Maryland travelers battle the crowds to return from holiday destinations

Millions took to the roads, rails, and skies after the Thanksgiving holiday, including thousands of Marylanders.

TSA expected to screen about three million travelers on Sunday alone, making it one of the busiest days on record for the agency.

Busiest travel day of the holiday

The trek home on Sunday marked one of the busiest days to travel nationwide, especially in the northeast. While most will be driving back home, some travelers say trains and planes have been packed too.

"It's very easy to get in, very easy to get back out," said traveler Gayle Myers, who boarded her Amtrak train back to Central Florida. "It's like driving in the car, but you don't have to drive, and you can get up and walk around."

Many heeded the advice, getting to the airport and train station early.

"I am traveling with one of my grandsons, and he said to me, 'Why are we here so early?' We didn't know what to expect, so we didn't want to get here and see that the TSA lines were long or anything like that," traveler Dorinda Rolle said before flying back to Texas.

Meanwhile, on the rails, passengers say it is reliable and easier to deal with than a potentially busy airport.

"It's less crowded and less of the hustle and bustle of everybody else traveling, I mean, you don't have to be on the road, and you don't have to go to the airport and deal with all that," Myers said.

Record holiday train travel

Amtrak predicted this Thanksgiving travel week would be among the busiest on record for the train company, saying it believes uncertainty with the airlines and the delays caused during the country's longest government shutdown are causing more people to choose the rails.

In fiscal year 2025, Amtrak reported that 34.5 million people took the train, representing a 5% increase from the previous year.

In a statement to WJZ, Amtrak says more riders are choosing the rails, which is a trend that started before the longest-running government shutdown caused airport headaches earlier this month.

With airlines and airports still recovering after the longest-running government shutdown, riders in Baltimore say the train is the most reliable after a turbulent year in the skies.

Passengers say the train is a tried-and-true option when it's on time, especially in the northeast when the roads are bumper to bumper.

"Coming down was only a half an hour delay, which was not so bad so far. Going back up, there's no delay, which is very exciting," said train traveler Cameron Kirk-Giannini at Baltimore's Penn Station.

The MARC Train is back to a normal schedule this week after running on a holiday schedule last week.