Tips on parking at New Carrollton Marc station? (Baltimore, Silver Spring: hotel, school)

[fallstoclimb]

I will be attending grad school in Baltimore, but live in Silver Spring. I've researched different public transportation options and it seems like my best bet, time- and sanity-wise, is to drive to New Carrollton and take the Marc from there to Penn Station. My only problem is that parking there will be $85/mo. which on top of the Marc student-rate of $127/mo. and the gas it'll take for me to get to New Carrollton, is expensive for a FT grad student. Does anyone have any tips on nearby places I can park for free/cheaper? I'd also be willing to park a little farther down the orange line, like Cheverly or Landover, and metro to New Carrollton if it's cheaper overall, but I know the metro lots themselves are just as expensive, if not moreso.

[tedanderson]

Some time ago I had a friend in a similar situation who took a part time job at the Ramada (which is now the Four Points Sheraton) and was able to park in the hotel parking lot. Since the shuttle made regular trips to the Amtrak station, he could catch a lift with the van driver when/if he got there early enough or had extra time to wait for the next trip. I would imagine that if you took a job at any of the businesses local to the train station in the industrial park, the owner/manager might allow you to park there daily.

Or even better, you might want to try landing a job with one of the rail carriers. All 3 of them (WMATA, MARC and Amtrak) go into Penn Station and they have professional courtesy privilages which would drastically reduce the cost of your commute.

EDIT: Sorry. I was thinking of UNION STATION when I read Penn Station.

[CHIP72]

You could drive to Seabrook and catch the MARC Penn Line trains there. Seabrook is only 3 miles or so east of New Carrollton, not that far off the Beltway. The only bad thing about Seabrook is not all Penn Line trains stop there.

Your other option is to take the Metro Red Line between Silver Spring and Union Station and take the MARC train (either Penn Line or Camden Line) from there.

[NJ2MDdude]

Alternatively, you could take the MARC Camden line from Muirkirk Station in Beltsville, where parking is free and plentiful, to downtown Baltimore. From there, the light rail train travels north to Penn Station.

[fallstoclimb]

Thank you! I had written off the Camden line, but it actually looks like it would work - I can walk to the subway and take that to the JHU hospital.

[7th Direction]

Where do you live in Silver Spring? Wouldn't it be even cheaper to take the Metro to Union Station and ride the MARC up into Baltimore? That way, you don't have to drive OR pay for parking.

[fallstoclimb]

You'd think it'd be cheaper, but it really isn't....metro would be $106/mo, and that marc fare (w/ student discount) would be $149/mo. I'm about a mile and a half from the metro too, so it's a bit of a hike. Thanks for the suggestion though!