Letter: New MARC Train Schedule Punishes Riverdale

Note: Effective April 2, MARC trains on the Camden Line will operate under a new schedule. Among the key changes: southbound/westbound times at the Riverdale station have been designated "L," meaning they may depart up to five minutes before the listed time. Below is a letter sent by Riverdale Park resident Dwight Holmes to the MTA regarding the changes.

To MARC Management:

I can be very succinct in my response to the newly announced Camden Line timetable. For anyone who uses Riverdale or Dorsey stations, this is not a timetable. This is a forecast—as in, “There’s an indeterminate possibility of the train departing on time at 7:29 a.m., and one must be prepared that it might depart as early as 7:24 a.m."

I appreciate that there must be pressure to improve your official on-time performance record. But don’t take it out on the residents of Riverdale and Dorsey. I assume the new “L” on the timetable is for “loser”—as in, “Your town is such a loser we can’t promise you we won’t leave you at the station by departing early. Our priorities lie elsewhere.”

This really is unacceptable. I hope you will reconsider and return to the standard type of train timetable that trains have been using for 150 years, with a time certain for each and every station. Thank you.

Dwight Holmes

4716 Riverdale Rd.

Southbound/westbound trains

Northbound/eastbound trains

For more information, consult the MTA's FAQs on the changes.