Quiet Ride For Northbound Commuters? Forget It.

Odenton residents who commute to Baltimore by MARC train each morning don't have trouble finding seats and often have plenty of space to spread out. But they don't have access to a "quiet car" that's offered as a service to commuters heading south, and probably won't anytime soon.

At a meeting of the MARC Riders Advisory Council Thursday in Washington, MARC Director John Hovatter said he would eliminate all quiet cars if he could, calling them a "bother" because of the work involved in enforcing them. He said there were no plans to add quiet cars to northbound trains, despite rider requests.

"We get so many complaints about quiet cars and conductors not policing them," Hovatter said. "If I could get rid of them, I would."

Most southbound MARC trains have at least one car designated as a "quiet car" where talking and the use of cell phones is not permitted. They are a favorite of many MARC riders, who take advantage of the quiet to nap or read.

But trains that serve so-called "reverse commuters" who travel from the south into Baltimore each morning have never had quiet cars. That does not sit well with Paul Yacisin, a department of labor employee who commutes from Washington to Baltimore. He testified that he often has to deal with loud passengers during his commute, and did not understand why northbound trains didn't have them while southbound trains did.

"The lack of quiet cars on reverse commute trains is unacceptable," he said. "I do expect one quiet car on each train, regardless of its size or frequency of its ridership."

Hovatter and some members of the advisory council said quiet cars on northbound trains have never been considered because ridership is usually only at about 10 percent capacity, meaning that most riders should be able to find a relatively quiet place to sit.

Advisory council chairman Rafi Guroian urged Hovatter to consider adding quiet cars for northbound commuter trains, pointing out that it would require virtually no expense on the part of MARC. But Hovatter said it was not a cost issue, but an issue of how conductors should be spending their time.

 "It should not be the conductor's job to enforce quiet car rules," Hovatter said. "It's not his responsibility. His responsibility is to get the train in safely."

 In other MARC news…

*The Odenton train station will be among those getting new LED signage. Installation on MARC trains will begin on the Brunswick line, but be put in place by next year at Penn Line stations, including Odenton.

*MARC trains will soon be equipped with interior electronic signs designed to help deaf and hearing-impaired riders know when stops are announced.

*Guroian asked if it would be possible for the MARC Riders Advisory Council to have a small budget that would allow it to hire a part-time staffer to handle administrative tasks. He noted that advisory councils in many other cities have budgets.

"We'd like to be able to get someone to help the council with day to day tasks," Guroian said. "We have more work than we have time for."

Hovatter said he'd discuss the matter with other MARC officials but said getting funding for a staffer would be "an uphill battle."