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Purple Line (Maryland)

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Purple Line
Purple Line construction in Silver Spring, Maryland in June 2020
Overview
StatusUnder construction
OwnerMaryland Transit Administration
LocaleMontgomery County, Maryland
Prince George's County, Maryland, U.S.
Termini
Stations21 (planned)[1]
Websitepurplelinemd.com
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemMaryland Transit Administration
Rolling stock28 CAF LRVs[2]
Daily ridership64,800 (2030 projection)[1]
History
Planned openingLate 2027
Technical
Track length16.2[3] mi (26.1 km)
CharacterAt-grade, elevated, and underground
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge[4]
ElectrificationOverhead line, 1,500 V DC[5]
Operating speed55[6] mph (89 km/h)
Route map
Map Purple Line highlighted in purple
Legend
 Bethesda
Connecticut Avenue
Rock Creek
 Lyttonsville
16th Street–Woodside
Silver Spring
Bonifant Street
 Silver Spring Library
Wayne Avenue
 Dale Drive
Sligo Creek
 Manchester Place
Long Branch
MD Route 193.svg
MD 193
University Boulevard
 Piney Branch Road
Takoma Langley
Montgomery County
Prince George's County
 Riggs Road
Northwest Branch Anacostia River
 Adelphi Road–UMGC–UMD
Campus Drive–UMD
Campus Drive
 Baltimore Avenue–UMD
College Park–University of Maryland
Riverdale Park North–UMD
MD Route 201.svg
MD 201
Kenilworth Avenue
Riverdale Park–Kenilworth
Beacon Heights–East Pines
Glenridge Maintenance Facility
 Glenridge
Ellin Road
 New Carrollton
Amtrak
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
This diagram:

The Purple Line is a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) light rail line[3] being built to link several Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.: Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton.[7] Currently slated to open in late 2027, the line will also enable riders to move between the Maryland branches of the Red, Green, and Orange lines of the Washington Metro without riding into central Washington, and between all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system. The project is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), an agency of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), and not the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates Metro.

Throughout its decades-long planning process, the project was dogged by resistance, particularly from residents of the upscale community of Chevy Chase and members of the Columbia Country Club. From 2003 to 2006, Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich changed the proposed mode of transportation from light rail to bus rapid transit. Legal attempts to thwart the line continued even after construction had begun;[8] but in December 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that Purple Line construction could continue despite these objections.[9][10]

In 2016, a consortium headed by Fluor Enterprises won the $5.6 billion contract to design and build the Purple Line, then to operate and maintain it for 36 years.[11][3] Construction began in August 2017.[12] Work halted in September 2020, when the consortium withdrew from the contract, citing mounting delays and disputes with the state government.[13] The project had already consumed $1.1 billion of the anticipated $2 billion construction cost.[14]

A new general contractor was selected in November 2021,[15] and a new contract was signed in April 2022. This new agreement added $3.7 billion to the total cost of building, running, and maintaining the Purple Line for 30 years, bringing it to $9.3 billion. Construction costs alone rose $1.46 billion, bringing the total to $3.4 billion.[16] Full-scale construction activity resumed in summer 2022.[17]

Costs rose and the opening date receded again in 2023[18] and 2024.[19] As of March 2024, the estimated cost to build the line and operate it through 2057 was $9.53 billion, some $4 billion over the initial 2016 budget of $5.6 billion. Train service is expected to begin in December 2027.[19][20]

History

[edit]

Early studies, public debate, design

[edit]
Topological map of the Washington Metro system depicting integration of the Purple Line

The "Purple Line" has been the name of two different transit proposals. In 1994, John J. Corley Jr., an architect with Harry Weese Associates (which designed the Washington Metro system) proposed a multibillion-dollar Metro line around the 64-mile (103 km) Capital Beltway. This would have served as a "ring" line, connecting suburb to suburb and complementing the existing Metro lines, which radiate from Washington.[21] (See Rapid transit#Network topologies.) In 1998, the Beltway Purple Line received considerable political support from Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and Governor Parris Glendening, which was a $10 billion, 30-mile (48 km) line from National Harbor to Montgomery Mall.[22]

In 1987, after CSX expressed a desire to abandon the Georgetown Branch rail line, Maryland leaders immediately started planning to repurpose it for transit and a hiking trail.[23] The idea of adapting the railroad for a transit line dated back at least as far as 1970, when such a use was included in the October 1970 Master Plan for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Planning Area.[24] Montgomery County purchased its portion of the railroad right-of-way from CSX in 1988 and in 1989 budgeted $107 million to build a trolley between Bethesda and Silver Spring and a pair of trails between Silver Spring and the District.[25][26]

Eventually, this proposal came known as the "Inner Purple Line" to distinguish it from the "Beltway Purple Line". By 2001, the "Beltway Purple Line" proposal had been abandoned as too costly and the name was attached to the Bethesda to New Carrollton line.[27]

Robert Flanagan, the Maryland State Secretary of Transportation under Governor Robert Ehrlich, merged the Purple Line proposal with the Georgetown Branch Light Rail Transit (GBLRT) line. The GBLRT was proposed as a light rail transit line from Silver Spring westward, following the former Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, now a short CSX siding and the Capital Crescent Trail, to Bethesda.[28]

Groundbreaking ceremony of the Purple Line on August 28, 2017.[29]

In March 2003, the Ehrlich administration renamed the project the "Bi-County Transitway", reflecting a proposal by Ehrlich and Flanagan to use bus rapid transit instead of light rail, and because the name "Purple Line" seemed to suggest a new heavy-rail system like the color-named lines of the Washington Metro system. The new name did not catch on; several media outlets and most citizens continued to refer to the "Purple Line". In 2007, Governor Martin O'Malley and Secretary of Transportation John Porcari reverted to "Purple Line".[30]

In January 2008, the O'Malley administration allocated $100 million within a six-year capital budget to complete design documents for state approval and funding of the Purple Line.[31] In May 2008, it was projected that the Purple Line would have about 68,000 daily trips.[32] A draft environmental impact study was issued on October 20, 2008.[33] On December 22, 2008, Montgomery County planners endorsed building a light rail line rather than a bus line. On January 15, 2009, the county planning board also endorsed the light rail option,[34] and County Executive Isiah Leggett has also expressed support.[35] On October 21, 2009, members of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the Purple Line light rail project for inclusion into the region's Constrained Long-Range Transportation Plan.[36]

Planners proposed to use existing Washington Metro stations and to accept the WMATA's SmarTrip farecard.[37] Metro's 2008 annual report envisioned that the Purple Line would be fully integrated with the existing Washington Metro transit system by 2030.[38][39]

The proposed project drew support and opposition in the community:

Support for Purple Line

[edit]
  • Purple Line Now is a non-profit organization that advocated for a Purple Line light rail line from Bethesda to New Carrollton to be integrated with a hiker/biker trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring.[40]
  • The Action Committee for Transit is a community group that supports the Purple Line.[41]
  • The Washington Post editorial board endorsed the Purple Line light rail option in 2008.[42]
  • The Montgomery County Council and Prince George's County Council voted unanimously in favor of the light rail option for the Purple Line in January 2009.[43]
  • Maryland state officials (including former Governor Martin O'Malley) are also strong Purple Line advocates. State officials say that a Purple Line, which is to run primarily above ground, "would provide better east–west transit service, particularly for lower-income workers who cannot afford cars."[44]
  • The development firm Chevy Chase Land Co. is a strong proponent of the construction of the Purple Line. The website for the pro-Purple umbrella group Purple Line NOW! lists Edward Asher as a member of its board of directors. The Washington Post stated that the development firm would "no doubt profit from property it owns near at least one of the proposed stations."[44]
  • The Sierra Club advocates a larger-scale rail system to parallel the Capital Beltway and link all existing Metro lines at their peripheries. This environmental group advocates rail transit over car use because carbon emissions are a major cause of climate change.[45]
  • Some student leaders (the Student Government Association and Graduate Student Government) at the University of Maryland support transit alternatives to campus.[46][47]
  • On January 27, 2009, the Montgomery County Council voted to support the light rail option.[48] Governor O'Malley announced his own approval on August 4, 2009.[1]
  • The vice president of trail development for the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has said that with proper design, the trail-Purple Line combination can be "among the best in the nation."[49]
  • Members of the Facebook group New Urbanist Memes for Transit-Oriented Teens were "irrationally excited for the forthcoming Maryland purple line."[50]

Support for bus

[edit]
  • A 2008 study by Sam Schwartz Engineering for the Town of Chevy Chase supported bus rapid transit using an alternate Jones Bridge Road alignment. The Chevy Chase study expressed concerns about the expected ridership numbers, carbon footprint, interruptions in recreation pathways, and the cost of bus and light rail proposals by the MTA involving a Capital Crescent Trail alignment. Although a Jones Bridge Road alignment was also proposed by the MTA, the study noted that features typical of bus rapid transit that were missing from the MTA proposal.[51]

Opposition to rail

[edit]
Opponents argued that the Purple Line would hurt the Capital Crescent Trail (pictured).
Construction of the Purple Line and Capital Crescent Trail crossings of Rock Creek during the construction pause in 2021
  • A not-for-profit local organization, Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail, began collecting signatures on a petition opposing the MTA's Purple Line proposals in 2003; in 2014, it filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia asserting that the Federal Transit Administration had not complied with federal environmental laws when it approved a grant to help build the Purple Line. In 2008, the organization's website asserted that the MTA's light rail and bus rapid transit proposals would undermine the environment and safety on the Capital Crescent Trail,[52] and endorsed running bus rapid transit on Jones Bridge Road, as recommended by the Chevy Chase study.[51] But the petition called for yet a different option because the Jones Bridge Road route would affect the trail.[53]
  • A leading opponent of the Purple Line was the Columbia Country Club, a private club whose golf course occupies both sides of the planned route between Bethesda and Silver Spring.[54] The club, "long viewed as one of the most well-financed and politically connected Purple Line foes", spent thousands of dollars over a decade lobbying state and federal officials, hosting fundraisers for sympathetic politicians,[55] and organizing "grassroots" opposition.[56] In 2013, newly elected leaders of the Club signed an agreement not to oppose the Purple Line if its route were adjusted by 12 feet (3.66 m) and other concessions were granted.[57]
  • Opponents in the Town of Chevy Chase cited the town's study of bus rapid transit alternatives. The study estimated a cost of less than $1 billion for a bus rapid transit system, compared with an estimated cost of $1.8 billion for light rail.[58] A 2011 news report placed the cost of the rail line at US$1.93 billion.[59]
  • In 2010, residents around the Dale Wayne stop worried that doubling the size of the road, along with the county's "smart growth" policy around transit stops, would encourage commercial development in a residential neighborhood. They wondered about the accuracy of the MTA's prediction that the Dale station would see 1,427 daily boardings.[60][61]

Approval

[edit]
Hogan backed the Purple Line while blocking construction of the Baltimore Red Line in 2015.
Purple Line construction at the Paul S. Sarbanes Transit Center in Silver Spring, Maryland in May 2020
The Northeast Branch Anacostia River crossing during the construction pause in 2021

In June 2015, the Purple Line was approved by Governor Larry Hogan, who opposed the project while campaigning in 2014. Hogan cancelled its sister project, the Baltimore Red Line, citing excessive costs, and reduced the state's contribution to the Purple Line from $700 million to $168 million, putting the difference toward highway construction. To make up the difference, Prince George's and Montgomery counties would contribute more money and the frequency of train service would be reduced.[62]

The Purple Line was procured as a full design-build-finance-operate-maintain public–private partnership. On December 7, 2015, four teams composed of major American and international firms submitted their bids to realize the project:[63][64]

On March 2, 2016, Hogan announced that the state had chosen Purple Line Transit Partners to build, operate, and maintain the Purple Line for $3.3 billion over 36 years, with service to start in late 2022.[65]

On April 6, 2016, the Maryland Board of Public Works (composed of Hogan, State Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp, and State Comptroller Peter Franchot) unanimously approved the contract.[66] The $5.6 billion contract is 876 pages long and, according to The Washington Post is "believed to be the most expensive government contract ever in Maryland" and "one of the largest public-private partnerships on a U.S. transportation project" ever.[66] The contract approval allowed the MTA to finalize $900 million in federal construction grants.[65][66]

In August 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon vacated the Purple Line's federal approval, ruling that the MTA and the Federal Transit Administration did not properly study whether Metro's maintenance issues and ridership decline would affect the Purple Line.[67] Hogan responded that Leon's residence at the Columbia Country Club, a leading opponent of the line, represented a conflict of interest.[68] A federal funding agreement cannot be signed without the reinstatement of the environmental approval, and Maryland had said it could not afford to build the Purple Line without sufficient federal funding.[67][69] On August 21, 2017, despite the ongoing court case over the environmental analysis, $900 million of federal funding was granted for the light rail project.[70] On December 19, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of the Purple Line, stating that declining ridership on the Washington Metro system does not require Maryland to complete a new environmental study for the Purple Line.[10] This federal appeals court ruling allowed for construction to continue and effectively ended the three-year legal battle surrounding the light-rail line project.[9]

In 2019, the Purple Line Transit Partners said the opening date would slip to 2023 or 2024.[71]

On April 13, 2020, U.S. District Judge James Bredar dismissed the third and final lawsuit brought by opponents of the Purple Line.[72]

Builder consortium quits

[edit]

By 2020, the project had accrued over $800 million in change orders from Purple Line Transit Partners and the opening date had slipped 32 months.[73][74][75] On May 1, the consortium declared their intent to cease work on the line and withdraw from their contract.[73] A temporary restraining order halted the company from quitting work, but it was lifted in September,[76] and PLTP began packing up construction sites the following week.[77] In November, MDOT announced that MTA had assumed many of the Purple Line's contracts, including the manufacturing of light-rail cars, operations, and maintenance, as well as design and construction contracts.[78] On November 24, MDOT agreed to pay $250 million to PLTP to settle the costs of overruns,[79][80] a move approved unanimously in mid-December by Maryland's Board of Public Works (BPW). Officials aimed to restart construction within nine months—i.e., fall 2021.[81]

Work resumes

[edit]

On November 5, 2021, Purple Line officials announced that the contract to finish construction would go to Maryland Transit Solutions: a joint venture of Dragados USA and OHL USA, both American subsidiaries of major Spanish construction firms.[15] The contract was ultimately set at $2.3 billion, bringing total construction costs to $3.4 billion, some $1.46 billion over the 2016 plan.[16]

As 2022 opened, state officials said the line would open in fall 2026.[82] The new construction contract was approved by BPW on January 26, 2022, and signed in April 2022.[16] Full-scale construction activity resumed in summer 2022.[17] In June 2022, MTA said that 77% of the necessary utility relocations had been completed, and that the Glenridge Operations and Maintenance Facility was complete and in operation.[83]

In January 2023, the estimated cost to build and operate the line for 36 years was $9.28 billion. In July 2023, MTA officials added $148 million to their construction-costs estimate, pushing the build-and-operate cost to $9.4 billion. The expected opening date was delayed to May 2027, more than five years later than first planned. The officials said the changes were due to the change of contractor, to inflation, and to labor shortages.[18]

In March 2024, MTA officials asked the state's Board of Public Works to approve another $425 million for the project. The extra money would go toward construction costs and also extend the contract to operate the line to 2057. The request would boost the total cost to build and operate the line to about $9.53 billion, about $4 billion over the initial 2016 budget of $5.6 billion. It was the second-largest request for extra funds, after the 2022 addition. They also said the Purple Line was now forecast to open in late 2027.[19]

Route and station locations

[edit]
The Silver Spring Library, with the space under the overhang set aside for the future Purple Line station
Roughly geographical map of the proposed Purple Line routes including alternative alignments

The planned rail line will connect the existing Metro, MARC commuter rail, and Amtrak stations at:[7]

The following stations are part of the "Locally Preferred Alternative" route approved by Governor Martin O'Malley on August 9, 2009:[84]

Station Name Location Connections
Bethesda 7450 Wisconsin Avenue
Bethesda, Maryland 		Metrorail: Red Line
Bus transport Metrobus: J2
Bus transport Ride On: 29, 30, 32, 34, 36, 47, 70
Bus transport Bethesda Circulator
Bike transport Capital Crescent Trail
Connecticut Avenue Capital Crescent Trail & Connecticut Avenue
Chevy Chase, MD 20815		 Bus transport Metrobus: L8
Lyttonsville Lyttonsville Place, Lyttonsville
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Bus transport Ride On: 2
16th Street–Woodside 16th Street, Woodside
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Bus transport Metrobus: J1, J2
Bus transport Ride On: 1, 2, 11, 18
Silver Spring 8400 Colesville Road
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Metrorail: Red Line
MARC Train:   Brunswick Line
Bus transport Metrobus: 70, 79, F4, J1, J2, Q2, Q4, S2, S9, Y2, Y7, Y8, Z2, Z6, Z7, Z8
Bus transport Ride On: 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 28, Flash BRT (Blue, Orange)
Bus transport MTA Maryland Bus: 915, 929
Bus transport Shuttle-UM: 111
Bus transport Peter Pan Bus
Silver Spring Library 900 Wayne Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Bus transport Metrobus: F4
Bus transport Ride On: 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 28
Bus transport Shuttle-UM: 111
Dale Drive Dale Drive & Wayne Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Bus transport Ride On: 12, 15, 19
Manchester Place Wayne Avenue & Plymouth Street
Silver Spring, MD 20910 		Bus transport Ride On: 12, 13, 19
Long Branch 8736 Arliss Street
Silver Spring, MD 20901 		Bus transport Ride On: 14, 15, 16, 20, 24
Piney Branch Road Piney Branch Road & University Boulevard
Silver Spring, MD 20903 		Bus transport Metrobus: C2, C4
Bus transport Ride On: 14, 15, 16, 20, 24
Takoma–Langley 7900 New Hampshire Ave
Langley Park, MD 		Bus transport Metrobus: C2, C4, F8, K6, K9
Bus transport Ride On: 15, 16, 17, 18, 25
Bus transport TheBus: 18
Bus transport Shuttle-UM: 111
Riggs Road Riggs Road & University Boulevard
Langley Park/Hyattsville, MD 20903 		Bus transport Metrobus: C2, C4, F8, R1, R2
Bus transport TheBus: 18
Adelphi Road–UMGC–UMD Adelphi Road & Campus Drive
Adelphi/Hyattsville, MD 20903 		Bus transport Metrobus: C2, C8, F6, F8
Bus transport TheBus: 18
Bus transport Shuttle-UM
Campus Drive–UMD Campus Drive & Library Lane
College Park, MD 20742 		Bus transport Metrobus: C2, C8, F6
Bus transport Shuttle-UM
Baltimore Avenue–UMD Baltimore Avenue & Rossborough Lane
College Park, MD 20742 		Bus transport Metrobus: 83, 86, C8, F6
Bus transport TheBus: 17
Bus transport Shuttle-UM
College Park–UMD 4931 Calvert Road & 7202 Bowdoin Avenue
College Park, Maryland 		Metrorail: Green Line
MARC Train:   Camden Line
Bus transport Metrobus: 83, 86, C8, F6, R12
Bus transport RTA: 302/G
Bus transport TheBus: 14, 17
Bus transport Shuttle-UM: 104, 109
Bus transport MTA Maryland: 204
Riverdale Park North–UMD River Road & Haig Drive
Riverdale Park, MD 20737 		Bus transport Metrobus: F6, R12
Bus transport TheBus: 14
Riverdale Park–Kenilworth East West Highway & Kenilworth Avenue
Riverdale Park, MD 20737 		Bus transport Metrobus: F4, R12, T14
Bus transport TheBus: 14
Beacon Heights–East Pines Riverdale Road & 67th Avenue
Riverdale Park, MD 20737 		Bus transport Metrobus: F4, T14
Bus transport TheBus: 14
Glenridge Veterans Parkway & Annapolis Road
Hyattsville/Landover Hills, MD 20784 		Bus transport Metrobus: F13, T18
New Carrollton 4300–4700 Garden City Drive
New Carrollton, MD 		Metrorail: Orange Line
MARC Train:   Penn Line
Amtrak Amtrak
Bus transport Metrobus: A12, B21, B22, B24, B27, F4, F6, F12, F13, F14, G12, G14, T14, T18
Bus transport MTA Maryland Commuter Bus
Bus transport TheBus: 15X, 16, 21, 21X
Bus transport Greyhound

Potential expansion

[edit]

Although the Purple Line is a 16-mile (28.8-km) east–west line between Bethesda and New Carrollton,[7] there have been several proposals to expand the line further into Maryland or to mirror the Capital Beltway as a loop around the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The Sierra Club has argued for a Purple Line that would "encircle Washington, D.C." and "connect existing suburban metro lines."[45] Maryland Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown, while campaigning in 2006, similarly stated that he would "like to see the Purple Line go from Bethesda to across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge," adding, "Let's swing that boy all the way around" (a reference to having the Purple Line circle through Virginia and back to the line's point of origin in Bethesda).[85]

An advocacy group known as "The Inner Purple Line Campaign" proposed that the Purple Line be extended westward to Tysons Corner and eastward to Largo, and that it could eventually cross the new Wilson Bridge from Suitland through Oxon Hill to Alexandria, eventually forming a rail line that encircles the city.[41] The new Woodrow Wilson Bridge (I-495's southern crossing over the Potomac River) is built to carry a heavy or light rail line.[86] Suggested stops along this proposed Purple Line expansion include:[87]

Rolling stock

[edit]

The light rail vehicles designed to run on the Purple Line are being built by CAF at their Elmira, New York, facility. Each train is 140 feet (43 m) long, consists of 5 modules, and can carry up to 431 passengers (seated plus standing).[89] CAF began testing the cars in 2020.[90] Fabrication of all 130 modular car shells at the CAF facility in Spain was completed in June 2021.[91] 26 of the 28 trains have been assembled as of February 2023.[2]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Purple Line (Maryland)
KML is from Wikidata
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Purple Line (Maryland).
  1. ^ a b c "Governor O'Malley Announces Purple Line Locally Preferred Alternative" (Press release). New Carrollton, MD: Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). August 4, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Community Advisory Team Meeting #10 (Lyttonsville)". Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). February 28, 2023. p. 13. Archived from the original on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Freed, Benjamin (March 2, 2016). "Purple Line Construction to Start Later This Year". Washingtonian. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Request For Proposals Technical Provisions Part 2B, Design Build Requirements (Report). MDOT/Maryland Transit Administration (MTA). pp. 2–203. Archived from the original on February 7, 2021. Retrieved September 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Shah, Dhaval R. Presale: Purple Line Transit Partners LLC. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: S&P Global Ratings. p. 14. Archived from the original on December 14, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  6. ^ "MARYLAND LRV". CAF. Archived from the original on July 9, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "Project Overview". Purple Line. Baltimore, MD: MTA. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Metcalf, Andrew (December 19, 2016). "Transit Agencies Say Metro's Woes Won't Impact Purple Line". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on July 14, 2018. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  9. ^ a b Shaver, Katherine (December 19, 2017). "Federal appeals court ruling allows Purple Line construction to continue". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Cloherty, Megan (December 19, 2017). "US appeals court clears a legal hurdle for Purple Line". WTOP Radio. Chevy Chase, MD. Archived from the original on January 27, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  11. ^ "Purple Line Contract Receives Green Light From Governor Larry Hogan". Rockville, MD: Montgomery Community Media. March 2, 2016. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  12. ^ Shaver, Katherine (September 27, 2018). "Purple Line set to open in fall of 2022, despite year-long delay in construction start, Maryland official says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Shaver, Katherine (October 9, 2020). "Maryland takes over contracts on Purple Line construction after contractor quits". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ^ Shaver, Katherine (January 12, 2022). "Purple Line will open 4½ years late and cost $1.4 billion more to complete, state says". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 24, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Shaver, Katherine (November 5, 2021). "New Purple Line contractors selected to resume full construction this spring". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c "New construction contract for Maryland's Purple Line signed". The Washington Post. April 14, 2022. Archived from the original on July 5, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Shaver, Katherine (September 30, 2022). "As Purple Line construction resumes, the fight against gentrification is on". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Cox, Erin (July 14, 2023). "Purple Line further delayed, another $148M over budget". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  19. ^ a b c Nguyen, Danny (March 4, 2024). "Purple Line, delayed until 2027, needs another $425 million infusion". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
  20. ^ Sears, Bryan P. (March 1, 2024). "Cost of Purple line increases yet again, completion pushed back". Maryland Matters. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  21. ^ Fehr, Stephen (December 18, 1994). "A Palette of Proposals for Metro". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  22. ^ "A Governor's Purple Vision". The Washington Post. October 18, 1998. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
  23. ^ Mariano, Ann (June 13, 1987). "Study Favorable to CSX Rail Plans". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 19, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  24. ^ Bethesda : Central Business District Sector Plan. July 1975.
  25. ^ Armao, Jo-Ann (December 9, 1988). "Rail Spur Purchase 'Priceless'; Montgomery Weighs Hiking, Trolley Line". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 6, 2017.
  26. ^ Armao, Jo Ann (December 4, 1989). "Trolley Blazes A Trail for Hikers, Bikers". The Washington Post.
  27. ^ Layton, Lindsey (March 31, 2001). "Glendening Gives Pro-Metro Pep Talk". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017.
  28. ^ "What is the Purple Line". Purple Line. MTA. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  29. ^ Metcalf, Andrew (August 28, 2017). "Officials Break Ground on Long-Awaited Purple Line Project; Construction Immediately Starts". Bethesda Magazine. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  30. ^ "Project History". Purple Line. MTA. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  31. ^ Davis, Janel (January 18, 2008). "O'Malley allocates $100M for Purple Line planning". The Gazette. Maryland. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  32. ^ Shaver, Katherine (May 30, 2008). "Trips on Purple Line Rail Projected at 68,000 Daily". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  33. ^ "Studies & Reports Maryland Purple Line". MTA. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
  34. ^ Spivak, Miranda S. (January 16, 2009). "Montgomery Planners Back Rail". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  35. ^ Shaver, Katherine (January 23, 2009). "Leggett Endorses Light-Rail Plan". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  36. ^ "TPB Gives Final Approval to Purple Line Project" (PDF). TPB News. Vol. XVII, no. 4. Washington, DC: National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board; Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. November 2009. p. 1. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 22, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
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