I agree entirely!

They already run a free shuttle bus to the BWI Rail Station. It's not that far at all. Actually, something I ran into last night (don't know where) mentioned plans to run a "monorail" (that was the word they used) to the rail station from the terminal. I don't know if that's still in the works or not. The station is really just across the road and south a bit, no farther away than some of the satellite parking.

Having some sort of rail link to the station might cut the time to get over there vs the shuttle bus, but that isn't the real weak link in this chain anyway. The weak link right now in getting to DC is the MARC train service, which at many times of day is only once an hour down to Union Station and doesn't run on weekends or holidays at all.

A bit of thought put into the MARC stuff would probably result in a much more useful link without building anything new. Example: why not have dedicated trains that run an express BWI-Union Station back and forth? Those trains don't need to continue on to Penn Station in Baltimore; people going to Balt from the airport can ride the light rail. People going between DC and Balt or points between can ride the standard MARC service that continues to run the entire length and all stops of the Penn Line (which currently serves the airport). Heck, if they just took one extra train and ran it back and forth from Union Station to BWI, they should be able to double the frequency when combined with the existing schedule. Then all they have to do is run some service on weekends. That's probably the touchiest one, but if they think of it as service from BWI to DC rather than a commuter line, I think they might be able to cover the costs of running some trains on the weekends.

Doesn't Amtrak run all the time though? I mean, almost every train that goes to and from Penn|NYC I've been on stops at BWI.

That still doesn't excuse MARC's inability (or lack of financial incentive) to run frequent trains between Balt/BWI/DC. Once an hour and never on weekends/holidays? That's totally Third World service. Granted, BWI was built for Baltimore and there's a link to their downtown but really, most of BWI's customers are probably coming from the DC area (coz we're bigger and better, nyah ;) ) and they should recognize that fact by ensuring frequent rail connections to DC.

It really is overdue for DC, as one of the country's five largest metro areas by population, to connect its international airports to a reliable rail system. LA being the other exception... NYC, Chicago and SF - not to mention almost all the world's major cities incl. some in developing countries - already have it, why don't we? Inexcusable.

Yeah, most of the Amtraks stop there (if not all), but I don't think they're any more frequent. Significant change in cost, too, I belive about 3x as much.

I haven't looked at the MARC frequency recently, either. I'm only going on memory. I doubt it has changed much, though.

Maryland should be looking to do this on their own, and I can't imagine why they haven't. The more they grow BWI, the better it is for them. Giving people easier access to DC certainly will help them grow BWI. (Hey, they didn't put Washington in the name for nothing, right?) And it seems to me they have a couple things in their power that they could do to make that access better.

In the end, for me personally, it doesn't matter. I'm here at PIT, I do travel to the DC and Baltimore areas for work, but at this distance I'm unlikely to start flying there anytime soon. With all the crap security and stuff these days, it would take almost as long as driving considering door to door time. :rolleyes: But given what they're trying to do at BWI (they'd like to grow international traffic, for instance, they have that rebuilt international concourse) I do sometimes find it baffling they haven't done more to enhance the transit connection to DC.

Last I checked, a one-way Amtrak ticket from BWI to Washington Union Station was $13, and a one-way MARC ticket $6. So it's about twice as expensive to take Amtrak.

The B30 bus/Metro combo is even cheaper, but painfully slow (well over an hour from door to door).

Last September I enjoyed the free shuttle bus from and to BWI, and the Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) train service to and from Union Station -- fortunately not travelling on a weekend.

I agree that implementing weekend MARC service, and adding BWI express trains, would improve matters. Perhaps BWI should consider subsidizing such additional trains.

In the meantime, extending the Metro to IAD should have a higher priority than BWI.

Man, I would love a Metro/MARC stop at Ft. Meade. Life would be so much easier for us military type folks who live on post. But honestly, I don't ever see something like that happening with the various government agencies located on Ft. Meade (ie-the three letter intelligence agency located there). It would probably get nixed before it even became a plan. Just my two cents.

dave.

There was talk at one time of a train system that would link the terminal, daily garage, consolidated rental car facility, and Amtrak station. Unfortunately, this was cut for budgetary concerns.

No -- I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the fact that the Metro trains run on a nonstandard 5'6" gauge track wide compared to the standard 4'8" used almost everywhere else in the US. The gauge is the same as is used by BART in the SF area.

All this surprises me. I would think if they are considering extending the Metro to another airport, IAD would be the natural choice, not BWI (given the existing service there). I suppose the resistance to Metro expansion may grow the closer one gets to hunt country though.

Both airports process about the same number of passengers. Both are extremely difficult to reach much of the day. Both are about the same distance from downtown DC. Both have an xepressway with a middle available.

Why is IAD the "natural" choice, although the only thing stopping the DC-IAD route down is the cost. There is talk of putting a "high speed" bus lane in, exclusively for DC-IAD bus traffic.

Mainly because, as I previously stated, it is already possible to get to BWI by train, even if the service is less than ideal in some respects. It is impossible to reach IAD by train.

Also it seems that such a line would be a boon to places like Reston and Herdon, currently without Metro service. You might argue that the econmic stimulus it would generate could be as much of a curse as a blessing, but it would get quite a few cars off the road. That's something laying another gauge track to BWI on an already-served route cannot possibly accomplish as well.

Not necessary. There is already a shuttle that runs frequently enough and it only takes about 5 minutes. Not only that but it would be rather difficult to find the space as the light rail ends right at the end of the international terminal ... just no way to really extend it.

BWI had 20 million pax in the 12 months ending in August, where IAD had about 27 million. It may have been pretty close prior to Independence Air, but currently IAD serves a significantly larger number of pax (about 35%). But if Independence disappears the numbers may be similar again. The biggest reason as to why I see IAD as the more natural choice is the large concentration of businesses and residences in the Tysons, Reston, and Herndon areas where the Metro would stop on the way to IAD.

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