Help For Crowded MARC and Metrorail

Two sources of some joy today for rail riders: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley announced that MARC's Penn Line will be getting three new trains to ease crowding during the afternoon rush and add night service, all starting in February.

These are the three new trains:
-- A 500-seat express leaving Union Station at 5:14 p.m., which the governor's announcement says should relieve crowding on the 5:20 p.m. train.

-- A train leaving Baltimore at 10:30 p.m. and stopping at BWI Thurgood Marshall station to pick up late-arriving airport passengers heading for Washington.

-- A train leaving Washington for Baltimore at 11:45 p.m., offering more flexibility for people who need to work late but want to take transit.

Here's a link to the full text of the announcement from the governor's office.

Meanwhile, Lena Sun wrote in today's Post that the prayers of many Metrorail riders have been answered: The transit authority is abandoning the winter service plan that reduced many trains to four cars on weekends and off-peak periods during the week. Here's a link to her story.