Many Marylanders prefer train to avoid high volume of holiday traffic

BALTIMORE -- Many Maryland travelers are taking trains to their Thanksgiving destination to avoid the high volume of holiday traffic.

Amtrak says several days in the Thanksgiving travel period is its busiest of the year.

More trains, more cars

The Thanksgiving holiday travel period is Amtrak's busiest time of the year. Last year, more than a million travelers caught a train for their holiday break, and Amtrak is expecting more this year.

To handle the bigger crowds, Amtrak added more trains to its routes.

"We've also added one or two cars to some of those trains so that we have additional seats for our customers," said W. Kyle Anderson, an Amtrak spokesman. "We basically pulled out all the extra trains we've got sitting around to make room for these additional customers."

Amtrak trains will be running on Thanksgiving Day. However, MARC train riders should note service will not be operating. Only the MARC Penn Line will resume service on Friday on a Saturday schedule.

Getting a head start

Bobby Davis takes the train to New Jersey each year for Thanksgiving. 

"I'm too old to be driving up there now with traffic like this," Davis said.

Elizabeth Robinette, who is heading a little further north to New York City to be with her children, said taking a train is a change of pace.

"We usually drive but we didn't want to fuss with the parking," Robinette said. "So, we decided just to take the train, finish up some work on the way, and then it'll be a vacation as soon as we arrive."

Robinette and Davis are among the many who traveled a day earlier than the typical Thanksgiving travel period.

More and more are traveling earlier for the holiday, according to AAA. In its Thanksgiving travel period forecast, AAA predicts more than 28,000 Marylanders are taking a train, bus, or cruise.

A close eye on the road

Ninety percent of Thanksgiving travelers nationwide and in Maryland are driving, according to AAA estimates.

In anticipation of that, Maryland Transportation Authority Police will have more officers on the road keeping an eye on traffic.

"We'll be on the lookout for aggressive, distracting and impaired driving," said First Sgt. Brady McCormick. "Trying to keep everyone safe as they're getting to their holiday destinations."