Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announced Tuesday that the controversial Purple Line would be built as light rail, instead of as a rapid bus system.
“It was the product of consensus we built through disagreement,” the Democratic governor told the crowd of purple-clad supporters in Prince George’s County.
But to the west in Montgomery County, opponents immediately said they didn’t feel such consensus on what O’Malley plans to submit to federal authorities as the “locally preferred” option for the proposed transit line connecting the two counties.
The Purple Line proposal
» What: A 16-mile light-rail line running trains powered by overhead lines almost entirely above ground, except for 0.7 miles of tunnel including between Manchester Road and Arliss Street in Silver Spring.
» Where: The Purple Line would run between the New Carrollton and Bethesda Metrorail stations, providing a key east-west connection to Red, Green and Orange Metro lines and MARC commuter trains, plus the University of Maryland campus, Silver Spring and Bethesda. The proposal calls for 21 stations, including one at Dale Drive in Montgomery County that is still being studied.
» When: Maryland officials plan to submit the route to the Federal Transit Administration in the fall. If the project moves ahead, the earliest that officials could begin construction would be in 2013, said Maryland Department of Transportation spokesman Jack Cahalan. It could then begin running by 2016.
» How much: $1.5 billion in 2009 dollars, Cahalan said, with an estimated 50 percent from federal sources and the rest from state funds.
“It is not the ‘locally preferred alternative’ by a long shot,” said Pam Browning, a Chevy Chase resident who gathered 18,000 signatures for a petition asking for the line to be placed underground or somewhere away from a popular trail along the proposed route that borders the town of Chevy Chase. She and a coalition of Montgomery County neighborhood groups plan to protest the decision with a letter to the Federal Transit Administration this week.
Meanwhile, Chevy Chase Councilwoman Patricia Burda said her town was mulling its options, including filing a lawsuit. The town council supports the Purple Line conceptually, she said, but says bus rapid transit would be the most sensible alternative.
The council has called the $1.5 billion light rail line too expensive, because it is estimated to cost about $1 billion more than buses. Others have worried that it will permanently alter the bucolic nature of the popular Capital Crescent Trail that runs on an old train right-of-way where the light rail would travel.
But proponents welcomed the news, saying the long-sought rail line could help connect existing communities to jobs, rather than creating sprawl and more traffic. The 16-mile line would have up to 21 stations, providing a key east-west connection to Metro, MARC and Amtrak lines by 2016 at the earliest. They also say the trains could carry more riders than buses.
“It’s a terrific day, what can I say,” said Ben Ross, with Montgomery County’s Action Committee for Transit advocacy group that has pushed for the light-rail version. “I’ve been working on this issue for 20 years.”
But the timeline could drag out even longer — especially if lawsuits are filed. And even officials were confused about when it could be ready: The materials distributed Tuesday contained two sets of timelines, one saying the trains would begin in 2018. A Maryland transportation spokesman later said the confusion was a typo, saying it could be ready by 2016 if all went smoothly.
