US DOT awards funding for Maryland Purple Line Project

The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a US$900 million federal grant agreement for the Maryland Purple Line Light Rail Project. The light rail line will make travel across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties faster and more reliable, improving access to major business and activity centres in the state’s most populated counties. The 16.2-mile Maryland Purple Line will connect major activity centres in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Takoma-Langley Park, College
August 29, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

The 324 US Department of Transportation’s 2023 Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced a US$900 million federal grant agreement for the Maryland Purple Line Light Rail Project. The light rail line will make travel across Montgomery and Prince George’s counties faster and more reliable, improving access to major business and activity centres in the state’s most populated counties.

The 16.2-mile Maryland Purple Line will connect major activity centres in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Takoma-Langley Park, College Park, and New Carrollton to three Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority rail lines, all three Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) rail lines and 2008 Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line. Although the project will provide direct connections with Metrorail and MARC, it will remain physically and operationally separate. When completed, the line will make suburb-to-suburb cross-county travel easier and faster.

The project includes the construction of 21 stations, two vehicle and maintenance storage yards with shop facilities, and the procurement of 25 articulated light-rail vehicles.

In addition to the funding from FTA’s Capital Investment Grants Program, in June 2016 US DOT announced a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan of US$874.6 million to Purple Line Transit Partners for construction of the Maryland Purple Line.

Purple Line Transit Partners to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the 16.2-mile light rail system. MDOT will be the owner of the project and its selected private partner, Purple Line Transit Partners, will implement the project on a design-build-finance-operate-maintain basis.

Related Content

  • March 15, 2012
    Traffic signal priority initiatives aid better bus travel
    David Crawford investigates traffic signal priority initiatives developing for better bus travel on the US Pacific Coast Transit patronage rises by an average of 35% along commuter corridors equipped with bus rapid transit (BRT) systems, according to the US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA). BRT as defined as bus transit enhanced with ITS systems for better services, is winning new passengers attracted by opportunity to avoid increasing fuel costs and traffic congestion.
    Read More
  • March 3, 2017
    Freight poses growing problem for city authorities
    Wes Guckert considers possible solutions and countermeasures to the problems of increased freight deliveries in growing cities. In January 2016, the US Department of Transportation (USDoT) conducted a session on the SmartCity Challenge and Urban Freight and Logistics. This session was a follow-up to the USDoT report titled, Beyond Traffic 2045.
    Read More
  • December 22, 2014
    Funding to speed innovation in US transportation projects
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced US$5.37 million in grants from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) designed to accelerate deployment of innovative road and bridge work. The funds will be used to offset the cost of pioneering highway project delivery in six states.
    Read More
  • June 6, 2014
    World Bank funds Yemen highway project
    The World Bank has announced a US$133.54 million grant to support the Government of Yemen’s ambitious plan to connect the northern and southern parts of the country with a 710 kilometre highway. The largest ever infrastructure project in Yemen’s history will play a vital role in the country’s transition by targeting the root causes of instability, such as lack of access to economic opportunities and poor national integration, and rebuilding the country’s social and economic base. “This is more than just
    Read More

Highlighted Content