Bowie State
Bowie State station platform in 2009
General information
Location13900 Old Jericho Park Road[1]
Bowie, Maryland
Coordinates39°01′04″N 76°45′53″W / 39.01778°N 76.76472°W / 39.01778; -76.76472
Owned byAmtrak
Line(s)Amtrak Northeast Corridor
Platforms2 side platforms
Tracks3
Construction
Parking675 spaces[1]
AccessibleYes[1]
History
OpenedFebruary 27, 1989 (1989-02-27)[2]
Electrified1935[3][4]
Passengers
2018819 daily[5] Increase 6.2%
Services
Preceding station MARC Following station
Seabrook
towards Union Station
 Penn Line Odenton
towards Perryville

Bowie State station is a regional rail station on the Northeast Corridor, located adjacent to the campus of Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. It is served by MARC Penn Line commuter rail trains. The station is located on a three-track section of the Northeast Corridor, with two side platforms next to the outer tracks.

History

The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad (B&P) opened its main line in 1872, with a station at Bowie but not at Jericho Park.[6] The B&P was merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in 1902.[7] The PRR opened Jericho Park station, located at the modern station site, to serve the Maryland Normal and Industrial School (the predecessor to Bowie State College) around 1911.[8]

The PRR folded into Penn Central in 1968.[9] Conrail took over the ex-PRR Baltimore-Washington service, soon subsidized by the Maryland Department of Transportation, from Penn Central at its creation on April 1, 1976.[10] Conrail operated service to the station until June 26, 1981. It was closed as the Jericho Park Road grade crossing was eliminated by the Laurel–Bowie Road overpass.[2][11]

Bowie State station was opened on February 27, 1989, as a replacement for the Bowie station, 1.1 miles (1.8 km) to the south.[2] Bowie State provided parking lots – not possible to construct at Bowie – and better road access to surrounding suburban areas. This was one of the first major station projects undertaken under the MARC branding.

References

  1. ^ a b c "MARC Station Information". Maryland Transit Administration. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Successors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Their Historical Context: 1980–89" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
  3. ^ "Pennsy's New Electric Train Breaks Record". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. January 28, 1935. p. 28. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "N.Y.-Washington Electric Train Service Starts Sunday on P.R.R." The Daily Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. February 9, 1935. p. 3. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "December 2018 MARC performance (for Nov 18) – Ridership" (PDF). Maryland Transportation Authority. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Southern Maryland Commuter Rail Service Feasibility Study" (PDF). Maryland Transit Administration. August 2009.
  7. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Successors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Their Historical Context: 1902" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
  8. ^ Annual Report of the State Board of Education. Vol. 45. Maryland State Department of Education. 1911. p. 147 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Successors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Their Historical Context: 1968" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
  10. ^ Baer, Christopher T. (April 2015). "A General Chronology of the Successors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and Their Historical Context: 1968" (PDF). Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society.
  11. ^ "News and Upcoming Events" (PDF). Transit Times. Action Committee for Transit. 1 (2). Summer 1987.

External links

Media related to Bowie State (MARC) at Wikimedia Commons


MARC Train
Categories