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In October, County, Bowie State, and Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials gathered to underscore importance of Bowie state joint development, part of a strategy of transit oriented development along the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) Penn line. Current service on the Penn line, however, doesn’t provide much transit to orient development around, with service 20-30 minutes apart during the weekday peak, and gaps of over an hour at other times. The cost of a 25 min trip to union station is $7, with an additional fare required for transfer to any Washington metro service from there.
No major improvements are coming soon. If the current ‘MARC Growth and Transformation’ is funded (estimated to be $2.2 billion) mid day service gaps could be cut to 30 minutes 15 years from now without significant improvements at rush hour.
For a similar trip from Silver Spring in Montgomery county, metrorail offers a Red Line train every 4-5 minutes at rush hour and 6-10 minutes all day. This at $6.75 with free transfers to other metrorail lines and metrobus. Discounts are available for financial hardship.
Bowie deserves metro-level service just like similar communities in Montgomery country. A new Bronze Line should be developed serving Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, and Baltimore Counties using the infrastructure that already exists.
The Bronze Line would not require expensive new rails or stations. No right-of-way takings. Just run fast, frequent trains along the existing stations of the Penn Line, and use the same integrated fare as metrorail with simple tap-in payment.
Using modern electric trains powered by existing overhead wires would allow faster acceleration than the slow diesel trains used by MARC today. Single level, stair-free traincars like those used by metrorail would allow quicker boarding and greater dignity for passengers with mobility challenges. Coming both would not only reduce trip times, but also Bronze line trains to run frequently without blocking the faster Amtrak trains that also use this route.
Bowie and Prince George’s deserve the same quality of service Montgomery country residents a similar distance from DC get. The infrastructure is there to do it. Run the service. Build the Bronze.
Current service irregular 20 min-hour. Future service: no near term improvements, reduce to 20-30 min in 15 years if funded (2.2 billion)
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