Don't trust the light rail for your return trip after a Sunday night game

[Going Underground]

It is a poorly designed system. It has broken down many times and then the fun bus bridge. No lines and then it is a free for all. Not first on but anyone who pushes in line. Never make any announcements. Some announce stops and some don't. Automate tit like most other systems. The lights going Northbound slows it to a crawl. I know they tried tripping the lights a few years back but they did not implement it. Something about too dangerous. It is a bad system and they know it. During the first debate about the Red Line ,they said we have to make it better then the current one. When they dropped the plan for the Red Line Some people said this is the worst Light rail system in the country and if we cut some of the budget ,the Red Line would be bad also.

From the Sun:

When William Donald Schaefer first proposed the Hunt Valley-to-Glen-Burnie light rail line in 1987, he promised to get it done for $290 million, a minuscule sum for a major public works project even then. The number proved hopelessly unrealistic but the administration worked hard to bring it in as close to that original plan as possible, ruthlessly cutting costs. The result was surely the cheapest light rail of modern times, at least on a per-mile basis, but one that was heavily compromised.

Here's what that effort wrought: long stretches of single track where northbound and southbound trains had to take turns, trains dispatched by radio rather than electronic signal systems and a pokey at-grade ride down Howard Street. The system was slow, the minimum headway between trains was too long and the stops were little more than benches and balky ticket machines. Bus riders adapted (they were essentially forced to do so as north-south bus lines funneled them into light rail) but car-driving suburbanites? They turned up their collective noses.

In the intervening years, hundreds of millions of dollars have been poured into the system to upgrade it including double-tracking finished a decade ago. But the damage was done (and Howard Street remained a frustratingly slow slog). Ridership never reached projections nor did the system earn the fare box recovery rate its promoters promised as commuters stayed away in droves.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-light-rail-20150321-story.html

[Snutchy]

I used to be all about the light rail because I'm coming from the eastern shore and I'm not too familiar with Baltimore. Plus, as a fire fighter, I would get free rides. Any time I was stopped by MTA police, they would look at my FD identification, give it back and move on. I just got so tired of the wait after games. Everyone is all hot and sweaty and crammed together. I realized that parking at the stadium isn't all that bad at all. I pay $10 and I'm in an out. The extra gas money doesn't bother me one bit. I'll never use the light rail again if I don't have to.

[NashLumber]

I hate to hear these stories and the hardships. No fun.

But I have to report my experiences on LR have luckily been all good since the mid-to-late '90s. I drive up from NC for the games three times a year and stay at hotels near BWI and take the light rail in, usually North Linthicum or Cromwell. Only problem I ever had was not paying attention and going one stop too far. Totally on me.

To avoid the big rush after the games, I usually head to a nearby tavern, relax with a brew, and then get on the train a little closer to the one-hour after the game deadline. Very sorry to hear of that bad situation. I'll file this away for my August trip (the Hangout night on Aug. 15).