Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Dresser details morning meltdown on MARC

The Sun's intrepid transportation reporter, Michael Dresser, has two detailed blog posts on this morning's MARC fiasco. The first catalogues delays and cancellations on the Penn and Camden lines, which caused my train (Penn's #415) to arrive in DC about 15 minutes late.

Dresser's second post is unusual in that it brings some good news about the beleaguered MARC, however qualified. He reports that the newly rehabbed electric locomotives are not at fault for this morning's problems, rather there was a failure of the electric signal system from one of the cabs.

Dresser also breaks down some of the mechanics of the commuter trains, i.e. how a front and rear locomotive work together to pull and push a full train to its destination. I'd love another explainer, from Dresser or some other informed individual, about why MARC frequently needs to swap out engines from trains that frequently travel between DC and Baltimore.

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