MDOT (Maryland Dept of Transportation) still exists and oversees most transportation agencies in MD including the MTA, MVA (motor vehicles), MdTA (large bridges), SHA (State Higway Admin.) etc. MARC (under this service name) was originally operated directly by MDOT, but in 1992 became administered by the Mass Transit Administration (recently changed to
Maryland Transit Administration to avoid confusion with New York's and other 'MTA's. The 1983 date that Dutch mentioned (as outlined below) was when the state, took over commuter service from Conrail (under MDOT), along with the rest of the Northeast.
History of MARC Train Servicefrom the MTA website:
"The local rail passenger service now called MARC Train Service, has actually operated since the 1830s on the Camden Line, and since the mid to late 1800s on the Penn and Brunswick Lines. The service now operated by CSX was formerly the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's (B&O) local train service (Camden and Brunswick lines). The Penn Line service, which is currently operated by Amtrak, under State contract, was the local train service of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and later, Penn Central, then known as Conrail.
In 1974, B&O Railroad approached the State of Maryland, indicating that the local trains were unprofitable, and would have to be discontinued unless a subsidy could be provided. Maryland Department of Transportation agreed to provide a partial subsidy of the deficit in 1974, and in 1975, this evolved into an Operating Agreement with the B&O, where the State agreed to pay the total operating deficit for the trains and provide the rolling stock (cars and locomotives).
In 1976, The Department entered into a similar agreement with Conrail, which had ended up with responsibility for local passenger train operations in the Northeast Corridor (New York to Washington) after the bankruptcy of Penn Central and other Northeast railroads. In that same year, the State Railroad Administration was established by Executive Order of the Governor, to oversee these railroad contracts, to procure the needed rolling stock, to apply for and manage federal funding for the commuter rail service, and to administer a state funded subsidy program for shortline freight rail operations, primarily on the Eastern Shore and Western Maryland.
In 1982, Congress relieved Conrail of the responsibility to operate local passenger rail service, and in 1983, the State entered into an operating agreement with Amtrak to continue this service (now referred to as the Penn Line). In 1983, the State Railroad Administration conducted a marketing study, which resulted in the creation of the name and logotype of MARC (an acronym for Maryland Rail Commuter), to use as a unifying tool for marketing the service where, at that time, train crews wore either B&O or Amtrak uniforms, checks were made out to the railroads, and some of the rail cars in use were leased from New Jersey Transit. So, while
the name MARC was established in 1983, the service dates back well over 100 years. In
1992, the former State Railroad Administration was merged with the Mass Transit Administration , which now oversees the operation of MARC Train Service."
