Just for a change of pace, Getting There presents an email from Joyce Tarrant of Woodlawn, who actually had something good to say about MARC service:

I just wanted to let you know of my experience on the MARC train recently. In light of all of their bad publicity, I have to give them a real "thumbs up" for their communication updates during a recent trip.

There was an announcement that the train had hit something and would be stopping. Of course, speculation among the riders ranged from a deer to a small child. The MARC crew de-boarded the train and walked around, inspected the exterior, and then got back on and announced exactly what they found: a garden hose that was the actual object hit.

Throughout the time they were stopped, the air conditioning remained on (thank goodness). When the conductor walked through, I immediately commended him on the timely update. The update quickly calmed the fears and rumors that were circulating throughout the train.

I know you receive many emails regarding the poor service, but I just wanted to weigh in with something positive. I commend you for your continued interest in the matter.

There are, in fact, such a thing as good experiences on MARC. Last Thursday I took three rides on the Penn Line, and all of them were on time and uneventful -- even the evening departure from Union Station. The worst I observed was two of the three parking payment machines at BWI were out of order.