Maryland’s planned 15-mile Corridor Cities Transitway along Interstate 270 will operate using rapid buses, Gov. Martin O’Malley confirmed Friday.

The system will provide transportation north from the Shady Grove Metro Station to the Comsat facility near Clarksburg. With the govenor’s stamp of approval, the bus project can be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration for New Starts funding, entering the same process that the Purple Line light rail system has been undergoing.