Governor Martin O’Malley today announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has given its approval for the Purple Line to move forward and enter the Preliminary Engineering (PE) phase. The Purple Line is a proposed 16-mile east-west light rail that will operate between Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George’s County with connection to four branches of the WMATA Metro system. FTA approval means that work on the project now moves to preparation of more detailed plans, schedules and cost estimates, as well as completion of environmental studies.

“This action by the Federal Transit Administration will help us expand rapid and reliable transportation in the Washington suburban region as part of our larger effort to create the next generation of transit in Maryland,” said Governor O’Malley. “The Purple Line will be an environmentally-friendly option that will reduce gridlock and connect citizens to economic opportunities throughout the region. Today’s federal approval affirms the benefits and feasibility of this project—paving the way for job creation and future federal funding. Together, with our federal partners, we can secure the future of transit in Maryland and continue to move the Purple Line forward.”
The FTA review of the Purple Line proposal focused on the project’s high daily ridership and many significant benefits as well as the State’s financial commitment and technical capacity to build and operate the project. By granting permission to begin preliminary engineering, the Purple Line becomes one of a small of number of projects nationwide that are eligible for federal funding.
“Governor O’Malley and I have made public transportation one of our top priorities because we understand that Maryland cannot continue to move forward if we are buried in gridlock,” said Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett. “The Purple Line project will help us address many of the difficult challenges we face today and in the future.” 
 
Support for the Purple Line project was also expressed by Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III, and both County Councils, as well as the mayors of many towns, elected officials along the 16-mile corridor and the University of Maryland College Park.
 
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III recently said, “The Purple line is a great way to make the wonderful and diverse communities of Prince George’s County more accessible to residents and visitors and it will help to create new jobs and commerce for our residents.”
 
As proposed, the Purple Line will connect major employment and activity centers in Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton with residential and commercial areas located in between, including the Takoma-Langley Park community and Riverdale Park residents whose many transit dependent riders today are only served by buses.  It will link both branches of Metro’s Red Line at Bethesda and Silver Spring, the Green Line at College Park and the Orange Line at New Carrollton.  The Purple Line will also con

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