Sponsor seeks MARC Rail Authority to give commuter rail standalone governance; advocates and labor back change, MDOT urges study
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Summary
House Bill 517 would create a standalone MARC Rail Authority to manage Maryland's commuter rail system. Sponsor Delegate Corman and co‑sponsor Delegate Solomon argued the reorganization would protect MARC service from budget cuts and enable focused management; MDOT urged broader study before structural change.
House Bill 517 would remove MARC commuter rail operations from the Maryland Transit Administration and place them under a new independent Mark Rail Authority with a dedicated board and executive director. The sponsor, Delegate Corman, framed the bill as a response to repeated budgetary and operational choices that have left MARC service vulnerable during transportation budget shortfalls.
"The point of house bill 517 is to try to give MARC rail sort of a higher priority and focus in our Maryland Department of Transportation," said Delegate Corman, who described repeated instances where proposed MARC improvements were scaled back when the state faced budget constraints. He said the authority model would mirror other regional rail authorities and could enable dedicated financing and stronger bargaining with landlord railroads.
Supporters included labor representatives and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) model was repeatedly referenced as a successful template: David Pendleton of SMART said an authority model would allow MARC to operate more efficiently and pursue capital investments without being deprioritized, and noted VRE's recent ability to come under budget while expanding projects.
MDOT and the Baltimore Regional Transit Commission (BRTC) recommended studying governance and funding options further. John Larria of the BRTC urged a measured approach and pointed to a commissioned January study identifying multiple governance options and noting Maryland's unusual combination of statewide transit and local Baltimore services under one agency.
Ending: The committee took testimony from sponsors, labor and regional planning stakeholders and left the proposal for further committee consideration, with sponsors signaling a willingness to amend the bill based on the results of governance and funding studies and to align any authority structure with labor and local transit needs.