BALTIMORE (Baltimore Sun).- With conditions deteriorating rapidly, the Maryland Transit Administration is shutting down some of the services it had intended to keep running today.

Deputy state transportation secretary Harold Bartlett said the MTA is phasing out the bus routes it put out on the streets this morning. He said the MTA will try to pick up passengers who are already waiting at stops.

Bartlett said the Metro is running now but that the MTA is likely to soon have to discontinue service on the above-ground part of the line north and west of Mondawmin station. The underground part of the line from Mondawmin to Johns Hopkins Hospital will remain in service, as it has through the twin storms. The issue here is the difficulty in maintaining contact with the third rail that powers the trains.

Light rail service will continue for now. As long as the snow doesn't fall too fast, the movement of the trains themselves can keep the tracks clear, he said.

MARC and commuter bus service have been canceled.

From Michael Dresser's Getting There blog