I had no idea the purple line was this far along. I thought it was stopped once that contractor pulled out a few years ago. Glad to see they restarted construction. I need to get out of DC once in a while to see it lol...
A light rail is a train that uses tram vehicles on track that has significant grade separation but still is constrained by stretches of street running, often capable of interlining with mainline rail
Great video and overview. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Purple Line. I believe that while Metrorail is a crucial backbone for the region (and would love to see more lines) that Light Rail can fill that "missing middle" mode of transit for transit from neighborhood to neighborhood instead of across the entire DMV region. I commented below regarding metrorail vs light rail but the upside of LR is that it can handle denser stop spacing, tighter turns, and thus get closer to density than the metro can (which some denigrate as more commuter than local focused). The shuttered plans for the DC Streetcar are unfortunate because I think side-by-side those routes in DC connecting areas that are hard to get to by metro would have been a great way to show a population that already knows the usefulness of metro that a denser transit medium is worth supporting too. There were plans to build a line on Georgia Ave, extend the current line to Georgetown and Benning Rd, and to build a line in Anacostia, for example. But hopefully if the Purple Line is a success it'll reignite that interest in DC and VA. I also hope that at some point (if not already) as many of the street running portions as possible are made LR or LR+bus exclusive. I'm most worried about the stretch along University Blvd west of UMD, and the stretch east of Silver Spring Library. These areas are regularly congested with drivers with few alternate routes. However I think that it'll be worth it to narrow University Blvd to 2 lanes per way, or Dale Dr to one lane per way in order to ensure fast and reliable timetables.
If the Purple Line were part of Metro, it would only need half its stations. Bethesda Chevy Chase Lyttonsville Silver Spring Langley Park Adelphi Rd/West Campus College Park - University of Maryland Riverdale Park Beacon Heights New Carrollton
I worked with the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail 1989 -2003 and came up with the term Rail-Trail for the section south of Bethesda. The term Rail-Trail was picked up by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and pushed out all over the world. The deal with buying the Georgetown Branch Railroad (Metropolitan Southern) in Montgomery County was the trail and the light rail would go as equals in the corridor. I didn't think the light rail was realistic. With the low price discussed for the light rail between Silver Spring Metro station and Bethesda and the difficulty of getting the use for about 1-1/4 miles of CSX Metropolitan rail corridor were both extremely under estimated. It didn't seem likely the light rail would take place and we could have the CCT be a Rail-Trail the entire length of Georgetown Branch. The first time a historic railroad alignment had been completely preserved as a bike path and it was inside the Beltway accessible with some effort from the DC Mall to tourists from all over the world. As prices continued to rise on the light rail I thought at some point the cost of doing a tram would get increasingly close to doing the route with Metro rail. To attract a broad ridership the DC Metro is at the top. It is fast, clean and specifically designed to make graffiti and person crime extremely difficult. Metro implementation might have left some of the Georgetown Branch alignment. Metro rail is a much better system than the light rail and it would be connecting with other Metro lines like other Metro transfer stations. Now the Georgetown Branch Trail (CCT) has been closed for many years where the Purple Line is being built. Nobody that is interested in transportation would do that. There has been no real alternative for the people using that non motorized transportation pathway. No body building the Purple Line seems to actually care about transportation. The CCT has been kicked out of the Bethesda Tunnel area that is was promised it would co occupy. If a similar route would have been done as a regular Metro rail line it would at least have some permeant appeal. As it is, after people have had their first exciting ride or two they will likely not use it that much unless it really fits their situation. These European based trams lack not just some of the charm of the old DC Trolleys, but might not even be as fast. The Cabin John Trolley could get up to 60 mph. It had interurban attributes. One of the main reasons we found in the CCCT for keeping the idea of the light rail alive was so Silver Spring could increase the density of occupancy zoning for new buildings. Having a plan for more transportation other than road was helping that happen. It didn't make any difference if the light rail only carried about same number of people as the current buses. Building the light rail was going to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars of construction into Montgomery County that the County was largely going to get paid for by the state and federal government. The case could be made that the light rail interests had very little to do with wanting fast, attractive, useful mass transit. It could be be seen as just being used as leverage to get large money into the county, its government and higher density zoning to make more money for those investors. That is the model I've found to work. It would explain why its been such a mess and was never turned over to be a regular Metro line costing a bit more, but much better system. There is nothing wrong with the European tram system. Its inferior to a premier fast Metro rail system Washington DC is world famous for. European cities don't have the crime and graffiti problems that DC Metro rail was specifically designed to inhibit. As non Rail-Trail like as the CCT will be between Bethesda and Silver Spring I look forward to when it can add and extent bicycle traffic with the Rail-Trail section.
Thanks for your background and insight. One questions though: I agree that light rail would be slower than metrorail on straight sections (59 mph vs 75 mph) but I don't understand the implication that construction of a Purple Line as metro rail would have left some of the Georgetown Branch alignment. If anything MetroRail would need wider rights of way. As a layman, metro rail would be possible on the straighter and smoother at-grade segments like the Georgetown Branch path. But it would have required viaducts along roads like University Blvd or Rt 410. And critically it would have required tunneling to handle the tight turns through dense development like Silver Spring, College Park, and Piney Branch. I do think that tunneling and viaducts are worth it, I think mass transit is nearly always worth it, but it would have been a much harder sell to approve. The upside of light rail is that it can go fast but also wind through sharper corners than metro. And while the capability for carrying more people on a metrorail car is nice, even a 4 car train would have difficulty. The utility of light rail is providing transit access at a denser spacing to areas that might not need higher capacity but would still benefit from transit. I hope to see a lot of affordable TOD at places like Langley, Riverdale Park, and Lyttonsville.
Delays are nothing new to the DMV, just look at the history of the Silver Line. That said this is a incomplete line even when it is completed, there is not enough going on between that section of Prince Georges county and Bethesda. They should have built the first section between Tysons and Bethesda. Even if it would have taken another 15 years to work with Virginia, that would have been a better start. Now I would be surprised if the Bethesda to Tysons line gets built in the next 60 YEARS.
I had no idea the purple line was this far along. I thought it was stopped once that contractor pulled out a few years ago. Glad to see they restarted construction. I need to get out of DC once in a while to see it lol...
A light rail is a train that uses tram vehicles on track that has significant grade separation but still is constrained by stretches of street running, often capable of interlining with mainline rail
Great video and overview. I'm cautiously optimistic about the Purple Line. I believe that while Metrorail is a crucial backbone for the region (and would love to see more lines) that Light Rail can fill that "missing middle" mode of transit for transit from neighborhood to neighborhood instead of across the entire DMV region. I commented below regarding metrorail vs light rail but the upside of LR is that it can handle denser stop spacing, tighter turns, and thus get closer to density than the metro can (which some denigrate as more commuter than local focused).
The shuttered plans for the DC Streetcar are unfortunate because I think side-by-side those routes in DC connecting areas that are hard to get to by metro would have been a great way to show a population that already knows the usefulness of metro that a denser transit medium is worth supporting too. There were plans to build a line on Georgia Ave, extend the current line to Georgetown and Benning Rd, and to build a line in Anacostia, for example. But hopefully if the Purple Line is a success it'll reignite that interest in DC and VA.
I also hope that at some point (if not already) as many of the street running portions as possible are made LR or LR+bus exclusive. I'm most worried about the stretch along University Blvd west of UMD, and the stretch east of Silver Spring Library. These areas are regularly congested with drivers with few alternate routes. However I think that it'll be worth it to narrow University Blvd to 2 lanes per way, or Dale Dr to one lane per way in order to ensure fast and reliable timetables.
Great summary, thanks
the route of the purple line seems similar to the tram lines in Paris that don’t even go in the city limits but serve a lot of mostly suburban areas
This is called a city orbital or trans-suburban
Really solid explainer and update on the Purple Line. Good stuff.
If the Purple Line were part of Metro, it would only need half its stations.
Bethesda
Chevy Chase
Lyttonsville
Silver Spring
Langley Park
Adelphi Rd/West Campus
College Park - University of Maryland
Riverdale Park
Beacon Heights
New Carrollton
The expected "Surge" in construction when the new builder was brought in about 2 years ago never happened: work has been piecemeal since then
I worked with the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail 1989 -2003 and came up with the term Rail-Trail for the section south of Bethesda. The term Rail-Trail was picked up by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and pushed out all over the world. The deal with buying the Georgetown Branch Railroad (Metropolitan Southern) in Montgomery County was the trail and the light rail would go as equals in the corridor. I didn't think the light rail was realistic. With the low price discussed for the light rail between Silver Spring Metro station and Bethesda and the difficulty of getting the use for about 1-1/4 miles of CSX Metropolitan rail corridor were both extremely under estimated. It didn't seem likely the light rail would take place and we could have the CCT be a Rail-Trail the entire length of Georgetown Branch. The first time a historic railroad alignment had been completely preserved as a bike path and it was inside the Beltway accessible with some effort from the DC Mall to tourists from all over the world.
As prices continued to rise on the light rail I thought at some point the cost of doing a tram would get increasingly close to doing the route with Metro rail. To attract a broad ridership the DC Metro is at the top. It is fast, clean and specifically designed to make graffiti and person crime extremely difficult. Metro implementation might have left some of the Georgetown Branch alignment. Metro rail is a much better system than the light rail and it would be connecting with other Metro lines like other Metro transfer stations.
Now the Georgetown Branch Trail (CCT) has been closed for many years where the Purple Line is being built. Nobody that is interested in transportation would do that. There has been no real alternative for the people using that non motorized transportation pathway. No body building the Purple Line seems to actually care about transportation. The CCT has been kicked out of the Bethesda Tunnel area that is was promised it would co occupy.
If a similar route would have been done as a regular Metro rail line it would at least have some permeant appeal. As it is, after people have had their first exciting ride or two they will likely not use it that much unless it really fits their situation. These European based trams lack not just some of the charm of the old DC Trolleys, but might not even be as fast. The Cabin John Trolley could get up to 60 mph. It had interurban attributes.
One of the main reasons we found in the CCCT for keeping the idea of the light rail alive was so Silver Spring could increase the density of occupancy zoning for new buildings. Having a plan for more transportation other than road was helping that happen. It didn't make any difference if the light rail only carried about same number of people as the current buses.
Building the light rail was going to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars of construction into Montgomery County that the County was largely going to get paid for by the state and federal government. The case could be made that the light rail interests had very little to do with wanting fast, attractive, useful mass transit. It could be be seen as just being used as leverage to get large money into the county, its government and higher density zoning to make more money for those investors. That is the model I've found to work. It would explain why its been such a mess and was never turned over to be a regular Metro line costing a bit more, but much better system. There is nothing wrong with the European tram system. Its inferior to a premier fast Metro rail system Washington DC is world famous for. European cities don't have the crime and graffiti problems that DC Metro rail was specifically designed to inhibit.
As non Rail-Trail like as the CCT will be between Bethesda and Silver Spring I look forward to when it can add and extent bicycle traffic with the Rail-Trail section.
Thanks for your background and insight. One questions though:
I agree that light rail would be slower than metrorail on straight sections (59 mph vs 75 mph) but I don't understand the implication that construction of a Purple Line as metro rail would have left some of the Georgetown Branch alignment. If anything MetroRail would need wider rights of way. As a layman, metro rail would be possible on the straighter and smoother at-grade segments like the Georgetown Branch path. But it would have required viaducts along roads like University Blvd or Rt 410. And critically it would have required tunneling to handle the tight turns through dense development like Silver Spring, College Park, and Piney Branch. I do think that tunneling and viaducts are worth it, I think mass transit is nearly always worth it, but it would have been a much harder sell to approve.
The upside of light rail is that it can go fast but also wind through sharper corners than metro. And while the capability for carrying more people on a metrorail car is nice, even a 4 car train would have difficulty. The utility of light rail is providing transit access at a denser spacing to areas that might not need higher capacity but would still benefit from transit. I hope to see a lot of affordable TOD at places like Langley, Riverdale Park, and Lyttonsville.
Maryland state agencies REDTAPE is the biggest reason for the project delay and budget overruns.
Delays are nothing new to the DMV, just look at the history of the Silver Line. That said this is a incomplete line even when it is completed, there is not enough going on between that section of Prince Georges county and Bethesda. They should have built the first section between Tysons and Bethesda. Even if it would have taken another 15 years to work with Virginia, that would have been a better start. Now I would be surprised if the Bethesda to Tysons line gets built in the next 60 YEARS.