spring, and Union Station.

The line runs between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, West Virginia

The Brunswick Line is a commuter rail line that runs between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia. It is the second-longest line in the MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) system at 74 miles (119 km) and primarily serves the northern and western suburbs of Washington. The line is operated under contract by Alstom and runs on CSX-owned tracks, including the Metropolitan, Old Main Line, and Cumberland subdivisions.

The Brunswick Line is the successor to commuter services provided by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O), which date back to the mid-19th century. B&O operated commuter trains between Washington and Martinsburg for many years, and Maryland began subsidizing these trains in 1974, assuming full responsibility for the subsidy and equipment replacement in 1975. West Virginia soon followed suit, guaranteeing service to its stations.

In 1983, as part of a federal requirement for Conrail to end its operation of commuter railroads on behalf of states, the state government of Maryland took control of its commuter railroads and organized them under the "MARC" service name. Trains on the Brunswick Line were operated under contract by CSX Transportation, the successor to B&O. The Brunswick Line service was further augmented in 1986 when Amtrak transferred its Washington-Martinsburg Blue Ridge route to MARC after agreeing to subsidize the train for five years.

Today, the Brunswick Line offers weekday service with nine trains in each direction during morning and evening rush hours, and an additional train outbound from Union Station on Fridays. Three of these trains serve the Frederick branch, while three inbound and three outbound trains serve Martinsburg. The remaining trains originate or terminate at Brunswick. A bus service connects Frederick and Point of Rocks, meeting trains that do not serve the Frederick branch.

Union Station in Washington, D.C., serves as the southern terminus for Amtrak's Capitol Limited, which shares much of the Brunswick Line's route. Connections to the Washington Metro's Red Line are available at Rockville, Silver Spring, and Union Station.

The Brunswick Line has 18 weekday trains

The Brunswick Line is a commuter rail line that runs between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a branch to Frederick, Maryland. It is the second-longest line operated by MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) at 74 miles, running on CSX-owned tracks. The line primarily serves the northern and western suburbs of Washington.

The Brunswick Line is descended from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) commuter service, which dates back to the mid-19th century. In the 1970s, the state of Maryland began subsidizing the B&O's commuter services, and in 1983, the state government took control of its commuter railroads, organizing them under the "MARC" service name.

The Brunswick Line serves several stations, including Union Station, Rockville, Silver Spring, Washington Grove, Gaithersburg, and Point of Rocks. It is the only MARC line with all low-level platforms, except for the Frederick Branch, which has a high-level platform at Monocacy Station.

The line is owned by CSX Transportation but operated by Amtrak

The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) operates the MARC (Maryland Area Rail Commuter) train service under contract with Alstom and Amtrak. The MARC train service runs on three lines that radiate from Union Station in Washington, D.C.: the Penn Line, the Camden Line, and the Brunswick Line. The Penn Line is the only line with weekend service.

The Brunswick Line is a 74-mile (119 km) line that runs on CSX-owned tracks between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a 14-mile (23 km) branch to Frederick, Maryland. It is descended from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) commuter service between Washington and its northern and western suburbs.

CSX Transportation (CSXT), also known as CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is the leading subsidiary of CSX Corporation, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. CSX Corporation was formed in 1980 from the merger of Chessie System and Seaboard Coast Line Industries, two holding companies that controlled railroads operating in the Eastern United States.

Amtrak, or the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states and three Canadian provinces. Amtrak is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It was founded in 1971 as a quasi-public corporation to operate many U.S. passenger rail routes. Amtrak receives a combination of state and federal subsidies but is managed as a for-profit organization.

The line is descended from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad commuter service

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was the first common carrier railroad in the United States. It operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie System and its lines came under the control of CSX Transportation.

The B&O was established by Baltimore merchants to compete with the Erie Canal for trade to the west. The first section of the line, from Baltimore to Ellicott's Mills (now Ellicott City), opened in 1830. The B&O's first locomotive, Tom Thumb, was made in America and could pull passenger and freight cars at 18 miles per hour. The railroad was extended to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1852.

In the mid-19th century, the B&O's main line was extended to Frederick Junction, with a branch to Frederick. It was further extended to Point of Rocks in 1832, to Brunswick and Harpers Ferry in 1834, and to Martinsburg in 1842. The B&O completed its Metropolitan Branch in 1873, diverting most service from Martinsburg and Frederick onto this route to Washington, D.C. The old main line became a secondary route, forming the basis for what would become the Brunswick Line.

The B&O was noted for its pioneering innovations in railroading. It was the first US railroad to operate a steam locomotive, and it built historic infrastructure, including the Carrollton Viaduct in Baltimore—the oldest railway bridge in the Americas still in use. The B&O also made extensive use of the Bollman iron truss bridge design, which aided faster railroad construction.

In 1984, the Maryland State Railroad Administration (SRA) introduced a unified brand for its three subsidized commuter lines: the Penn Line, the Camden Line, and the Brunswick Line. The latter is descended from the B&O commuter service between Washington, D.C., and its northern and western suburbs.

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