Ehrlich pledges improved MARC service

The Post's John Wagner writes on the Maryland Politics blog that former Republican Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich is picking up the recent troubles of MARC passengers as a campaign issue.

Ehrlich invited the media on Thursday to attend a meeting with one of the passengers from a Penn Line Train that was stranded in sweltering heat without air conditioning for more than two hours on June 21.
Officials from MARC, Amtrak and the Federal Railroad Administration are investigating the incident.

On June 28, Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley was onboard a train that failed to make a scheduled stop and has described the problems as "fundamental failures" in the level of service provided by Amtrak, which operates the Penn Line.

Wagner writes in his blog post that the meeting was filmed by Ehrlich's campaign and follows the launch of a Commuters for Ehrlich group. The full post, including the response of the campaign of Gov. Martin O'Malley, is on Maryland Politics.