Locale West Virginia Distance travelled 74 mi (119.09 km) Last service 1986 End Martinsburg station Former operator Amtrak Service type Commuter rail | Stops 5 Average journey time 1 hour 40 minutes Start Union Station First service 7 May 1973 Predecessor West Virginian | |
Status Transferred to MTA Maryland Successor MARC Train Brunswick Line | ||
The Blue Ridge was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Washington, D.C. and Martinsburg, West Virginia. The Blue Ridge began on May 7, 1973 as a truncated Potomac Special, which had run all the way to Parkersburg, West Virginia.
The Blue Ridge's initial western terminus was Cumberland, Maryland. Beginning in 1976 the Blue Ridge ran in tandem with the Shenandoah, which followed the Potomac Special's route to Parkersburg and continued to Cincinnati, Ohio. With the introduction of the Shenandoah the Blue Ridge began terminating at Martinsburg. The Blue Ridge received new Amfleet coaches in December 1975, the first train outside the Northeast Corridor to be so equipped.
In 1981 Amtrak replaced the Shenandoah with the Capitol Limited, which ran as far as Cumberland, Maryland but then continued northwest to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, eschewing the B&O line through West Virginia. In 1986 Amtrak transferred the Blue Ridge to the Maryland Mass Transit Administration (now the Maryland Transit Administration), which incorporated it into its existing MARC Train Brunswick Line. As part of the transfer Amtrak agreed to subsidize the train for a five-year period. MARC continued to use the name during the late 1980s.