MTA Purple Line Bethesda - New Carrollton Light Rail

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... struction/

New Purple Line contractors selected to resume full construction this spring

The companies, Dragados and OHL, will take over a Maryland light-rail project that’s more than two years behind schedule and $250 million over budget.

I drove the length of the alignment the other week (sorry no photos) from the start to Silver Spring (not the trail section between Silver Spring and Bethesda).

The new mound for the College Park M is there (and looks weird). Mostly utility work still.

I'd say the biggest thing going on is the water main relocation off of 410 near the end. It would be nice to see real movement on construction going again. Though I have to say the delay isn't hurting much given the pandemic. Ridership would just be horrific if it opens now. In 2 years it might have a fighting chance. I hope we see the city come back and COVID recede by then.

USDOT Loans $1.76b for Maryland Purple Line
noting
PLTP Financial Close construction resumption - FINAL.pdf - "PURPLE LINE REACHES FINANCIAL CLOSE, FULL-SCALE CONSTRUCTION TO RESUME LATE SPRING AND SUMMER"

Expected opening date: 2026

https://www.washingtonpost.com/transpor ... ion-start/

An update on what is going on from the new constructors.

Doesn't seem like a lot of other people post on this thread but there has been actual progress on the purple line for those that are right nearby.

They poured a big part of the bridge over Rock Creek and they dug out the entrance to the Plymouth Tunnel. They are actually doing more than utility work left over from the state run period finally.

The state website is worse now if that was possible, but the "social" media steams can give some pictures of the progress. I suspect they will make their planned service date as the contractor taking over knew where most of the "bodies" were whereas the original contract there is always a bunch of unknowns.

Sadly still years away but at least they are finishing the structures much more now. It would be nice to see them finish the test track over on the PG side of the line so we can see them test the train sets which are basically done and sitting in NY. Its almost certain that section and the overhead line for it will be the first finished. My guess is Bethesda will be the very last thing done as that is the most complex part of the project, though the shaft is just for elevators so perhaps it is less complex than I think to make that connection underground.

With the 7000s slowly coming back and Silver open to the end this is the next thing after Yellow reopens the bridge. 2026 though.

Setbacks...: Railway Age

Another Setback for Purple Line Light Rail Project

The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) and Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP) are seeking approval to push the long-delayed Purple Line’s launch date from fall 2026 to spring 2027.

The organizations on July 14 reported requesting Maryland Board of Public Works’ approval of a modification to their Purple Line Public-Private Partnership (P3) agreement that extends the contractual deadline for achieving revenue service availability to spring 2027. The 16.2-mile, 21-station light rail project, which broke ground in 2017, is slated to carry riders between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George’s County, and to provide direct connections to four branches of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system, all three MARC commuter rail lines in the Baltimore-Washington metro area, and Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor line; the project also includes completion of the Capital Crescent Trail. Originally anticipated to open in March 2022, the Purple Line was plagued with delays and cost overruns that led to litigation, which was resolved in November 2020.

The latest project schedule change “reflects delays in completion of utility relocation activities, the challenges and complexities of completing construction in a dense urban environment with significant pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the ongoing national workforce and supply chain issues, and the unique history of the Purple Line Light Rail Project,” according to MDOT MTA and PLTP. “The project’s history includes two highly uncommon events: a set aside, and later reinstatement, of a key federal government environmental approval in 2016 and the replacement of the design-build contractor in 2022. The new design-build contractor [Maryland Transit Solutions, comprising Dragados USA Inc. and OHL USA Inc.] faced unexpected conditions as some construction sites that sat dormant for nearly two years were reopened.”
...

re: Silver Spring
The Purple Line comes in from the west, swings north, then along Bonifant.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N6DVih6DhiywD75i8

What I think is a bridge for the Metropolitan Trail is crossing Colesville, on the north side of the CSX trackage.

Now, in the middle of the Metro platform, about where the M is located, there's a closed off work area signed as where the new Mezzanine will be.

Will this be directly connecting to the Trail, the Purple Llne or both? How exactly?

farecard
re: Silver Spring
The Purple Line comes in from the west, swings north, then along Bonifant.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/N6DVih6DhiywD75i8

What I think is a bridge for the Metropolitan Trail is crossing Colesville, on the north side of the CSX trackage.

Now, in the middle of the Metro platform, about where the M is located, there's a closed off work area signed as where the new Mezzanine will be.

Will this be directly connecting to the Trail, the Purple Llne or both? How exactly?

The new entrance in the Silver Spring Metrorail station will be an above platform mezzanine connecting it to the Purple line station. It will be between the south end of the platform canopy and the south end of the station platform.

See pages 8 - 16 Proposed Changes To Bethesda, Silver Spring And New Carrollton Metrorail Stations (2.25 MB PDF file).

Thanks.

It's quite extensive, and expensive. It will take up a lot of the current platform space at the southern end.

One thing that puzzles me is on NEW ENTRANCE PLATFORM PLAN. It has an "Existing bridge to be replaced" that I've having trouble recalling. I'll have to look next time I'm there.

farecard
Thanks.

It's quite extensive, and expensive. It will take up a lot of the current platform space at the southern end.

The platform square footage lost will only be in the footprints of the escalators, elevators and stairs.

One thing that puzzles me is on NEW ENTRANCE PLATFORM PLAN. It has an "Existing bridge to be replaced" that I've having trouble recalling. I'll have to look next time I'm there.

The existing pedestrian bridge has already been removed, it formerly connected the outbound MARC platform to the middle level of the of the transit center. The new one will it under the new Metrorail station entrance pedestrian bridge.

The MTA is seeking another $425 million dollars to complete the Purple Line, and the opening is now expected in 2027. That brings the total overruns to $4 billion dollars for a line that was expected to be operational by now. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... 5-million/

New choo-choos: https://www.sourceofthespring.com/silve ... l-vehicle/

Maryland Transit Officials Unveil First 142-Foot Purple Line Light Rail Vehicle




Maryland transit officials revealed the first Purple Line light rail vehicle to arrive in the state on Thursday.

The 142-foot-long vehicles, currently the longest of their kind in the United States, are assembled in Elmira, N.Y., and then transported to the Operations and Maintenance Facility in Prince George’s County.
...
Spain-based rail car manufacturer CAF is building the vehicles, which have a capacity for 430 passengers and seating for 80. It can accommodate up to eight wheelchairs and features eight bike racks to encourage passengers to take their bicycles or scooters onboard. Additionally, the all-electric vehicles have been designed to reduce noise as they travel through communities.
...
The 16-mile, 21-station Purple Line, which has been embattled by mounting delays and escalating costs, is more than 65 percent complete and is currently slated to begin operation in winter 2027.

They look good.

I bet MTA Maryland will ask CAF for another 55 of them for regular Light Rail.

https://wmata.com/about/news/Four-Red-L ... Spring.cfm

Four Red Line stations reopen Sunday, MTA Purple Line construction continues at Silver Spring

Metro will reopen four Red Line stations for customers on schedule Sunday, Sept. 1.

The reopening of Glenmont, Wheaton, Forest Glen, and Silver Spring marks the end of Red Line rehabilitation work that was completed while the Maryland Transit Administration built part of a new Purple Line mezzanine at Silver Spring.

Purple Line mezzanine work will continue on the platform at Silver Spring with scaffolding covering about one-third of the platform, but the Metro station will be open for customers. During the summer, Purple Line crews built columns that will support the walkway from the Purple Line station over the tracks to the Metro Red Line platform.

Silver Spring will still be an active construction site for the Purple Line and the scaffolding will remain on site until 2027.
...


I was there on the 17th and noted the bridge across the tracks to the platform was not in place.