Summary Minutes MARC Riders Advisory Council Meeting February 13, 2020 4:30pm‐6:00pm Hall of States, Room 233 Phone: 1‐888‐407‐4198 Code: 77713445# I. Call meeting to order Steve Chan, Chair The meeting was called to order at 4:33 PM Thursday February 13, 2020. II. Introductions MARC Council Cheryl Bates-Harris Carrie Blough June Brandt JP Carnes-Stine Steve Chan – Chair Joe Conny – Vice-Chair Katrina Dashiell LaToya Griffith Corine Lopez Brian Love MARC Train Management Andrea Farmer Dean Del Peschio David Johnson Thomasina Swilling Kyle Nembhard AMTRAK Justin Waldron Shaquana Stephens Cody Hames Larry Banner Bombardier Alexandra Holtzberger Chris Cameron CSX Matt Gross Guests John Morris – Montgomery County DOT, Retired Jeenly Louis – MARC Train Rider Stacy Larrabure – MARC Train Rider III. Review of January minutes Steve Chan reported that the council is without a secretary, and that he had not yet completed the minutes for the January meeting. Steve Chan will email the draft out after completion. IV. Review of January performance data Katherine Read, MARC Assistant Chief Transportation Officer Dave Johnson, MARC Chief Transportation Officer reported on the January performance data and answered questions from the attendees. Justin Waldron – AMTRAK – explained that on Friday January 31st, MARC Penn Line #439, which departs from Baltimore Penn Station at 3:45 PM, struck three tires that were left on the railroad tracks, which caused the air hoses between rail cars to disconnect, and the air brakes will automatically bring the train to a stop. Just before the BWI Airport Rail station, the train hit an empty propane tank, which again caused the air hoses between rail cards to disconnect and the train was automatically brought to a stop. This caused the train to suffer significant delays. V. Penn Line March 16 schedule change and trackwork Dave Johnson (DJ), MARC Chief Transportation Officer Amtrak Commuter Services management Dave Johnson discussed the new schedule for the Penn Line that will start on Monday March 16th and last until early to mid-summer 2020. The revised schedule is to accommodate the 15 miles of trackwork that will be between the Odenton and the West Baltimore stations. Most of the changes will be northbound during the 4 PM hour. Specific trains will be stopping at different stations, which will require riders carefully check the new revised schedule to verify their “usual” train still stops at the desired station. The planned trackwork will take up the all the rocks under the tracks and railroad ties, clean the bed and correct drainage issues, put in fresh clean rocks, pack the rocks down, and straighten the rails as necessary. The final effect will be to improve the smoothness of the ride and improve reliability. VI. Old Business Dean Del Peschio gave a report on efforts to put bicycle racks on the MARC 4 bi-level train cars. Efforts to put bicycle racks on the lower or upper levels resulted in bicycles sticking out into the walkway creating a safety hazard. Bicycles could be put on the middle level after raising the foldable seats and bungee cording their bicycle to the wall using the little stainless-steel eyelets on the wall. This would require that bicycle riders bring their own bungee cords. Council Member Cheryl Bates-Harris noted that the seats on the middle level are reserved for persons with disabilities and expressed concerns about losing accessible seating for people who need it. Council Member Brian Love asked for an update on the Union Station Construction project. The new AMTRAK Police Department facility will have to first be built. This effort is still in progress. Regarding allowing electric bicycles, Dean Del Peschio reported that they are still not allowed. Regarding a fare increase, which by law will occur by July 1st, Brian Love suggested drafting a letter and distributing to the council members for review. Council Vice-Chair Joe Conny asked for an update on the MARC Tracker. Dean Del Peschio reported that MARC is still working on aligning the station displays to the transit app and doing internal testing. It is hoped that by summer 2020 the system can go live. VII. New Business, including questions and comments from guests Dave Johnson distributed the new revised Riders Guide. MARC Train Rider Jeenly Louis emailed in a list of questions and was told that he would be getting a response in full and in writing by email. Council Vice-Chair Joe Conny brought up that the Brunswick Line periodically has trains sets with no functioning rest rooms. Dean Del Peschio reported that all trains undergo daily inspections, and that the restrooms should work when a train starts the day. MARC Train Rider Stacy Larrabure reported problems with a large influx of new riders from Frederick County and instances of extreme double-parking at the Barnesville station, resulting in blocked vehicles. Dean Del Peschio will investigate this. VIII. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:54 PM Thursday February 13, 2020. Upcoming meetings (all Thursdays, 4:30‐6:00pm) REMINDER – The Riders Council meetings are now the SECOND Thursday of the month! March 12, 2020 (teleconference) April 9, 2020 (in person) May 14, 2020 (teleconference) Reminder: E‐mail rail car or station defects to Katherine Read – [email protected] MARC Riders Advisory Council Meeting February 13, 2020 4:30pm‐6:00pm Hall of States, Room 233 Phone: 1‐888‐407‐4198 Code: 77713445# I. Call meeting to order Steve Chan, Chair II. Introductions III. Review of January minutes IV. Review of January performance data Dave Johnson (DJ), MARC Chief Transportation Officer V. Penn Line March 16 schedule change and trackwork DJ and Amtrak Commuter Services management VI. Old Business VII. New Business, including questions and comments from guests Upcoming meetings (all Thursdays, 4:30‐6:00pm) REMINDER – The Riders Council meetings are now the SECOND Thursday of the month! March 12, 2020 (teleconference) April 9, 2020 (in person) May 14, 2020 (teleconference) Reminder: E‐mail rail car or station defects to Katherine Read – [email protected] MARC Train Service On-Time Performance January 2020 Same Month Month Year to Date 2018 Brunswick Line Brunswick 96.97% 96.97% 99.2% Frederick 97.66% 97.66% 99.18% West Virginia 95.35% 95.35% 97.56% Total Brunswick 96.66% 96.66% 98.65% Camden Line Camden 89.76% 89.76% 92.06% BTS OTP 92.96% 92.96% 95.11% Penn Line Baltimore 97.04% 97.04% 90.99% Perryville 93.74% 93.74% 82.16% Amtrak OTP 95.98% 95.98% 88.13% MARC SYSTEM TOTAL OTP 94.82% 94.82% 90.77% MARC On Time Performance Summary January 2020 Penn Line Weekday 95.67% Month 95.67% Year to Date 97.28% AM Southbound (Trains 401‐423) 92.69% PM Northbound (Trains 426‐448) 94.79% AM Northbound (Trains 400‐412) 97.35% PM Southbound (Trains 537‐449) Trains below 89% (late more than twice, red‐bold lower than 79%): 448 (86% month, 86% YTD) 544 (86% month, 86% YTD) 449 (86% month, 86% YTD) 610 (86% month, 86% YTD) 536 (72% month, 72% YTD) 100% for month: 401, 407, 408, 409, 410, 413, 414, 415, 418, 421, 423, 427, 428, 429, 430, 433, 439, 443, 445, 447, 452, 453, 525, 532 634, 641 Penn Line Weekend 99.17% Month 99.17% Year to Date Bombardier Transportation Services OTP (Brunswick and Camden Lines): 92.96% Month 92.96% Year to Date Brunswick Line 96.66% Month 96.66% Year to Date 96.88% AM Eastbound 96.45% PM Westbound Trains below 89% (late more than twice, red‐bold lower than 79%): 878 (86% month, 86% YTD) 100% for month: 872, 875, 876, 877, 880, 890, 891, 892 Camden Line 89.76% Month 89.76% Year to Date 83.72% AM Westbound 92.67% PM Eastbound Trains below 89% (late more than twice, red‐bold lower than 79%): 841 (86% month, 86% YTD) 849 (82% month, 82% YTD) 843 (71% month, 71% YTD) 853 (76% month, 76% YTD) 845 (86% month, 86% YTD) 854 (81% month, 81% YTD) 847 (81% month, 81% YTD) 856 (86% month, 86% YTD) 100% for month: 848, 850 MARC On Time Performance – Discussion January 2020 MARC’s January OTP was 94.82%; higher than it has been in over two years! Penn Line rush hour southbound trains were on time 97.28% of the time, continuing it’s strong trend. The biggest improvement has been with the afternoon southbound trains, which has improved from 84.29% in September to 92.75% in December and 97.35% in January. The only train that operated under 80% for the month was 536, which improved from 65% in December to 72% in January due to MARC and Amtrak working with CTEC to reduce dispatcher interference. MARC and Amtrak will continue to work on improving the OTP for north end trains, which is lagging. Penn Line weekend service experienced no significant issues, and operated at 99.17% Brunswick Line also operated with its highest performance in the past year, ending at 96.66%. No trains were late more than twice. The November software upgrade greatly improved PTC delays, which continue to be low on both the Brunswick and Camden Lines. Only 6 in the month of January across both lines. The one big opportunity for improvement is on the Camden Line, particularly the morning westbound. Camden OTP was 89.76% for the month overall, and 83.72% for the morning rush hour. One of the biggest contributors to this was an increase in dispatcher interference due to freight traffic. In January there were 23 occurrences of DI on the Camden Line, up from 11 in December.