Monday, August 8, was supposed to have been a day of celebration for Maryland’s Purple Line, as state transportation officials and the Federal Transit Administration would officially ink an agreement for a $900 million New Starts grant for the new $5.6 billion light rail system across Washington, D.C.’s northern suburbs.
Maryland transportation officials have chosen a private consortium to design, build, operate, maintain and partially finance the 16.2-mile Purple Line light-rail line across the northern Washington, D.C., suburbs.