MARC/VRE Inauguration Day Service

realtype wrote:

davinp wrote:Here is a video of a lady singing on one of VRE's Inaugration trains
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26065026@N02/3216982264/

Wow. You know, the MARC/CSX station manager at Germantown (who I know since I take the train there) asked me (jokingly) if we were gonna sing songs on the train, and I just laughed...

btw Those new gallery car interiors look pretty nice. Much nicer than the dim interiors with thin, low-back "school bus seats" on the ex-Metra gallery cars MARC uses. Coincidentally (and unfortunately) the train I got (both ways!) was one of the two gallery car sets and had three gallery cars, and a Kawasaki bilevel cab car (thankfully). When I boarded (in the secong gallery car) I immediately shot to the Kawasaki. Ironically though, most of the first time passengers didn't realize they could pass through the cars , and the gallery car was packed with people while the Kawasaki was practically empty. This was the case on both trips.

I didn't know MARC mixes different types of cars in one set. One of the reasons VRE sold the Kawaski's to MARC is becuase they are not compatible with the gallery cars.

davinp wrote: I didn't know MARC mixes different types of cars in one set. One of the reasons VRE sold the Kawaski's to MARC is becuase they are not compatible with the gallery cars.

About half of MARC's sets are mixed (the MBTA is the only other railroad to mix single and bi level cars), including all the gallery car sets. MARC doesn't have any gallery cab cars so they have to use either a Kawasaki bilevel or Nippon Sharyo single level cab car on a gallery set. It's very rare that you see a Kawasaki on a gallery set though, so I was pleasantly surprised. I noticed that VRE used the single level Mafersa cabs on all the gallery sets before they sold them to SLE. I'm surprised to hear they're not compatible with the Kawas though.

Related, I just found out that MARC plans to replace all of their thirteen ex-Metra gallery cars with the Kawasaki cars purchased from VRE. Originally I think MARC planned to suplement the fleet and lengthen trains and add an extra set with the cars, but apparently with all the service cuts they don't need to do that, and will just get rid of the antiquated gallery cars.

realtype wrote:Related, I just found out that MARC plans to replace all of their thirteen ex-Metra gallery cars with the Kawasaki cars...

Rather than go searching, can I ask if that's on the MARC website?

Btw, to answer my own question from the other day, I saw it reported in various news sites that MARC sold out all 30,000 advance tickets for I-Day trains so I guess that would be their ridership: 30,000.

So MARC carried 30,000, VRE about 18,000 (that would be their biggest single-day passenger load) and Metrorail....about 1.2 million.

Not too bad.

Tommy Meehan wrote:

realtype wrote:Related, I just found out that MARC plans to replace all of their thirteen ex-Metra gallery cars with the Kawasaki cars...

Rather than go searching, can I ask if that's on the MARC website?

Btw, to answer my own question from the other day, I saw it reported in various news sites that MARC sold out all 30,000 advance tickets for I-Day trains so I guess that would be their ridership: 30,000.

So MARC carried 30,000, VRE about 18,000 (that would be their biggest single-day passenger load) and Metrorail....about 1.2 million.

Not too bad.

It's actually on the MDOT website, I was planning to post the link earlier, but got lazy :

MTA CTP for 2009 with a page for every MTA project (including MARC)

30,000 isn't that big for MARC, which averaged aroung 33,000 last spring beforefuel prices hit their peak. Actually I think MARC grossly undersold the trains by a large margin. The car I rode on going in and out was practically empty (although that has a lot to due with the new riders not knowing they can pass through the cars, since all the other cars were packed). That definitely is a record for Metro though, which beat the previous (set the day before) by about 400,000 riders. The only disappointing thing about is that we can't get an exact count (1,200,000 isn't very precise) since they opened all the faregates in the afternoon/evening.

oh btw
Angry mob of Amtrak/MARC passengers outside Union Station on Inauguration Day.

trust me the photo doesn't do justice to the size (or restlessness of the crowd)

realtype wrote:

davinp wrote: I didn't know MARC mixes different types of cars in one set. One of the reasons VRE sold the Kawaski's to MARC is becuase they are not compatible with the gallery cars.

About half of MARC's sets are mixed (the MBTA is the only other railroad to mix single and bi level cars), including all the gallery car sets. MARC doesn't have any gallery cab cars so they have to use either a Kawasaki bilevel or Nippon Sharyo single level cab car on a gallery set. It's very rare that you see a Kawasaki on a gallery set though, so I was pleasantly surprised. I noticed that VRE used the single level Mafersa cabs on all the gallery sets before they sold them to SLE. I'm surprised to hear they're not compatible with the Kawas though.

Related, I just found out that MARC plans to replace all of their thirteen ex-Metra gallery cars with the Kawasaki cars purchased from VRE. Originally I think MARC planned to suplement the fleet and lengthen trains and add an extra set with the cars, but apparently with all the service cuts they don't need to do that, and will just get rid of the antiquated gallery cars.

I wont be surprised in METRA buys those cars back since they need every piece of equipment they can get there hands on. They sold the cars for dirt cheap prices and they are buying them back at alot more then what they sold them for. I know the Gallery cars that Utah bought has now been repurchased by Metra. What goes around comes around? I suppose.......

I read in the Dr. Gridlock of today's Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01683.html

All the potential problems were on display at L'Enfant Plaza, and so were the solutions.

People coming off the Mall after the swearing-in were frozen stiff and anxious no only to catch a train but to escape the chilled air. At the same time, METRO was reducing the number of escalators for people coming out of the station so more people could get in.

At the nearby VRE station, railroad employees took aboard many people looking for a way - any way - out of the crowding.

From the Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/traffi ... ?track=rss:

"Maryland transportation officials played a supporting role, and it was smart and well-executed. The decision to sell MARC tickets for that day on an all-reserved basis was vindicated by the orderliness of the commuter trains' performance in getting people there. Also validated was the decision to be flexible about the return trip. Riders who showed up early at Union Station were allowed to take earlier trains, which freed up space for those who couldn't make it back to the station in time.

One key to MARC's smooth outbound performance was the surprise decision to add an unannounced early Penn Line return trip departing soon after 2 p.m. Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said MARC couldn't be sure Amtrak would provide that capacity until Inauguration Day, but he allowed that the deal had been in the works for some time."

He goes on to say:
"Metro officials did a laudable job of laying out exactly what passengers could expect. Then it delivered... Particularly impressive was its maintenance team's quick response when riders - most likely subway virgins from out of town (:-D) - disabled trains by trying to hold Metro doors."
"The District of Columbia and Virginia governments can take credit for their responsible decision to close the Potomac bridges to passenger vehicles - even in the face of whiners who considered it a form of discrimination. (Damn those Yankees for putting a river between the District and Old Virginny.)"

It was nice of Amtrak to give MARC an extra slot on the Corridor. I totally agree on the outstanding job that the WMATA/Metrorail, MTA/MARC, Amtrak, and VRE did on I-day. I even noticed that on both trips, MARC even had two standby locomotives on a siding just north of Georgetown Jct. in Silver Spring. Now that's something that would definitely be beneficial everyday.

On January 20, 2009, VRE operated 26 trains to support the Inauguration Day festivities. VRE is now offering a limited number of our unused tickets for collectors. These tickets are printed extras that were never issued to riders.

Individual tickets can be purchased for $5 each. Or, a complete set of one ticket from each of the 26 trains we operated that day can be yours for $100.

http://www.vre.org/Inauguration09/main.html

davinp wrote:On January 20, 2009, VRE operated 26 trains to support the Inauguration Day festivities. VRE is now offering a limited number of our unused tickets for collectors. These tickets are printed extras that were never issued to riders.

Individual tickets can be purchased for $5 each. Or, a complete set of one ticket from each of the 26 trains we operated that day can be yours for $100.

http://www.vre.org/Inauguration09/main.html

Geez, VRE must really need cash. I was half-surprised to hear that a lot of people went dumpster diving in DC for Inauguration Event tickets the day after, but this is even more surprising.

Mr. Zehner gave an overview of VRE service on Inauguration Day. It was a good day
for transit and for VRE. He provided a detailed description of how many people were
involved to make VRE’s service a success on January 20th. Eighty percent of the VRE
passengers were not regular riders. The crowds were large, but they were orderly and
patient. In the afternoon, many of the people wanted to leave early because of the cold
weather. VRE moved a lot of people out of town quickly by packing the trains. CSX and
Norfolk Southern railroads were extremely helpful and held back freight trains. Union
Station was so crowded that the Fire Marshall shut it down and limited the number of
people who could enter at one time. VRE turned back two trains to Union Station to
pick up VRE passengers who got caught in the crowds and missed their trains. In
response to a question from Mr. Covington, Mr. Zehner stated that the $25 ticket
revenues covered VRE’s costs for the day. In response to a question from Chairman
Zimmerman, Mr. Zehner stated that VRE sold about 9,000 round-trip tickets, but only
approximately 8,000 tickets were used.