MARC likes Amtrak; CSX to get out of Commuter Rail Business

While Virginia Railway Express voted on Friday to give Amtrak the boot and replace them with a French company, the Baltimore Sun reports Maryland’s commuter rail provider, MARC, is not looking to replace the Amtrak as the contracted operator on the system’s Penn line.

Amtrak is in the second year of its five-year contract to operate the Penn line, from Perryville, Md. to Washington. The line is one of three commuter rail lines in the state.

MARC’s two other lines, the Camden line from Baltimore to Washington, and the Brunswick line from Martinsburg, WVa. to Washington, are currently operated by CSX freight railroad.

CSX is reportedly looking to get out of the commuter rail business, the Sun reports.

An Amtrak employee told me Friday the national rail provider may decide to place a bid to operate the two lines once Maryland’s contract with CSX expires.

http://www.insidenova.com/isn/traffic/p ... rak/45498/

That rumour mill has been going for years. I like how it's set up now on the Camden and Brunswick lines. I wonder how many passenger pool engineers and conductors would come back to working freight? I know it'd trickle down the boards and probably displace alot of folk....

SurlyKnuckle wrote:That rumour mill has been going for years. I like how it's set up now on the Camden and Brunswick lines. I wonder how many passenger pool engineers and conductors would come back to working freight? I know it'd trickle down the boards and probably displace alot of folk....

Usually, whatever contractor they choose has to rehire the original CSX or Amtrak employees first before they put any of there own people in, which makes a lot of sense. For instance the Amtrak employees working VRE now can remain if they wish with the new contractor. The thing I always wondered is if Amtrak emplyees for MARC or VRE worked Amtrak sometimes, and if CSX engineers running MARC trains also ran freight on weekends or something.

Wait
So CSXT is in commuter biz to?
I thoght thay wher freight bisness.
Help please?

No, they're not. Two of MARC's lines are under contract with CSX for them to provide the t&e employees. In addition to the actual train number jobs, there is also a passenger extraboard.

realtype wrote:

SurlyKnuckle wrote:That rumour mill has been going for years. I like how it's set up now on the Camden and Brunswick lines. I wonder how many passenger pool engineers and conductors would come back to working freight? I know it'd trickle down the boards and probably displace alot of folk....

Usually, whatever contractor they choose has to rehire the original CSX or Amtrak employees first before they put any of there own people in, which makes a lot of sense. For instance the Amtrak employees working VRE now can remain if they wish with the new contractor. The thing I always wondered is if Amtrak emplyees for MARC or VRE worked Amtrak sometimes, and if CSX engineers running MARC trains also ran freight on weekends or something.

Waaay late on a response to this, but regarding Amtrak VRE crew working on Amtrak sometimes, the answer is yes. They sometimes get rotated (highly based on seniority, but they can choose as well). So you'll see a conductor on VRE on specific trains, then they'll end up on other VRE trains, then you may not see them for a year because they went back to Amtrak. I spoke to one conductor awhile back who had worked VRE but then got bumped by a senior. They worked their assigned route but checked in occasionally to see if any slots were open to come back to the commuter (there weren't). Another left VRE voluntarily for "greener pastures", which ended up consisting largely of yard duty.

CSXTfan wrote:Wait
So CSXT is in commuter biz to?
I thoght thay wher freight bisness.
Help please?

Going on with the reply from SurlyKnuckle...The following is a quote from an NTSB report from the mid-ninety's. CSX was still the contracted operator on at least a couple of the MARC lines, but given what happened here, I'm a little surprised that CSX wasn't pushed out sooner. Of course accidents are bound to happen at some point, but this was just a tragedy. Here's the beginning of the report:

About 5:39 p.m. on February 16, 1996, Maryland Rail Commuter (MARC) train 286 collided with National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) passenger train 29 near Silver Spring, Maryland. En route from Brunswick, Maryland, to Union Station in Washington, DC, MARC train 286 was traveling under CSX Transportation Inc. (CSXT) operation and control on CSXT tracks. MARC train 286 passed an APPROACH signal before making a station stop at Kensington, Maryland; proceeded as if the signal had been CLEAR; and, then, could not stop for the STOP signal at Georgetown Junction, where it collided with Amtrak train 29. All 3 CSXT operating crewmembers and 8 of the 20 passengers on MARC train 286 were killed in the derailment and subsequent fire. Eleven passengers on MARC train 286 and 15 of the 182 crewmembers and passengers on Amtrak train 29 were injured. Estimated damages exceeded $7.5 million.

Here's the report. Beware, it's HUGE: http://www.ntsb.gov/publictn/1997/RAR9702.pdf

I hope VRE's company of choice is better than Metrolink's company. Aren't they looking to get back with Amtrak after the numerous accidents and safety violations.

the-rail-life wrote:Waaay late on a response to this, but regarding Amtrak VRE crew working on Amtrak sometimes, the answer is yes. They sometimes get rotated (highly based on seniority, but they can choose as well). So you'll see a conductor on VRE on specific trains, then they'll end up on other VRE trains, then you may not see them for a year because they went back to Amtrak. I spoke to one conductor awhile back who had worked VRE but then got bumped by a senior. They worked their assigned route but checked in occasionally to see if any slots were open to come back to the commuter (there weren't). Another left VRE voluntarily for "greener pastures", which ended up consisting largely of yard duty.

No problem, thanks!

gprimr1 wrote:I hope VRE's company of choice is better than Metrolink's company. Aren't they looking to get back with Amtrak after the numerous accidents and safety violations.

Metrolink has signed a new operating agreement with Amtrak to takeover operations in 2010.

Metrolink has signed a new operating agreement with Amtrak to takeover operations in 2010.

I thought they did. I hope that VRE doesn't have a similar experience.

gprimr1 wrote:I hope VRE's company of choice is better than Metrolink's company.

It is, AFAICT. Metrolink was using Veolia, known worldwide as the "lowest bidder", with quality to match. VRE chose "Keolis", which is a branch of SNCF, the French national railway, which has a reputation to maintain.

Latest news
http://mddailyrecord.com/2010/06/13/mar ... -operator/
Excerpts:
The board approved Wednesday a $118 million contract with CSX to continue operating two MARC lines, which run from downtown Baltimore, Frederick and Martinsburg, W.V., to Union Station in Washington, for two more years. CSX also has contracts worth another $141 million to allow MARC to access the tracks and stations for five years.

The department is reviewing proposals from multiple bidders with an eye toward making a decision this fall. The new operator would take about a year to transition into its role, Cahalan said. Cahalan, citing state procurement laws, would not reveal which companies’ bids the department is still reviewing.

But, a Keolis Rail Services America executive confirmed the company was one of the finalists for the MARC contract. When contacted about the MARC contract, Bombardier spokeswoman Maryanne Roberts said the company does not “comment on pending procurements.” An Amtrak spokeswoman also declined to comment.

That left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm a regular Camden Line commuter and given the way CSX operates along the Capital Sub, I wouldn't be surprised if things get all mucked up in the future. If the state does choose Keolis, I surely hope we don't get the same VRE treatment because in the end, we commuters will be suffering in the long run.

gp40marc69 wrote:That left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm a regular Camden Line commuter and given the way CSX operates along the Capital Sub, I wouldn't be surprised if things get all mucked up in the future. If the state does choose Keolis, I surely hope we don't get the same VRE treatment because in the end, we commuters will be suffering in the long run.

You guys should be OK as it looks from the article as if MARC is allowing at least a year to transition to a new vendor.
That's good as one of the problems VRE faced is that they waited too long (hoping for a different outcome) for existing employees to change to the new vendor and then only left 60 days for the transition... IMO way too little time to recruit and train and qualify even as small a number as the 45 or so VRE has in T&E service!

P.S. And there will not be any of the backbiting and alleged sabotage that marred and continues to mar the VRE change since CSX really doesn't want the business.....