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Rail News Home Passenger Rail

8/5/2009



Rail News: Passenger Rail

Maryland selects light rail as transit option for Purple, Red lines


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Yesterday, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the state has chosen light rail as the locally preferred alternative for both the Purple Line and Red Line transit projects. State officials also had considered bus rapid transit systems.

The 16-mile Purple Line is designed to run along an east-west corridor from Bethesda to New Carrollton; the 14-mile Red Line would run between Woodlawn and the Johns Hopkins Bayview medical complex in Baltimore.

Maryland officials plan to submit the light-rail projects to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) under the New Starts program to seek approval to begin preliminary engineering and compete for $3.1 billion in federal funding for the lines.

The Purple Line, which would feature 21 stations and one tunnel section, is projected to handle 64,800 boardings daily by 2030. The line would link with both branches of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Red Line in Bethesda and Silver Spring, as well as the Green Line in College Park and Orange Line in New Carrollton. In addition, the line would connect with all three of the Maryland Transit Administration’s MARC commuter-rail lines, an Amtrak line and local bus services. Pending FTA approval and funding, construction could start in 2014 and be completed in 2018.

“The Purple Line will create a lasting legacy by providing more transportation capacity in a way that protects and preserves existing communities, [and] help reduce our dependence on cars by providing a reliable and environmentally friendly transit option,” said O’Malley in a prepared statement.

The 20-station Red Line would connect with Baltimore’s subway and light-rail systems, MARC commuter trains and local bus routes. Construction also might start in 2014 and conclude in 2018.

“A light-rail system operating along the Red Line corridor will provide the east-west transit service that has been missing in the Baltimore region for decades,” said O’Malley.