Commuter Rail - MARC & VRE
The Washington, DC area has two commuter rail services: VRE - Virginia Railway Express and MARC - Maryland Area Regional Commuter. Pre-pandemic, the combined average weekday ridership approached 60,000 passengers; about 40,000 each day for MARC and about 20,000 each day for VRE.
VRE operates Monday through Friday between Union Station in Washington, DC and stations in Virginia, along two lines, the Manassas Line and the Fredericksburg Line. VRE is a joint project of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC) and the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC). More information at vre.org.
MARC provides service between Union Station in Washington, DC and stations in Maryland, along three lines, the Penn, Camden, and Brunswick lines. All three lines operate Monday through Friday, the Penn Line also provides service on weekends. MARC is operated by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation. In addition to MARC, MTA also operates local bus, commuter bus, light rail, and subway services in Maryland. More information at mta.maryland.gov/marc-train.
SmartBenefits® and Commuter Rail
VRE and MARC do not accept SmarTrip®, but riders who receive SmartBenefits® from their employer can still use their benefits to purchase tickets. CommuterDirect.com offers a SmartBenefits personal account service. VRE and MARC riders can apply their SmartBenefits to their CommuterDirect.com® account and purchase tickets and passes through CommuterDirect.com.® Customers can choose to have tickets delivered to them, or pick up their tickets at any of the five locations of The Commuter Store.® More about SmarTrip and SmartBenefits.