What is the difference between marc and amtrak

To see just how much of my time was spent delayed, I logged my commute from Odenton to Union Station for the month of September Here's what I found. In order to get to work in downtown Washington, DC on time, I must wake up by 5 am sharp to arrive at the Odenton MARC Station between 7 and am to catch the , , or southbound train. My morning routine can vary from day to day because it depends on how quickly my wife and I are able to get our two kids ready and off to daycare.

Unlike my morning commute, I have only one option in the evening—the northbound train—which allows me far less flexibility. I rely on MARC to minimize my commute time. While the above-mentioned issues may not seem to apply to all commuters, they are profoundly important to many of us. My analysis focused on four key measures:. Time spent delayed totaled three hours and four minutes including both morning and evening commutes. Source 1: Shows time lost in minutes. You have to schlep your luggage and kids to the shuttle stop, wait for the shuttle, schlep everything on, wait 10 minutes, schlep everything off, and then wait however long for the train before loading up onto the train, 30 minute train ride, then unload and find yet another means of transportation to get to your hotel.

That's a lot of steps, and it usually takes me an hour plus while a cab is 40 minutes with just one step. Does not factor in time from your hotel to Union Station.

Thank you so very much for your insight. We really do want to go to Union Station - we are getting VRE there to take to the suburbs to stay at a relative's house. I'll add the taxi to our list of alternatives, I was just wondering if there was any significant difference between taking the MARC and Amtrak - if one would be easier with bags, or one was more comfortable.

The MARC trains leaving Union Station tend to be very full, which may impact your ability to travel with luggage on your return trip to BWI, although trains that do not run at rush hour may not be as bad.

VRE has stops where we people get off before Union Station, so it's a decided minority that travels all the way to Union Station. So, yes, Amtrak can at times be easier with luggage. VRE has areas for luggage in the cars , and since you'd be getting on at Union Station, you wouldn't have a problem sitting together on your way from Union Station to your destination in Virginia. Please remember that you must purchase and validate your tickets before boarding the train -- conductors do not sell tickets on the train and failure to validate can result in a fine.

Basically it's a choice between convenience and cost. If you take a taxi you'll probably be there by The Amtrak schedule says the trip is minutes depending on which train it is, I guess, or what stops it makes. To make the trip in half the time, I'll pay the extra to ride Amtrak. There's a ish train that gets into Union just after Provided our flight is on time, we can hopefully get our checked baggage and have some lunch and make it to that train. More Long Bridge. Contractors Working Safely.

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