Three MARC commuter rail lines serve Central Maryland. The Penn Line runs between Baltimore and Washington through Anne Arundel and Prince George’s counties, seven days a week. The Camden Line runs a slower inland route through Howard and Prince George’s on weekdays only. The Brunswick Line serves Montgomery and Frederick counties, also weekdays only. Below are the stations in our area, how long the trains take, what parking looks like and what kind of homes are nearby.
If you’re house hunting with a train commute in mind, start with the county pages for Anne Arundel, Howard and Prince George’s, then use the station details here to narrow it down.
All times below come from the MTA MARC timetables as scheduled for Monday, October 26, 2026, unless another date is given. Parking counts come from the MTA’s MARC station information page, and fares from the MTA fare charts. All were checked October 26, 2026.
Penn Line stations in our area
The Penn Line has the most trains of the three, with service in both directions all day on weekdays. On the October 26 weekday timetable, the last train toward Washington left Penn Station at 8:45 p.m., and the last train toward Baltimore left Union Station at 10:05 p.m.
| Station | County / ZIP | Scheduled time to Union Station | One-way fare to DC | Parking spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Penn Station | Baltimore City | about 1 hour (52 to 68 min) | $9 | not listed |
| West Baltimore | Baltimore City, 21223 | about 51 min | $9 | 327 |
| Halethorpe | 21227 | about 44 to 47 min | $8 | 770 |
| BWI Rail Station | Anne Arundel, 21240 | about 37 min | $8 | 3,200 |
| Odenton | Anne Arundel, 21113 | about 30 to 35 min | $7 | 1,977 |
| Bowie State | Prince George’s, 20715 | about 24 to 27 min | $7 | 675 |
| Seabrook | Prince George’s, 20706 | about 21 min, some trains skip | $6 | 264 |
Fares are from the Penn Line fare chart, in effect since June 27, 2021. County assignments for the ZIP codes come from the Census Bureau’s ZIP-to-county relationship file; 21227 crosses the Baltimore City and Baltimore County line.
Going north is about as quick. Odenton to Baltimore Penn Station was scheduled at about 35 minutes on the weekday timetable and 33 minutes on Saturday, for a $7 fare.
A few station notes from the MTA page:
- Odenton has a ticket agent as well as machines, which only Odenton and Frederick have on the MARC system.
- BWI Rail Station has the biggest lot of the group and connects to the airport shuttle and Amtrak.
- Seabrook had no Saturday trains on the October 31, 2026 timetable, and several weekday trains skip it.
Camden Line stations
The Camden Line runs from Camden Station in downtown Baltimore (301 West Camden Street) to Union Station. On the October 26 timetable there were 10 trains each way, clustered in the morning and evening rush, and no trains on Saturday, October 31 or Sunday, November 1. The last train out of Union Station toward Baltimore left at 7:45 p.m.
| Station | County / ZIP | Scheduled time to Union Station | One-way fare to DC | Parking spaces |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Camden Station | Baltimore City | about 1 hour (59 to 65 min) | $9 | 1,004 |
| St. Denis | 21227 | about 54 min, few trains | $8 | 15 |
| Dorsey | Howard, Elkridge 21075 | about 47 min | $8 | 802 |
| Jessup | 20794 | one morning train | $7 | 75 |
| Savage | Annapolis Junction address | about 41 min | $7 | 914 |
| Laurel | Laurel, 22 Main St | about 30 to 43 min | $7 | 396 |
| Laurel Racetrack | Laurel | afternoon trains only | $7 | 300 |
Fares are from the Camden Line fare chart. Jessup’s ZIP, 20794, falls in both Howard and Anne Arundel counties in the Census file, so check the property record for any home there.
Two stations need a closer look before you count on them. Jessup had one scheduled southbound train (6:53 a.m.) and one northbound stop (5:59 p.m.) on the weekday timetable. St. Denis had a 15-space lot and only a few scheduled stops. If you need flexibility to leave early or stay late, Laurel and Dorsey had stops on every scheduled train in both directions, and Savage on all but one.
For a full comparison of the two counties these stations sit in, see Howard County vs Anne Arundel County.
Brunswick Line, briefly
The Brunswick Line is mostly outside our core area. It runs weekdays only from Martinsburg, West Virginia, and Frederick through Montgomery County stops including Germantown, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Kensington and Silver Spring. On the October 26 timetable, Silver Spring to Union Station was about 26 to 32 minutes and Rockville about 40 to 47 minutes, depending on the train. For Montgomery County homes near those stations, see our Montgomery County page.
Schedule and fare facts
- Weekends: only the Penn Line runs. On Saturday, October 31, 2026, the timetable showed nine trains in each direction between Penn Station and Union Station, with no Seabrook stops. Sunday had Penn Line service too, on its own schedule.
- Fares: MARC fares go by zone and have not changed since the legislatively mandated increase took effect June 27, 2021, according to the MTA fares page. One-way fares in our area run $6 to $9.
- Passes: the MTA sells one-way tickets, 5-day and 7-day weekly passes and monthly passes. Weekly and monthly MARC tickets are also good on MTA local buses, Light RailLink and Metro SubwayLink.
- Buying tickets: through the CharmPass app, at station ticket machines or from the conductor. Buying on board is cash only, and the MTA adds a $5 surcharge if a machine or ticket office was open where you boarded.
- Bad weather: some timetable columns are marked “R.” Those are the trains that run on the reduced schedule MARC uses during heavy snow or other limited-service days, so check the column before you rely on a train in winter.
Schedules change several times a year. The Penn Line had a schedule change on March 16, 2026, for example. Check the live timetable before you sign a lease or a contract around a specific train.
Housing near each station
The housing mix changes a lot from one stop to the next. These figures are for the ZIP code around each station, from the Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey (tables B25024, B25034 and B25077, pulled through Census Reporter on October 26, 2026). A ZIP code is bigger than a walk to the platform, so treat these as the area around the station, not the block.
| ZIP (nearby station) | Single-family detached | Townhouse / attached | Buildings with 2+ units | Built before 1980 | Built 2000 or later | Median value, owner-occupied |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21113 Odenton | 25% | 40% | 34% | 18% | 51% | $432,000 |
| 21090 Linthicum (BWI) | 84% | 0% | 16% | 78% | 14% | $410,400 |
| 21227 Halethorpe / Arbutus | 46% | 37% | 16% | 85% | 7% | $289,400 |
| 21223 West Baltimore | 3% | 72% | 25% | 88% | 8% | $110,600 |
| 20715 Bowie | 90% | 9% | 1% | 87% | 5% | $452,600 |
| 20706 Lanham (Seabrook) | 62% | 16% | 22% | 72% | 17% | $429,000 |
| 20707 Laurel | 32% | 26% | 42% | 64% | 29% | $423,400 |
| 21075 Elkridge (Dorsey) | 33% | 31% | 30% | 33% | 49% | $455,300 |
| 20794 Jessup | 44% | 19% | 28% | 49% | 32% | $426,100 |
A few things stand out to me:
- Odenton is the newest stock on the Penn Line by far. Half the homes in 21113 were built in 2000 or later, and townhouses outnumber detached houses. You can search the Seven Oaks community on its own, and our Odenton page is coming soon.
- Bowie (20715) is almost all detached houses, and most were built before 1980. That’s a different buying decision, with older roofs, furnaces and wiring to inspect. More on our upcoming Bowie page.
- Laurel (20707) is the most mixed, with 42% of homes in buildings of two or more units alongside townhouses and detached houses. See our upcoming Laurel page.
- Elkridge (21075) near Dorsey is the newest on the Camden Line, with nearly half its homes built since 2000.
- West Baltimore and Halethorpe are mostly pre-1980 homes with the two lowest median values in the table. Buyers there should budget for the age of the house, and our Baltimore City vs Baltimore County post covers the tax difference across that city line.
To see what’s for sale near any of these stations, start from our home search and filter by town.
Bottom line
If you want train access every day of the week, look at the Penn Line towns: Odenton, the BWI area, Bowie and Halethorpe. If your job is Monday to Friday and you want Howard County or Laurel, the Camden Line works, but its 10 trains a day leave little room for a late night at the office. Before you fall for a house, open the timetable and confirm the station near it has the trains you’d actually take.
Moving from DC or Virginia? Our guide to moving to Maryland from DC or Virginia covers taxes, car registration and the rest. And if you want a list of homes within reach of a particular station, tell us which one.
Sources
- Maryland Transit Administration, MARC Penn Line timetable, Camden Line timetable and Brunswick Line timetable, weekday of October 26, 2026 and weekend of October 31 - November 1, 2026 - checked October 26, 2026
- Maryland Transit Administration, MARC station information - checked October 26, 2026
- Maryland Transit Administration, MARC fares, Penn Line fare chart and Camden Line fare chart - checked October 26, 2026
- Maryland Transit Administration, Penn Line March 16, 2026 schedule change - checked October 26, 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, tables B25024, B25034 and B25077 by ZIP code tabulation area, via Census Reporter - checked October 26, 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 ZCTA to county relationship file - checked October 26, 2026