Annapolis, Maryland (January 11, 2010) - County Executive John R. Leopold wrote Mr. Ralign Wells, Administrator for the Maryland Transit Administration, to request that the agency consider providing express rail service between the Odenton MARC Station and Union Station. Mr. Leopold made the request in response to citizen recommendations he received while surveying commuters at Odenton Station last week.
"Due to the fact that the Odenton MARC Station has the third highest number of passenger boardings in the MARC system, behind Union Station in Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore, an express service connecting Odenton to Washington would be highly utilized by the Western portion of Anne Arundel County," said Mr. Leopold. "The added service would support an overwhelming number of commuters from the Odenton Station going to Union Station and reduce automobile congestion on roadways." Last week, County Executive Leopold participated in surveying MARC commuters at the Odenton Station in an effort to gather their preferences for a proposed shuttle bus that is to be made available mostly by grant funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. At that time the suggestion was made for a dedicated express rail service because of the high volume of West County commuters traveling to Union Station on a daily basis. The shuttle bus service and the requested expanded express service would support Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) activities, while also reducing traffic congestion and improving connectivity of the MARC rail system. |
