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The Purple Line will go from Bethesda to Silver Spring in eight and a half minutes.
At a Nov. 1 press conference sponsored by ACT, PGACT, and Purple Line Now, Senators Jamie Raskin and Paul Pinsky and Delegate Susan Lee said that any new transportation revenue package adopted by the legislature must include funding for the Purple Line. Read ACT's press release on new transportation funding, issued jointly with Baltimore's Red Line Now PAC. On Nov. 10, ACT joined other transit advocates and environmentalists in calling for new priorities in transportation funding, starting with the Purple Line, the Baltimore Red Line, and MARC expansion.
The Purple Line was approved to enter preliminary engineering by the Federal Transit Administration. This is the final federal approval of the mode (light rail rather than bus) and route of the project. The project got a “medium-high” rating, putting it ahead of most competitors for federal funding. Read ACT's press release here.
The cost estimate for one of the two alternative routes previously identified for the Capital Crescent Trail through downtown Bethesda, passing through the tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue in a tube just under the tunnel ceiling, has risen to some $40 million as a result of additional engineering analysis. Cost estimates for the other route, in open air along Bethesda and Willow Avenues, have not changed and are much lower. Read Wayne Phyillaier's analysis of the issues here.
What is the Purple Line?
The Purple Line is a proposed light rail Metro line that will run parallel to the Capital Beltway to provide a missing cross-suburban mass transit link. It will connect suburban communities and job centers, providing a quality alternative to driving on the congested Beltway. The line would serve the town centers of Bethesda, Silver Spring, Langley Park, College Park and New Carrollton, with two stops on the University of Maryland campus. It will tie together four Metro lines and three MARC commuter train lines. For a detailed route map, click here. |
Light Rail Around the World
Some scenes to get you thinking about the possibilities
Recent History of Purple Line Progress
The Maryland Transit Administration has redesigned the area around the future Lyttonsville station to reverse the location of tracks and maintenance yards. There have been complaints from nearby residents, but a detailed analysis in the Silver Spring Trails blog concludes that the changes will benefit neighbors on balance.
The University of Maryland goes all out in support of the Purple Line. President Wallace Loh says that without light rail “There's no way we can retain faculty... It's either massive gridlock or the Purple Line.”
The University of Maryland officially endorses the Campus Drive route for the Purple Line, recommended by the Maryland Transit Administration and favored by advocates.
Purple Line schedule slips two years; construction now will begin in 2015 and end in 2020. Cost estimates largely unchanged, but adjusted upward to $1.925 billion to reflect two more years of inflation.
The Town of of Chevy Chase is starting to back off its long-standing opposition to the Purple Line. Town council members say they will work with the Maryland Transit Administration on the Purple Line and are unlikely to sue to block it.
A few residents of the Woodside neighborhood in Silver Spring object to the hiker-biker trail that will be built parallel to the Purple Line. They claim they were only informed of the plan last September; yet it has been in county master plans since 1989. These issues were discussed with MTA at a meeting on March 8, where the local civic association reaffirmed its support for the Purple Line and trail.
A new vision emerges for a walkable Chevy Chase Lake around the future Purple Line stop.
The Capital Crescent Trail, when completed along with the Purple Line, will run through downtown Bethesda either outdoors along Bethesda Avenue and Willow Street, or beneath the roof of the rail tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue. Cost estimates for the tunnel route have now risen to $20-25 million.
Governor Martin O'Malley's strong re-election victory, propelled by wide margins in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties, is seen as a victory for the Purple Line. For a summary of where the candidates stood, see our comparison page. (Spanish version here.)
The Maryland Transit Administration now favors a Purple Line stop at Dale Drive and Wayne Avenue and has asked the county to endorse adding this additional stop. Tina Slater, ACT Vice President, testified before the County Council on why the Purple Line should stop at Dale Drive.
The state's plan for the Purple Line, including a double track rail line between Bethesda and Langley Park, is now officially part of Montgomery County's master plan after a unanimous vote by the County Council on July 27. Earlier, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Purple Line Master Plan at its April 8, 2010 meeting. See the Silver Spring Trails blog for background on tweaks made by the Planning Board.
Read the Washington Post's report that the area Transportation Planning Board signed off on the Purple Line on June 17, 2009.
The Montgomery County Planning Board voted 5-0 on Jan. 15, 2009 to endorse the route alongside the trail on the Georgetown Branch right of way, and 4-1 for light rail rather than bus. The Montgomery County Council voted unanimously for these choices on Jan 27. Prince George's County Council had previously voted 9-0 to endorse light rail.
Read the revelations about the money spent by Purple Line opponents.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Purple Line was released on Friday, Oct 17, 2008. Read ACT's comments.