MARC Train to Fort Meade (Odenton, Laurel: bus, airport, train station)

[kinkytoes]

Is there a way to get to Fort Meade from the MARC train/Amtrak?

[7th Direction]

Originally Posted by kinkytoes

Is there a way to get to Fort Meade from the MARC train/Amtrak?

Where in Fort Meade... the Army Base?

You can get off at the Odenton MARC Station (Penn Line) and take the Laurel Connect-A-Ride Bus (K) towards Arundel Mills.

http://www.mtamaryland.com/services/...Penn_Jan09.pdf

K Route Timetable

[kinkytoes]

Thanks!

I'm a little confused. So, If I work at Fort Meade, I can take the MARC to Odenton and then take a bus for 45 minutes to get to Ft Meade using a private shuttle?
Have you taken the shuttle before? If so, can you tell me if it really takes that long?

Also, I thought there was a way to get from BWI airport to Ft. Meade on the Marc...

[7th Direction]

Originally Posted by kinkytoes

Thanks!

I'm a little confused. So, If I work at Fort Meade, I can take the MARC to Odenton and then take a bus for 45 minutes to get to Ft Meade using a private shuttle?
Have you taken the shuttle before? If so, can you tell me if it really takes that long?

Also, I thought there was a way to get from BWI airport to Ft. Meade on the Marc...

I thought Connect-A-Ride was a local shuttle service (like Howard Transit) , not a private shuttle. I've never taken it... I used the WMATA Trip planner to get the mass transit info.

The closest MARC station to Fort Meade is the Odenton Station (the station butts up against the base, but I'm assuming you'd have to enter through one of the gates if you don't want to get shot ). It may be close enough to walk, depending on what part of base you want to get to. Maybe there is a shuttle provided by the base? Or... some people leave a junker at the MARC station closest to their work and use it for the rest of the commute...

If you were coming from BWI, you'd get on the southbound train towards Union Station and get off at Odenton (the next stop).

According to the Trip Planner (which may or may not be right)...

If you left the BWI MARC at 6:37am towards Union Station, you would arrive in Odenton at 6:45am. You'd have about a half an hour wait at the train station (There is a ticket agent there, so I'm assuming there is a waiting room like some of the other "fancy" MARC stations. (looks like it from the satellite image, but I'm not sure if the building is for the ticket office and waiting room, or just a ticket office (with the ticket window on the outside))).

Then you would board the Connect-A-Ride bus at 7:16am and arrive at Ft. Meade at 7:20... That is, if you want to go to the Llewellyn Ave Gate. I don't know how you'd get to the rest of the base.


I also don't know what your hours are, whether or not arriving at work around 7:30 is acceptable or whether or not you'd be able to put a full day's work in and still get home.

[relocatingin2008]

I heard in the news that they're piloting a new shuttle service from the MARC station onto base. Here's the article from the Soundoff (Ft. Meade newspaper): Fort Meade News: Transportation

A quick googling isn't coming up with anything, but I'm sure there's more information out there. If you can't find any details about it anywhere, maybe try calling the Soundoff and they could possibly put you through.