The ''Blue Ridge'' was a daily

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

passenger train that operated between

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,075. Located on the Potomac River, Cumberland is a regional business and comm ...

(

Martinsburg, West Virginia Martinsburg is a city in Berkeley County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 18,773 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making Martinsburg the largest city in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia a ...

after 1976). Service began in 1973; it was merged into the MARC

Brunswick Line The Brunswick Line is a MARC commuter rail line between Washington, D.C., and Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a branch to Frederick, Maryland. It primarily serves the northern and western suburbs of Washington. The line, MARC's second longest ...

commuter rail service in 1986.

History

The ''Blue Ridge'' was introduced on May 7, 1973, as a replacement for the ''

Potomac Special Potomac () may refer to: Places in the United States Washington, D.C. area: *The Potomac River, which flows through West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. **The Potomac Highlands, a region of the Potomac River's watershed in We ...

''. It was curtailed from the ''Potomac Special'' terminus of

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in Wood County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's List of municipalities in West Virginia ...

to Cumberland, and retimed to better serve commuters. In December 1975, the ''Blue Ridge'' became the first train outside the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

to receive new

Amfleet Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger car (rail), passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Budd Metroliner, Me ...

coaches. The ''Blue Ridge'' was truncated to Martinsburg on October 31, 1976 upon the introduction of the Washington–

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

'' Shenandoah''. Weekend service was dropped on October 1, 1981 amid cuts to Amtrak services. In 1986, Amtrak transferred the ''Blue Ridge'' to the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (now the Maryland Transit Administration), who incorporated it into the MARC

. As part of the transfer, Amtrak agreed to subsidize the train for five years. MARC continued to use the name during the late 1980s.

Notes

References

* *

External links

1973 timetable1976 timetable1986 timetable
{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Passenger rail transportation in Maryland Passenger rail transportation in Washington, D.C. Passenger rail transportation in West Virginia Railway services introduced in 1973 Railway services discontinued in 1986 Martinsburg, West Virginia