MARC Brunswick line recent on-time performance experience

I am considering relocating close to the Brunswick station, and using the train to commute on a daily basis to Rockville.
MARC daily digest looks good, but it lists reaching just the final destination on time as a criteria whether the train is on-time.
Can anybody share their experience, how accurate is MARC train at the intermediate points, such as Rockville MD, please?

I was able to find some rants from 2010 about an abysmal peformance. Did it get much better?

UPD: upon some study of the schedule, I did not notice much padding time built in, so probably it should be OK for Rockville. Still, any personal experience will be appreciated.

There isn't a lot of 'slop' in MARC Schedules - if final destination is OT - intermediate stops area very close to OT - plus or minus

The train will never run "early" at the intermediate stops because the times listed are departure times. The train doesn't depart the station stops early. If the train arrives at an intermediate stop a few minutes ahead of schedule, it's because they rolled by a flag stop like Boyds with nobody waiting. So they might pick up two minutes and arrive in Germantown two minutes early. But they're not going to depart Germantown until the specified departure time. So you don't really get trains running ahead of schedule by more than a minute or two.

As for running late, I guess that depends on what you consider late. I still call 5 minutes late to be on time, it's close enough for government work. You might run 5-10 minutes late once in a while, especially when the weather is bad. 10-15 minutes or more late maybe once a month on average. The 10-15 minute or more delays are almost always in the afternoon, usually due to freight train congestion.

Overall, I think it is a very reliable way to commute. If you plan your morning commute to arrive at work with only a few minutes to spare when the train is on time, you're doing it wrong. I always plan to arrive at work about 20 minutes early when the train is on time. That buffer can absorb all but the worst delays. A really bad delay only results in being a few minutes late to work.

Basically what MCL1981 said. In my experience--I took MARC daily Germantown to Union Station last May to November, but also 2006-2009)--MARC is very punctual, and seems to have gotten better over time. Nearly all of my delays getting to work were Metro-related (and mostly still are). I do remember one week last summer that 876 would be running a little early at Rockville and waited an extra min. or so after loading/unloading. Of course, trains leaving Silver Spring (where passengers don't usually board) may leave early, as noted on the schedule.

All of the schedule padding is at the destination. If inbound trains are running "on time" they'll typically arrive WAS around 10 min early on the Brunswick and Camden Lines and around 5 min early on the Penn Line.

I too ride Germantown to Union.

You'll also learn what conditions are bound to cause problems like clockwork. If it's below 20 degrees, the switches up by Point of Rocks will be all messed up in the morning resulting in 10-20 minute delays. If it's pouring rain, the trains will be 5-10 minutes late due to slower station approaches due to wet rails, plus slower boarding due to umbrellas. If there are flash flood warnings from heavy thunderstorms, trains will be 10-15 minutes late due to speed restrictions. If it's 85+ degrees in the afternoon, there are heat related speed restrictions, lowering the max speed, making trains going home 10-15 minutes late. If a train hits a pedestrian, or hits a car at a crossing, you'll probably want to get off and call an uber, because that's 2-4 hours.

MCL1981 wrote:I too ride Germantown to Union.

You'll also learn what conditions are bound to cause problems like clockwork. If it's below 20 degrees, the switches up by Point of Rocks will be all messed up in the morning resulting in 10-20 minute delays. If it's pouring rain, the trains will be 5-10 minutes late due to slower station approaches due to wet rails, plus slower boarding due to umbrellas. If there are flash flood warnings from heavy thunderstorms, trains will be 10-15 minutes late due to speed restrictions. If it's 85+ degrees in the afternoon, there are heat related speed restrictions, lowering the max speed, making trains going home 10-15 minutes late. If a train hits a pedestrian, or hits a car at a crossing, you'll probably want to get off and call an uber, because that's 2-4 hours.

I can confirm that the above is a very accurate guide with dealing with the Brunswick Line, dating back to 2006 (see signature for reason why). All the dealings that happen on the line, including freight traffic, are all the reason to get your phone on MTA's eAlert list. It's worth it, and if folks complain that it's slow because of the earthquake, ignore them -- MTA changed providers for mailing it out.

Also, Federal Transit Administration rules say anything 6 minutes and over is considered "late".

Thanks all for the reply. I think I have a better picture now