Odenton

Story

Odenton is a passenger rail station on MARC Train's Penn Line. It is located along Amtrak's high-speed Northeast Corridor, although Amtrak does not stop at this station. Both platforms at the station are high-level and are among the longest in the MARC system.HistoryThe Odenton station was originally built in 1872 by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad which was later merged into the Pennsylvania Railroad on November 1, 1902. The station survived the merger between the New York Central Railroad and the PRR that formed Penn Central. Upon the establishment of Amtrak in 1971 very limited passenger services to the station survived - eventually dwindling to 2 trains each way, each day, Monday - Friday. Although the station building closed to the public at that time, it continued to be used as a maintenance-of-way storage facility. Commuter passenger service has operated continuously from this station since prior to 1900. Around 1989, the station came under the name MARC, a portion of the Maryland Transportation Administration (MTA) and continuing to serve local commuter service for the area. MARC service has exploded and, currently, sees over 50 trains stopping there each day, Monday through Friday and new but growing service on week-ends and some holidays.LayoutMARC Trains:Connecting servicesThe National Security Agency (NSA) maintains a shuttle service from Odenton station to its Visitor Control Center at its headquarters at Fort George G. Meade; it has done so since 2005. In 2009 the U.S. Army established a similar shuttle service from Odenton station to the Army section of Fort Meade; the NSA operates this service, allowing garrison employees, persons with Fort Meade visitor passes, and U.S. Department of Defense IDs to board.