I have not seen any recent news updates on the (last ditch) Federal court lawsuit by Chevy Chase residents to block the Purple Line since the judge raised the possibility of stopping work for 6 months for yet another ridership study. The excuse was that the Metro ridership was in decline because of the years of track work, so the state should reevaluate the ridership projections, even though the proposed line has been studied to death over the past several decades. Which was a new story which made me want to bang my head on the table, because by 2022, the SafeTrack disruptions should be long over.
Anyway, there was news in late June about the completion of the financing deal so the Purple Line Transit Partners consortium can proceed. The design-build stage of the project should be underway.
Railway Age: Maryland Purple Line closes financial deal
Railway Gazette:CAF awarded Maryland Purple Line LRV contract
Yep, the CAF Elmira plant will be building the Purple Line vehicles. Hopefully they won't be as delayed as the Viewliner IIs or the vehicles CAF built for Houston light rail.
Anyway, there was news in late June about the completion of the financing deal so the Purple Line Transit Partners consortium can proceed. The design-build stage of the project should be underway.
Railway Age: Maryland Purple Line closes financial deal
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and Purple Line Transit Partners, have signed the final financial documents for a $5.6 billion PPP contract to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the light rail Purple Line north of Washington DC.
Purple Line Transit Partners comprises Meridiam as a 70% equity provider, with Fluor Enterprises and Star America each providing 15% of the equity.
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The 26km east-west Purple Line will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton serving suburbs inside the Capital Beltway north of Washington DC. The 21-station line will connect four branches of the Washington Metro, three commuter rail lines, plus Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, and will have 21 stations. The line will have a mixture of dedicated rights-of-way and street running. Passenger services are due to begin operating in early 2022.
Railway Gazette:CAF awarded Maryland Purple Line LRV contract
USA: CAF has been awarded a contract to supply 26 five-section light rail vehicles for the Purple Line project in the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC.
The contract announced by CAF on June 28 is to be managed by its CAF USA subsidiary, which will manufacture the LRVs at its plant in Elmira, New York. The contract is worth more than US$200m and includes spare parts, tools and test equipment.
Yep, the CAF Elmira plant will be building the Purple Line vehicles. Hopefully they won't be as delayed as the Viewliner IIs or the vehicles CAF built for Houston light rail.