Interested in train service to Washington? Take this survey

Maybe someday you can take a train straight from Hagerstown to Washington, D.C.

But in the meantime, the Maryland Transit Administration wants to hear what you think.

MTA, a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation, has prepared an online survey to find out how much interest there is in a Western Maryland line, how often riders might use it and whether they'd use it for business or leisure — or both.

It's part of a feasibility study for expanding the Brunswick line of the Maryland Area Regional Commuter service to Hagerstown and possibly Cumberland, Md. MARC trains currently run from Brunswick, Md., to Martinsburg, W.Va., and Washington.

MTA is assessing three possible routes to Hagerstown from the line between Brunswick and Martinsburg. All of the routes have been used by rail lines before.

Sen. Paul Corderman, R-Washington/Frederick, sponsored legislation for the study while he was still serving in the House of Delegates. Corderman noted this week that the study is due this summer.

He said the study is a "first step" to the line "hopefully coming to fruition."

But don't get ready to buy your tickets just yet.

"It's going to be a lengthy process," Corderman said Monday. But the study shows "possible connectivity of Hagerstown and farther west to the Brunswick line."

But Corderman said one thing's missing in the survey: Participants aren't given a chance to weigh in on which potential route they'd prefer.

Background:Leave the driving to others: Transit options could grow in county, Eastern Panhandle

"I've actually been in touch with MTA and MDOT because quite frankly, I think the survey does a little bit of disservice to the folks here in Western Maryland," he said. "It asks on the website to kind of state your preference of the connectivity — but then, in the survey itself, it doesn't ask, 'Do you prefer this one or that one?'

"There's three different kinds of options, per se, that they've laid out" for connectivity, he said, "but it tells you to 'give us your preference,' but then when you click the survey, it doesn't allow you the opportunity to give your preference. So hopefully we'll be updating or amending that survey here in the near future."

The three options would follow established routes. The easternmost follows the old Baltimore & Ohio track through southern Washington County. The middle route follows the Norfolk Southern line and the westernmost option follows the Winchester & Washington line from Martinsburg to Hagerstown.

Corderman said he doesn't think the B&O track is as feasible as the other two. There's no track, he said, and it "would be extremely cost-prohibitive" and could pose challenges to South County residents.

How we got here:State will study expanding MARC service to Western Maryland

He finds the W&W line interesting, because he believes less than a mile of new track would have to be constructed. That line and the Norfolk Southern line would be most realistic, he said, because full agreements with those rail lines would be easier "because of the existing infrastructure."

"Anything going going up through the old B&O is not realistic, and I think that that should not be a concern of the folks in South County because I know it has been in the past."

Corderman said he hopes the completed report will include information on costs and potential ridership.

To take the survey, go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/BrunswickLine.

To read more about the study, go to https://www.mta.maryland.gov/marc-brunswick-study

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Should MARC trains go farther west? Weigh in by taking MTA survey