Brunswick Line (MARC)

Brunswick Line
The station depot at Boyds station along the Brunswick line, seen in July 2012 from the station parking lot.
Overview
Type	Commuter rail line
System	MARC Commuter Rail
Status	Active
Locale	Washington D.C. and northern Maryland suburbs; West Virginia
Termini	Washington D.C. Union Station Martinsburg, WV
Stations	19
Daily ridership	8,138
Operation
Owner	CSX Transportation (tracks)
Operator(s)	Bombardier Transportation/Maryland Transit Administration
Technical
Line length	74 mi (119 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Martinsburg Duffields Harpers Ferry West Virginia Maryland Potomac River South Mountain Tunnel Brunswick Point of Rocks Tunnel Point of Rocks Frederick Monocacy Monocacy River Dickerson Barnesville Boyds Germantown Metropolitan Grove Gaithersburg Washington Grove Rockville Garrett Park Kensington Silver Spring Maryland Washington, D.C. Penn & Camden Lines Union Station

The Brunswick Line is a MARC commuter rail line consisting of a main line running from Washington D.C. to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and a branch line from just south of Point-of-Rocks station to Frederick, Maryland. The service is operated under contract by Bombardier Transportation, but is administered by MARC, a service of the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). The Brunswick Line is MARC's longest line, and operates over CSX's Metropolitan, Old Main Line, and Cumberland Subdivisions. It is the successor to commuter services provided by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) as long ago as the mid-19th century.

The startup of Amtrak on May 1, 1971 did not affect the B&O's commuter trains between Washington and Martinsburg. Maryland began subsidizing the operation in 1974; in 1975 it assumed full responsibility for the subsidy and for equipment replacement. West Virginia followed suit soon after, guaranteeing the continuation of service into that state. In 1983, Maryland, along with a number of other Northeastern states, took control of its commuter railroads and the "MARC" (Maryland Area Regional Commuter) service name was established. This service was augmented in 1986 when Amtrak transferred its Blue Ridge, which also operated between Washington and Martinsburg, to MARC control. Amtrak continued to subsidize that train for five years.

The Brunswick Line (like the Camden Line) is a diesel-only line. Trains are usually 3 to 6 cars long with a single diesel locomotive in push-pull configuration. However, some trains may be powered by 2 locomotives from time to time. Generally, the cab-car leads trains headed east towards Union Station. The line uses a mix of single level cars and bilevels. The Brunswick Line was the only line to utilize ex-Metra Pullman Gallery cars, since it is the only MARC line to have all low-level platforms on the main line between Martinsburg and Washington D.C. The Pullman gallery cars were replaced by new Bombardier Multilevel II cars. The gallery cars were restricted from the Frederick Branch due to Monocacy station having a high platform.