Government Shutdown Could Impact MARC Service

By Jenni Pompi

If the government shuts down on Tuesday, Oct. 1, MARC trains will still run as scheduled, though if the shutdown is prolonged the schedule may change, according to a recent release issued by the Maryland Transit Administration. 

"In the event of a prolonged shutdown, MARC management may revisit the issue of potentially operating a reduced schedule after evaluating ridership figures," states the release.

Also in case of a prolonged shutdown, MTA issued these reminders of ticket refund policies: 

• One way tickets are nonrefundable.
• Weekly tickets are only refundable if postmarked by 11:59 a.m. prior to the ticket's effective week.

The following policies apply to monthly and TLC tickets, per the MTA release: 

• Postmarked prior to effective month = 100 percent refund
• Postmarked 1st through 5th of effective month = 75 percent refund
• Postmarked 6th through 10th of effective month = 50 percent refund
• Postmarked after the 10th of effective month = 0 percent refund
• The Transit Link Card (TLC) portion ($108.00) is non-refundable under any circumstance.

Refunds will not be issued for tickets purchased with transit benefits. Only Amtrak ticket office or Commuter Direct are authorized to issued refunds.