Maryland Purple Line Update July 2021!
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- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- Today I am thrilled to finally bring you an overview of the future Maryland Purple Line! The Maryland Purple Line, it’s a 16.2 mile or 26.1 kilometer light rail line under construction, north of Washington, D.C. The line will have 21 stations, and it is being built by the State of Maryland. It will link the cities of Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton as well as connect both branches of the Washington Metrorail Red line, the green line, and the Orange line. It will also link all three of MARC’s commuter rail lines and Amtrak’s northeast corridor. While this line is called the Purple line, it will be operationally separate from the Washington Metrorail system. And despite the setbacks that this project has faced, creating orbital transit lines that allow people to travel across a region without having to travel to an urban core to transfer lines is a trend that really needs to catch on in other parts of this country.
This video was filmed in late April, 2021, but little has changed along the project’s alignment. I was hoping to have a lot of drone footage in this video, as I do in my other construction overview videos, but as the entire Washington DC metro area is in a special no fly zone, that’s not going to happen. For this reason, this construction tour is going to jump around a little more than my other videos, but I will be using maps so hopefully it will all make sense.
Mark Peterson’s ride of the Georgetown Bike trail: • Complete Georgetown Br...
Maryland Purple Line Website with tons of engineering docs: www.purplelinemd.com
Contact:
Email: thefourfoot8@gmail.com
Twitter: @TheFourFoot
Instagram: @TheFourFoot
Patreon: www.patreon.com/thefourfoot?f...
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro
2:15 Bethesda
6:25 Columbia Country Club
7:10 Connecticut Ave/Chevy Chase
9:41 Lyttonsville
11:52 16th St-Woodside
12:14 Silver Spring
14:30 Silver Spring Library
15:40 Dale Drive
16:51 Manchester Place
18:03 Long Branch
19:33 Piney Branch Road
20:59 Takoma Langley Crossroads
21:50 Riggs Road
23:04 Adelphi Road-UMGC-UMD
24:51 Campus Dr-UMD
26:55 Baltimore Avenue-College Park-UMD
28:44 College Park Metro-UMD
30:43 Riverdale North-UMD
32:38 Riverdale Park-Kenilworth
34:54 Beacon Heights-East Pines
38:05 Maintenance Facility
39:39 Glenridge
41:01 New Carrollton
43:12 Outro
7,524
More "loop lines" like the purple line need to be built in the country. Such a shame about the bad contractors
Absolutely!
Bad contractors or client?
@@simoncolenutt5228 Probably both. I don't know about the contractor but Hogan is an idiot.
@@simoncolenutt5228 a bit of both but Hogan & his committee definitely did something incomprehensive and the contractors said F-ed it!
@@simoncolenutt5228 I think bad client would be more accurate (in that they didn't have the specs sorted out before they signed the contract), although Fluor did use the project as a place to park execs while they waited to work on a bigger project, which meant there was a rotating list of managers going in and out, which in turn meant you had to keep explaining the same potential issues again and again.
The fact that people oppose the rail construction because it’s on top of the path means we need more paths too (like you say in the video)! Walking goes hand in hand with transportation. Love to see the purple line construction!
Absolutely! Thanks!
MoCo Maryland has one of the most extensive trail, park, and biking path systems in the country. It's pure nimbism.
Ironic that the Purple Line most in dispute will itself follow a defunct railroad line. It used to carry coal around to Georgetown for the power plant there. I remember seeing the trains running along those tracks. No one complained about the trains back then. But when the train was discontinued and the line turned into a walking path - oh, no! We can't have a train go there! I agree - NIMBY.
@@sockknitter1308 well that’s because the right of way held more social value as a public trail. That’s why people were upset about it’s removal compared to a freight line
The "Friends of the Capital Crescent Trail" group was basically found to be an astroturf operation by a couple people who didn't want rail near their expensive property. Even a leader from the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy itself went on the record as being in favor of the purple line project. So yes, it was almost completely driven by NIMBYism. The same probably goes for a federal judge who stalled the project for months, despite a conflict of interest. (His wife was publicly active against the purple line, and he lived on the border of the country club that had so vociferously opposed the project.) In any case, I'm happy to see that the builders at least got shovels in the ground. This will make it easier to justify resuming the project, whenever that happens.
My company is one of the electrical contractors for this project. Before it got shut down we had built a few of the Electrical rooms, which we have been storing at our facility. Hopefully well actually ship the rooms now that its kicking back up.
That’s interesting! Hopefully indeed!
🤞🏾
Goodness me, looks like I won't be sleeping after all.
Yeah this video ballooned way out of control…just like the line itself lol
Hello RMTransit.
The state of NC tried doing light high speed rail in Raleigh years back to take the load off I-440. It was the same thing, people screaming about traffic then yelling "not in my backyard." They even went as far as offering an elevated railway so it would be safer and building a greenway for walkers and bikers. The whole plan finally got abandoned. People will never cease to amaze me.
Thanks for doing this. I live in DC and I was wondering what was going on with this project as I am always taking the metro to Silver Spring. (Rant on) It's amazing that those in the suburbs are always fighting transit projects, yet they continually drive into major cities to go to work, all the while contributing to the noise and air pollution as well as traffic that is plaguing major cities (rant off). I hope this project gets finished.
You're absolutely right! I hope it gets finished soon! (and that the line is extended west into Virginia!)
@@TheFourFoot It's probably gonna take another 25 of fighting NIMBY's west of Bethesda before that could conceivably happen.
Man, I know outer loop train lines like this are one of the best ways to expand a system, but seeing this light rail line running through the center of a six/seven lane highway with mostly low density commercial and massive parking lots on either side is a bit of a shame. Hopefully those areas would be upzoned upon completion, but I’m also a bit skeptical of it actually happening. Another amazing overview as always nonetheless!
No absolutely. The whole project is a bit of a mess, and overtime the density around the line will increase I’m sure…someday lol
The far eastern reaches of this, past the university, I have less hope for, but the problem on University Boulevard is that you have already pretty dense apartments ( fronted by car oriented strip malls and stroads.) The good news is that the density is already there, it is just a matter of making appropriate zoning changes to the commercial properties, some of which have been made already in the surrounding area. I mean it's to the point that you have semi permanent food trucks in parking lots in this area and have had to install fencing to stop people j walking across a 6-8 lane stroads at New Hampshire Ave and University Blvd.
For the Library station, constructing the station under the overhang directly in front of the entrance is genius. It reminds me of the San Diego Trolley's One America Plaza station
No it's an awesome idea for a station. I can't wait to see the finished product!
“You should do an update on the Baltimore Red Line-“
“Wait. That’s Illegal.”
" The Red Line cancellation was briefly investigated by the United States Department of Transportation for being in possible violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but the investigation was closed with no finding. "
The Red Line would have been a hyper-costly underused white elephant.
@@howardcitizen2471 Yes, it's a much better idea to spend that money on ... (checks notes) ... widening the Washington Beltway ...
@@howardcitizen2471 ...in your opinion.
I’m glad you pointed out that it’s MTA’s design changes and incompetence that brought about most of the delays, as they never should have signed the contract without working with the State Environmental Dept and CRX over what would need to be done to meet their specifications (and in fact it might have helped if they had updated the light rail specs for Maryland at the same time as they are out-of-date too. No where near as advanced as Barcelona’s or Vienna for example).
Yeah that part of the story is almost unbelievable lol
MTA has an unpleasant track record of "do it then worry about the repercussions later" that I am not the least bit surprise about this.
This really helped to explain the project for me. Also: Nice touch to wear a purple shirt for the video!
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Fantastic comprehensive overview! I live in Maryland and will be using this line when it opens and I didn't know this much work had already been completed. I hope they can find a way to get this back on track. It's really sad what has happened to this project.
It sure is! I’m fairly certain they’ll have a company under contract by the end of the year, but yeah, not a moment to soon!
You should do a construction update on the Baltimore Red Line! Oh, wait...
U.S. Politics at its finest.
Yeahhhh lol
Nice video. I'm from wheaton area. What maryland REALLY should do, is to build something like this but from rockville all the way to frederick to ease traffic on 270. But the cost will be enormous! But it should be done in my opinion. Great vid my dude. Peace
too much rich white people will try to sue the project and it will be delayed until the 2050s
The commuter rail system here in the US is an embarrassment. We stagnate as the Europeans look to the future in mass transportation that will be needed, . .Maybe our Rail corporations and their Engineers need to ask the train people in Holland, on how to build and run a modern commuter rail system that would service not only the large cities but also smaller ones. Sometimes you have to look beyond the fast buck, and look what is needed for the future. How wide or the number of lanes can we add to our roads for automobile, buses and trucks? We already have converging roads that look like a bowl of spaghetti.
No kidding! Just because systems themselves aren’t profitable, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be built. That’s kind of the role of government, to do just that are unprofitable lol
@@TheFourFoot When you invest in the future, don't expect an immediate return.
Not to mention that smaller regional lines connecting to bigger intercity lines can make the second more profitable, making the entire thing more profitable than it seems, you don't need a huge high speed project to turn a profit, interconectivity already does a lot
@@ordinaryorca9334 To start, this could be accomplished very easily and relatively cheaply, with Diesel powered passenger cars on existing tracks.
@@luigi5890 Mainland European countries like Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Scandinavia do have advanced public transportation system. They also have a proper high speed railway system while in non mainland European countries their trains are struggling to achieve 160 kmph 😂
id love to see an updated version of this video now that full construction will start later this week
This explanation is fantastic. I left DC in 2019, but will be returning in the next month. It is encouraging to see the progress made in the last two years, even if the opening date is much farther back. Hoping for the best for this project, I know it will be incredibly useful.
Absolutely! Thanks!
Shame that the designers didn't believe that light rail and roundabouts can coexist. Phoenix and Salt Lake City indicate otherwise.
For sure lol
New Orleans has had the same thing for over a century now! Google "Lee Circle New Orleans LA"
Maryland in-general doesn't believe a traffic circles
Given all the street running and at grade crossings, I was wondering (and I imagine many of the people watching this vid) how much signal priority the purple will have. So I asked them via email, and here’s what they told me, ver batim:
Many of the street intersections through which the Purple Line passes will give Preemption or Priority to the Purple Line trains. Signals with “Preemption” will always set the proceed phase for the Purple Line vehicle (LRV) such that they will never have to stop. Signals with “Priority” will provide an expedited proceed phase or a longer proceed phase for the LRV such that their average wait time will be reduced.
The delays due to traffic signals with “Priority” or “None” have been modelled for the morning and evening peak periods and the mean delay and standard deviation calculated. These calculations have been incorporated into the estimated end-to-end travel time. However, the traffic signal phase sequences and/or timing for some intersections are still under discussion with the MDOT State Highway Administration (SHA) and Montgomery County so, during the Trial Running period (immediately precedes Revenue Service when all systems have been tested and line has been safety certified for non-passenger service) the actual delays due to traffic impacts will be measured and compared with the predicted values.
Of the 55 signalized intersections across the corridor, 42 (76%) will have some level of Transit Signal Preemption or Priority. Along the 16-mile corridor, approximately three miles (19%) are in mixed traffic. Within the three miles of mixed traffic, the only signalized intersection without some level of Transit Signal Priority is where the LRV will cross US 1 in College Park.
This is an interesting development because when they were initially building it, they weren’t going to use smart traffic signals when I asked about it in a public meeting (and from the looks of it, this is halfway to the level they should be using. I.e. recognizing that a car is turning left for example and so change the light to make it easier for the train). And unfortunately Wayne Ave isn’t going on a diet. We did manage, thanks to the last contractor, get them to remove one of the seven lanes they were going to expand it to, but I still think with imagination, it could have stuck to four or five.
Couple of other points, the Purple Line also caused the school system to abandon plans to do a complete overhaul of the elementary and middle school next to Dale Drive (too expensive with the station there we were told) so we get a much smaller project instead. It’s completely pointless having so many stations so close together. It would have been better to scrap the Dale Station as there are two others in a five-ten minute walk each side. Secondly, as the video makes clear, thousands of trees were chopped down and the project isn’t going to replace them. They bought a forest instead. Which means the trail and the urban area will be 15-20 degrees hotter because of it. That’s why a lot of people got mad about the project.
Still nothing can be done now. I’m just curious how many more promises will be broken due to cost cutting measures. The rate it’s taken they should probably be paying for repairs to my car, which will probably have suspension damage by the time they finish. (New windows to block out months of construction noise would be nice too. The drilling can give you a headache after a while).
Interesting, thanks! I know CAF said the cars have signal equipment onboard (I'm guessing that tells the signal the train is approaching, rather than have track circuits imbedded in the tracks). It's funny about US-1 not having any priority, but Rossbourough lane is a pretty lightly used road as it is. I can imagine a lot of sitting at that light though lol
Yeah I heard in the last public meeting how indifferent they were about trees, which is really a shame. I know they're limited by the scope of the project, but for all the problems associated with California HSR, at least tree mitigation has been a real priority. It of course ads to project, but they're been proactive about replacing every tree they're removed with more.
The Purple Line is literally where I grew up. First in Silver Spring near 16th Street, then a block away from Adelphi Rd, then Bethesda. It's all gone now.
First I heard of this! When stationed @ Walter Reed AMC my apartment was in Silver Spring and could watch the Metro red line trains all I wanted!
That’s awesome!
Thank you for the video: I did rail-trail design and real estate as a board member for the Coalition for the Capitol Crescent Trail between 1989 - 2001. The mile markers are with in a foot of the actual Georgetown Branch millages taken from the railroad valuation maps. The mile maker posts are actual Georgetown Branch RR Ties and the signs are my design taken from a workshop I took my WV Tech Trails & Outings Club members to at the WV State Park wooden sign shop. Mile marker 8.5 is actually off a little under 3ft while others basically have the thickness of the post hitting on the perpendicular projection of the milage from the main RR reference alignment.
The Rock Creek Trestle trail conversion I was hoping to make use of the original idea for a historic trolley bridge conversion which placed a 16ft wide concrete deck over a repaired RR bridge. That idea dislodged the idea a trail bridge wasn't possible, but instead of the trolley bridge conversion without tracks the County went for a 12 foot wide prefab wooden deck bridge. The bump outs were my idea and the Coalition paid out some $60,000 to make them happen.
Beside successfully lobbying for the use of the the Bethesda Wisconsin Avenue tunnel for trail use the Coalition also financed much improved lighting with design from a lighting consultant and got the trail placed on the northern side of the past Apex building columns which made for a smoother more rail-trail like transition at the Wisconsin Avenue highway bridge. Due to the track alignment being on a curve the portals of the tunnel are completely out of view if the southern side of the Apex building Columns would have been used, which was the design put forward by the County. Having the trail on the "northern alignment" meant at least one portal was aways visible from a person on the trail.
The Coalition lost the fight to use the railroad alignment from the Apex building portal south to Woodmount Avenue. A Mr. Kincade claimed CSX had given him the RR easement and he wasn't going to allow its use. He had a letter from CSX stating they provided him any remaining real estate rights they held on the property. We knew this most somehow be faulty because Montgomery Co had purchased the Georgetown Branch as rail-banked railroad from CSX, but we couldn't come up with the argument to know it down. I later realized the letter from CSX was dated a few months after the 1st of January of the year CSX had officially sold the Georgetown Branch in Maryland to Montgomery County. CSX evidently gave Mr. Kincade their remaining real estate rights when they didn't have any. By that time Montgomery Co. owned the rights.
Being involved aa rail fan and trail builder I didn't think placing a street car line between Bethesda and Silver Spring Md using the Georgetown Branch would prove to be the right approach when the true costs became more and more apparent with the way things get costly in Montgomery Co. One thing that did become apparent was the huge amount of money that would be brought into the County by building it and the building density zoning in Silver Spring was suppose to have been allowed simply based on the "plan" to have more mass transit into Silver Spring. My thought was at some point as the street car line kept getting more costly it would start to approach the cost of Metro rail, which would be faster and nicer than a street car. With the idea metro rail would be below the old rail alignment. The ventilation facilities and other needs of the Metro tunnels needed on the surface probably could be done unobtrusively to the trail R.O.W. surface above.
Another aspect was Metro's far future plans for its rail system showed Metro rail following the route of the Georgetown Branch to the Potomac River, crossing the river, then following the route of the Metropolitan Western RR (never built) up Pimmit Run to Tysons Corner. This was the route that was the reasons for building the Georgetown Branch to enable the B&O RR a Potomac RR bridge to the southern markets because the Penysvania RR would allow the use of long bridge. Having Metro rail along this route seemed like a really good idea and we might of been able to get a mutli-use path on the surface.
As it turned out the street car line between Bethesda and Silver Spring using the Georgetown Branch failed as I thought it might. What came in was something very different the the Purple Line light rail going over a much greater distance. WIth the street car line the deal was the Capitol Crescent Trail and the rail line would share the corridor including the Bethesda Tunnel and would be funded jointly. The trail and the rail line were to be equals. The Purple line was an entirely different situation and it didn't recognize the previous conditions. I haven't been involved since 2001 so I wasn't there to see the project further along. I do think that the endeavors to materialize trail use on the Rock Creek Trestle and Bethesda Tunnel visibly showed and promoted a higher trail significants in any trail that was to come later than if these actions had not been taken.
With rail through the Bethesda Tunnel now a reality use of the original rail alignment for a rail-trail is now not feasible; however, a trail skyway to take the trail through the Bethesda Tunnel above the rails and continuing over Woodmount and Bethesda Avenue to connect with the original path north of Bradly Blvd. is now the best solution for taking the trail through Bethesda. This should be a wide path of some 20 or more feet to allow for local pedestrian traffic plus the through cycle traffic. There could be stair access east of Woodmount Avenue. There is not enough space east of Woodmount Avenue to allow for a normal cycling speed ramp. The main reason for carrying the trail over Woodmount and Bethesda Avenues is to allow the use of a ramp south of Bethesda Avenue. There are other facilities that may be made more feasible by skyway such as a bicycle parking area at skyway level allowing rail users to park their bikes their and go down the steps to use the rail system.
Thats interesting, thanks!
It looks like history is repeating itself with a huge price tag. Awesome video!
Grate project to bad about the contractor. We need much more light rail lines in this country I live in Harford county Md. and would love to ride on the Purple Line when it is completed . Thanks for this video.
Very well done. Since I live in the area I did not know that construction had stopped on the project. I can't wait for part two. Cheers!
Thanks a lot! Hopefully there won't be any more delays once they get a new contractor!
I found out recently at a purple line open house event that the part of the purple line through the UMD campus (except for the dip under the metro tracks and maybe the western curve through the parking lots) will become a bus and deliveries only road.
Also construction recently started to turn the CP metro surface lot into TOD
Thank you for a great video tour of the Purple Line and the Montgomery and Prince Georges counties of Maryland. Also, I am a fan of the Washington Metrorail. I am from New York.
My aunt and uncle's house is within walking distance of one of these stations. This makes visiting DC so much more exciting. :)
Awesome! I hope you get to ride it! (sooner rather than later!)
Thank you for providing an update on this line, I’ve always wondered about progress on this project since I kinda live close to this line
You’re welcome! I’m sure it’s been quite the saga for local residents!
Thank you ❤
Incredible video. Awesome!
Thanks a lot!
these are absurdly interesting. kudos to u
The purple line video was great. I hope you had time to see the silver line expansion to Dulles airport while you were in the area.
Thanks a lot! I sure did lol
Close your eyes and tell me you don’t hear a highly informative Kermit the Frog. He’s a better Kermit than the current actor, perhaps in another universe. Anyway lovely video very well put together.
This is a really interesting project. As a European these videos are sooooo great at helping me visualize transit in America. The first thing I thought though when I saw the bits running through mixed traffic was that wow that is a lot of car lanes. Will the tracks be shielded from the lanes when they are running through the central median during the highway bits or is it completely mixed like a street car system?
Along University Blvd, I believe they will run in a protected median, but the rest of the street running I believe will be in mixed traffic. Thanks a lot! I’m glad you liked it!
It’s a combination of protected lanes and streetcar running. Of the 16 miles of track total, 3 miles are in mixed traffic like a streetcar.
@@protoborg except the Baltimore light rail never runs in mixed traffic, it always has dedicated lanes.
@@protoborg We're just using different definitions. My definition of mixed traffic is that it actually shares lanes with cars, and cars are allowed to use the tracks as travel lanes. For me, dedicated simply means that cars aren't legally allowed to use the space reserved for trains outside of very short stretches through intersections where lanes cross. What you're describing is protected lanes, which is one step beyond what I'm talking about, where there are physical barriers.
@@protoborg if you look closely, they never actually share lanes. The lanes shuffle around a bunch, but the only time you’re driving on top of rails is when train lanes and car lanes cross over going through some intersections.
Excellent! Super detailed and informative. thanks!
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Great presentation... I found you from your coverage of the Green Line expansion in my home town Boston...
Great video, thanks.
Thank you!
Tedious and exhausting ; a very good and important project though. Hopefully the paths can be retained. Having to navigate through D.C. area you can see the need for the line. Thanks for posting.
The trails/paths are being connected, upgraded and extended as part of the Purple line construction. The fact that the Nimby's caused the delays and the corresponding cost over runs is the reason this situation exists.
Great video on the purple line. Look forward to the Discord server. Keep up the good content.
Thanks a lot! I am too!
Had not paid that much attention to this project because I did not even know that construction had started until I read stories of the first contractor walking off the project. I am concerned about how much of the Purple Line is street running. Was under the impression that the line would be like all other WMATA lines (either above or below ground or protected ground level). It will be interesting to see how the Purple Line actually works when and if the construction is ever completed.
Honestly I wasn't even following this project that closely, but when they quit last year, it really made me lose interest lol. Getting to see it in person however, made me get enthusiastic about it. I think it will be a great line when it's open, even if it's not a metro line!
I’m impressed with your video and all the communities this will go through! I’d love to hear more about some of the new cycling infrastructure I see depicted in some of the graphics. It’s great to see these 6 lane monstrosities put on a diet. It’s a perfect time to upgrade pedestrian and cycling infrastructure simultaneously while it’s less costly.
Thanks a lot! I'll definitely be talking about the community path in the future. The whole project is a bit of a hot mess, but it will be nice when it's done!
I enjoyed this purr purr, I play my cities skyline and geek out on transportation
I love the purple line
Hello from Kansas 🇺🇸
Liked the video and this is a cool project for sure! You should do a video on the Glassboro Camden Line in Southern New Jersey.
I think Alan Fisher’s got that under control, but I might lol. Thanks!
Redline in Baltimore is what takes precedence for me.
Great video. I live in Silver Spring and have been intently following construction from the beginning having taken hundreds of photos. BTW... the locals pronounce it, a-DEL-fy (Adelphi) Rd. Keep up the good work.
You have some things in common with London. In London we have a new line under construction, the Elizabeth Line. On maps it’s colour will be purple. One of the stations which it will serve on existing railway is called Maryland; the Maryland in East London is actually named after the one in America, not the other way round. The project is heavily delayed. It was due to open in December 2018, but the latest estimate for partial opening is sometime in the first part of 2022, with full opening by May 2023.
Oh I know all about the Lizzy line lol. I didn't know about the Maryland station, but I know crossrail will be fantastic and worth the wait when it's open!
They finally got the silver line to Dulles airport open despite having all the same problems the purple line project is having so maybe all hope isn't lost. Still I'll believe it's operational when it's first passengers are actually boarding.
Hoping this project will finish soon
Me too!
Sent here by the RUclips algorithm thinking this was about the Maryland station on what was called the Purple Line in London, UK but is now the Elizabeth Line. I realised that it isn't only to see a clip of our own Geoff Marshall referring to that same Purple Line. Train geeks clearly have their own hubs and connections too.
You’re the second person to mention Maryland in England. I had never heard of that before, but I do know about crossrail. I’m very much looking forward to riding it someday! Thanks!
Loved this video... exciting to see cars come to an intersection and not look they have time to stop! It will be interesting to see how the Purple Line works in practice... lots of street running :/
yes, it will be very interesting lol
Very hopeful the progress on this line continues, after their contractor issues. These parts of DMV need this transportation link.
Absolutely! I’m sure they’ll be back up and working by early next year, but yeah, not a moment to soon lol
Thank you for doing something I couldn't necessarily put my time into explaining. Much appreciated. It's a crucial project but the way they went about it was... well, blame the Governor
No, not the Governor. It was the Nimby's that caused the delays and the change orders that have added to these issues.
Thanks a lot! Yeah this project is just a lot lol
My son graduated from UMD in 2017. It was interesting to see the work in the campus area. BTW, Paint Branch Pkwy. was renamed as a continuation of Campus Dr. east of Baltimore Av. I would have hoped to see some sections in service by now. Some day...
Yeah I had originally written the script saying campus drive, but I guess I saw a different map saying paint branch pkwy. Either way, yeah, I look forward to progress being made!
Meanwhile here in New Orleans we have been operating streetcars in a traffic circle for over a century now.
It's almost like people knew what they were doing a 100 years ago lol
Interesting video, thanks. TRhe purple shirt is a nice addition. 7:22 This area is Chevy Chase Lake. Adelphi is pronounced AdelPHI not Adelphee
I'm very surprised by the lack of overhead coverage for riders at stations but you mentioned WMATA is not handling the operations of the line so I see. I'm used to dealing with WMATA stations, and concerned about MTA running this operation.
The needs of the many far outweigh the needs of the few. I've lived in Montgomery county and the gridlock is ridiculous. It's beyond stupid for it to take 45 minutes to drive 7 miles. The whole area was built when horse and buggy was the main mode of transportation. It needs an EF5 tornado to blow through and raze the area so it can be rebuilt properly for the 21st century instead of the 18th century.
From someone who's lived there for 15 years, Wayne Avenue needs 2 lanes going in each direction. It's one of the main drags between Langley Park and Silver Spring.
Also, parking for these stations is going to have either go really big or go home. Right now, rail traffic being what it is, there is not enough parking, especially in both Silver Spring and New Carrollton. The lots are all full by 6:30am. The only way you can take these trains is to either take a bus to the station, buy a scooter so you can chain it up outside the station or get dropped off every morning and picked up every evening. There just isn't any space to park... and that's true for every stop on the Camden, New Brunswick and Penn lines.
I’m not going to publicly endorse the tornado, but yeah lol…
This Line is unGodly long. Love to see it. But one hell of a project.
They’ve done it in the tube in London andantes Madrid fifty years ago
The fact that I know what the clip at 0:08 is actually about tell me I'm spending way to much time in a specific niche of RUclips.
lololol yeah, as many times as he's said the word purple on video, it's surprisingly hard to find a clip of him saying it without too much background noise!
I don't know why you were recommended to me, but here we are. : ) I used to live in the Lyttonsville area and walked from my apartment to a job at the Sanitation Commission. I have also lived close to the Silver Spring Metro. The area is almost nothing like it was 20 yrs ago when I last left the area, much less 50 yrs ago when I was growing up and would go from the Takoma area of DC to Silver Spring to shop. I lived in Philly for years and took a trolley. Can you speak to the difference between these cars and the trolley cars in Philly? I remember when the subway was being built and still enjoy seeing info about it, tho I have long been away from the area. New sub.
That's awesome! Thanks! I really got a sense that the area had changed quite a bit lol. I don't know that I can say much, except the cars will be much longer and newer, and with that comes new technology, better info screens, cameras for the operator to improve safety, signal integration, I assume to tell traffic signals that a train is approaching, etc. I'm sure they're going to provide a nice ride, whenever then line finally opens lol.
im excited for its completion. my parents own a house on MD-193. Hoping it'll raise property value and they can move elsewhere.
The Baltimore Red Line being canned still makes me mad.
yeah it's ridiculous!
I think the reason for keeping a lot of the parking lots is because of lot of corridors not well served by transit that’s going to be connected to the purple line has nothing more than traditional bus service. Which is why I’m hoping RideOn ramps their service back to prepandemic levels and TheBus continues to ramp up their service and purchases 40 ft buses, and that they serve areas that’s not served by transit at all. Also hopefully metro will expand their metroextra and metroway services and add 24/7 bus services in md and va all which will greatly compliment the purple line. Overall I love the project wish they would make it operate with more often between Silver Spring and New Carrollton where it can but nonetheless great work transit project.
very cool, I live in MOCO
If you ever make it to Europe, could you do an episode on the Thessaloniki Metro in Greece? It’s tricky to build because of the archeological discoveries underground
That’s a great suggestion! If/when I make to Greece, I definitely will!
Edit: thank you for putting this video/series together. Very informative.
As a local resident that gets the pleasure to drive through this train wreck of a project (pun surely intended), I don’t even know where to start. The concept of the orbital line is great, but the execution was (obviously) embarrassingly bad. This failure of a project will just encourage other municipalities to justify more roads. The approach was terrible from the start. If you’re not going to get WMATA (aka metro) involved in a joint venture, then don’t bother imo. When the Richie riches of Bethesda and Chevy chase didn’t want their trail destroyed (justifiably so), then the line should’ve just run along 410/E-W Hwy. take out a lane in each direction. People would’ve lost it but the state should’ve said “Sorry! That’s where we’re gonna put it! Our highway, our ROW, thems is zee rules.”
I wouldn’t be shocked if this project wasn’t completed this decade and cost over $10B. The project is so far along, no contractor will want to take over without excessive compensation. There are so many unknowns at this point: warranties, bonds/insurance, scheduling & logistics, material costs, etc.
Apologies for the long winded respond. As a resident, I truly am rooting for this project, I am just frustrated. My local metro stop will be closed until September (2021) for purple line integration. The pro: something is happening. The con: difficult metro access all summer.
No I totally get your frustration, and you're probably right about the 410 alignment. I'm not a big fan of street running, but street running light rail is better than nothing!
"When the Richie riches of Bethesda and Chevy chase didn’t want their trail destroyed"
"Their trail", hell. Everyone has conveniently forgotten that these same NIMBYs fought the trail too, and fought it just as hard. After CSX quit using it for freight trains, they went on and on for years spreading fear of how a trail would bring in "crime." Can you keep a straight face while imagining a criminal riding a bicycle while trying to balance a stolen, big-screen TV on the handlebars? There is a stretch of the trail with fences on either side that curve inward at the top. Like something North Korea would build to keep citizens from escaping to the south. The NIMBYs will never admit that their real fear is of non-white minorities invading their fiefdom.
Oh, and John - may I call your attention to something Amtrak's been proposing as part of their "Amtrak connects US" vision for 2035 - specifically restoration of passenger service between NY Penn and Scranton, PA over the "Lackawanna Cutoff" (visit its Wikipedia article - it's fascinating!). Though tracks were pulled-up in the '70s the right-of-way remains, and is itself an interesting engineering story.
Absolutely! It is an interesting project, and I’d love to see that line restored!
Great overview of the Line. I think I heard you say they were using DesignBuild technique so they are designing the project as they build it? I know it can be cheaper and speeds up the process but for a complicated project seems risky.
26 miles seems similar in length to Charlotte’s Silver line that is in design phase and is projected now to be 8 billion but is still years away to even starting so the cost seems very low and could be why the private company bailed.
Charlotte just completed the blue line extension with part of the tracks running in the middle of the road so it could be a good visual of what the tracks may look like. Based on the new design proposed for the Silver line they are moving away from that design model where they can because of conflict points, speed and people damaging the control arms at the intersections.
Would love to see your take on the design of the Silver line as there are public meetings about the LPA process and your design approach.
I'm going to be doing a video soon on the CATS gold line extension. I've sort of been following the silver line. I hope they can bring it to fruition, because I know the area needs more transit!
@@TheFourFoot I am excited to ride the Gold Line when I go back to work in Uptown.
I'm thinking about doing a series like this for the Austin Light Rail system. They just released some pretty substantial plans and info on it. Are you planning on doing anything on it?
Since it's been some time since this video, would you mind if I do an updated version and use some of your footage in the process?
Speaking from experience living in San Francisco and people driving into every tunnel imaginable, what stops someone from driving into Manchester station? Also, curious how efficient the system will be with running down the center of the road. Not trying to be critical just seen a lot of delays happen due to things mentioned.
Yeah I know you're right, and I don't know what they're going to do. I think the eastern portal will be more idiot proof because the tracks will be next to the street, not in it, but Manchester rd looks like a magnet for it. I know it's also a big problem in Toronto lol
This project has since been delayed AGAIN to fall 2026 as the completion date, and the cost to complete the said project went from $2 billion to $3.4 billion.
We can't have nice big project in America anymore. Too many people have their hands out or try to delay or cost overruns. I keep seeing videos titled, "time for nuclear?" but they had to cancel a project in South Carolina due to delays and fraud, with rate-payers billed for something they will never get now.
Hi i just watched your video on the Purple Line, that was 2 years ago. Do you have any updates since then. i LIVE in the county and like to see the projects to be completed. I had ridden all 6-metro line over the years, but I never knows the details on it. Thank you to explain in a videos.
Excellent and comprehensive overview! Two points: 1) It's pronounced "a-DEL-phy" ("eye"), not "a-DEL-phee". 2) Since this project already includes many instances of street running, why build a grade separation at Connecticut Avenue, at significant cost? Weren't the engineers aware of the Orange St crossing on the Newark city subway line? Frequent streetcar/LRV service crossing a busy roadway, controlled by a traffic light. Ignorance of precedent leads to reinventing the wheel, and it's invariably an expensive one.
They are starting to lay down tracks in College Park area now.
I noticed on the map fly in there were markers for the Lincoln South Beltway project. Are you planning a video on that?
Haha yes. I used to post videos of it on this channel, but I created a separate channel. Just search “Lincoln south beltway” on RUclips. That’s the channel’s name, and if I do say so myself, I’m the number 1 beltway content creator lol
Wow i didn"t even know maryland was considering a lightrail system,good for them,it"s good to see that they are giving the project a chance,va beach was very unreasonable in not building one to connect to the norfolk railline.
Absolutely!
They had a light rail line in Baltimore that was different from their heavy rail system line, but boy did it look slow. Must be only for desperate people like riding the bus.
I’d be very interested in hearing this level of detail discussing the design changes that occurred with the current Maryland Gubernatorial administration.
I'll do the best I can to dig em up!
Will the purple line go underground along Kenilworth ave?
For some reason I thought this was about Maryland station on the #PurpleTrain aka #CrossPurpEliz aka the Elizabeth line aka Crossrail? Which has itself slipped by several years (the full service won't start until 2023, it should have been ready in 2018), though the upgrade works at Maryland station itself have long since finished as issues were mostly with the central core and with the trains and signalling.
How much of the on-street trackage will be in a segrated alignment?
It is sad to see that the purple line is being built as a street car line instead of a grade separated line like the new Blue Line extention to UCSD in San Diego.
It was the many conflicts with traffic that killed the lines of the Red Cars in Southern California by the 1960s. Yes, grade separated lines are more expensive, but they produce faster transit that won't be killed off by conflicts with vehicle traffic.
I've been watching videos on the Netherlands who went with car culture like we did, but realized their mistake and started turning it around in the 1960s for cars to yield to bikes and pedestrians, not the other way around.
Finally cut and cover tunneling
For sure lol.
Being an electrician/electronics tech I am interested in the DC power supply, could you expound on that part of the project? I know this is more about civil engineering & not electrical.
The residents of these areas should sue the construction company. I can see a class action gaining some traction. With that said, I'm so glad I don't live in Fairfax Virginia anymore. Seeing the scenes in this video brings back nightmares of commuting in the suburban hellscape.
Unless a contractor goes bankrupt I don't understand how they can just "cancel the contract." WTF?
Looks like a very interesting and needed project. Too bad it's such a mess. And I thought the Crenshaw line in L.A. was a mess. Well, not compared to this baby.
At least there isn’t a risk of a surprise new grade separation after they already finished the RR crossing!
yeah no kidding lol
Why is it that two of the best transit projects in America (HART and the Purple Line) are both plagued with delays and scandals...
Because human beings are involved. I hate that species.
No matter how much of a disaster the project has been, at least Moco and PG get new rail at all.
The Baltimore metro area hasn’t gotten anything in 20+ years.
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia where Kevin Quinn will head to. How do you rate his legacy at MTA?
I really don’t know anything about the guy so I have no opinion. Good luck though!
Yes on Discord.
It's coming...
The PurpElizCrossrail?
This is another boondoggle project now delayed, it was put off for so long as the area expanded. Metro was planned in the 50s and neglected connections as the purple line will do. Always been a pain to have to go into the city to travel out again that is why traffic is so bad. Riverdale has always been bottleneck of traffic, shame mass transit trolley was removed years ago in favor of cars.
I went to the trolley museum in MD just outside of DC (which was moved due to the new highway?). They say streetcar ridership dropped due to people buying cars. But maybe it was slow and had to yield to cars? Like taking the bus without priority lanes, only poor people would do it because they had to.
Another trick around the country was to reduce the frequency of streetcars so you needed a schedule like for buses that only run once an hour in the suburbs. (I saw a picture of people getting on the trolley in San Francisco with next one about 5 minutes up the hill.) One day my bus driver drove right past me and this other guy because he said he thought we were with a construction crew working near the bus stop! Next stop: 1.5 hours or so.
This type of project would solve London's huge traffic jams. Building tram lines on stilts because of narrow roads there's not enough space. These trams can collect 300 people at a time and transport them around London. If the fares are cheap then people will ditch their cars and help solve the rising toxic air pollution and huge traffic jams in London. Instead of building tram lines the decision taken is to increase more and more buses on the already busy roads.
Why settle for trams on stilts when you can have a light metro like Vancouver's Skytrain or even your own Docklands Light Railway?
I never understood in median light rail. It increase the complexity of maintenance, reduces speeds and adds contact points which will always end in tears. I understand that at grade is sometimes unavoidable, but is elevating track that hard or so much more expensive and politically taxing that it is not worth it?
Expensive, yes. Far superior, yes. This line is trying to do a lot, while keeping the costs relatively low. Sometimes those two things are incompatible lol
At the very least, elevating a busy corridor through its existing right of way is not out of the question in the future. It just kind of sucks that there's no funding available to build for that far in the future. I'm happy the state is investing the little it has very effectively, instead of complaining and building nothing at all
No kidding lol
No, having a street level transit line run in the center is actually best practice. From safety, customer experience, traffic, transit priority points of view. Of course full physical segregation should be strived for as much as possible, but it's not always possible and might be cost prohibitive. And large elevated structures however don't necessarily always lead to better results (total costs, mobility impaired, social safety, speed, aesthethics, customer experience, value for money). Streetcars/light rail/trams that do not run in the center of streets but instead split on on the outer lanes get it all wrong. Which is a lot of them in the US, unfortunately. US systems tend to overbuild physical infrastructure but then skimp out on the important little details like architectural design and customer experience. Which is how you end up with huge cocnrete structures with stations that are dressed up like a prison.
@@MrAronymous I think with we should a higher order analysis for this, for you raise good point, I guess I will do some research.
I hate how NIMBYs use their money to deter real positive changes in this country, and try to disguise it as "preservation". We need even more loop lines, like an extension or offshoot of the Purple line into VA, and back around into MD. This area deserves more extensive rail transit, and it will only improve peoples' lives. The cost fallacy is annoying as these systems will pay for themselves.
wish it was something more than a light rail line, something with decent speed and capacity
I said 18 years ago it would be a waste to put in a slow system. Man look at all those horrible stroads outside of Bethesda and Silver Spring! They'll need to come up with a good development plan near the stations if they want to recoup the investment in increased property tax revenues.
Here's a "heads-up" for you - someone's bound to complain that you mispronounced "Adel-phye" - ignore them (he grinned)! Nice, thorough job - well-done!
Already happened, but thanks!