Light rail coming to New Carrollton

Purple Line to carry 64,800 daily, help Anne Arundel commuters

By LIAM FARRELL, Staff Writer

Published 08/05/09

Anne Arundel County residents one day will have a closer mass-transit option if they want to go to the University of Maryland-College Park, Silver Spring or Bethesda, as the nearby New Carrollton Metro Station is now slated to be part of a future light-rail network.

Brian Witte — Associated Press Gov. Martin O'Malley and acting Maryland Transportation Secretary Beverly Swaim-Staley discuss two proposed light rail projects while riding a MARC train on Tuesday, near New Carrollton, Md. Maryland officials are proposing a light rail line in the Washington, D.C., suburbs and one in Baltimore city.

Gov. Martin O'Malley announced yesterday the new Purple Line will be a 16-mile, light-rail system stretching from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George's County.

The $1.5 billion project will include 21 surface stations and average 64,800 daily riders, according to state officials. Depending on available funding and the timing of approvals, operations could begin by 2016.

"We need the Purple Line for a greener future for Maryland," O'Malley said during a news conference at New Carrollton. "It is time to reconsider the ways we have been commuting to work."

The New Carrollton Metro Station is about a 30-minute ride from Annapolis and is the eastern starting point of the system's Orange Line, one of five color-coded rail lines currently in operation in greater Washington, D.C.

New Carrollton also would serve as the eastern terminus for the Purple Line. MARC and Amtrak trains also service that station.

The line will provide a needed alternative for people in the county who have to travel to federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, said Heather McColl, the executive director of the Annapolis Regional Transportation Management Association.

"There definitely is a segment of our commuters that will use that trip," she said. "That is one of the unserved corridors."

Mass-transit options available now can get people to New Carrollton and Washington, D.C., but many western destinations are really only reachable by car, McColl said.

"Getting on the beltway is miserable and right now people have no choice," she said.

The governor emphasized the need for more public-transit options in the Washington, D.C., area, which consistently ranks as one of the most congested highway spots in the nation.

"It is a vision that is focused not only on roads, but also on rail," O'Malley said. "We need to create a better balance … one that elevates the importance of public transit."

The project will now be submitted to the Federal Transit Administration to compete for funding. Buses were another option for the route, but state leaders said they believe higher up-front costs of light rail will be offset by faster travel times, larger ridership and better economic-development opportunities.

"It is the most cost-effective, it is the most sustainable," O'Malley said. "This is not your grandfather's light rail."

Transportation funding, however, has been a consistent problem for the state in recent years. Although a sales-tax hike in 2007 was supposed to infuse Maryland's transportation trust fund with new revenue, the poor economic situation has resulted in project cuts.

Henry Kay, the deputy administrator of planning and engineering for the Maryland Transit Administration, said the "working assumption" based on comparable projects is that 50 percent of the cost will be covered by federal money.

About $80 million is currently set aside for the planning and preliminary engineering phases, he said.

"Just the engineering alone for a project of this size is pretty costly," Kay said.

O'Malley also announced yesterday the $1.6 billion Red Line in Baltimore will be a 14-mile light-rail line operating between Woodlawn and the Johns Hopkins Bayview medical complex.

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George Washington - 2009-08-09 18:16:34

Envisioned a canal runnung from D.C. to Annapolis. A train would work today. Sadly the railroad from Annapolis to Baltimore is long gone and is now the B+A Trail. Railroads also ran from Kent Island to Easton and beyond as well as from D.C. to North Beach (Now Md. 260?) The concrete supports can still be seen just south of Jug Bay on the Patuxent. Many folks remember the old railroad bridge across the Severn and the remnants of the railroad are abundant. Look at the area near the Police Station.
Sadly once the Metro came to New Carrolton it brought crime and blight to a once thriving suburb.

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Emma G. - West River, MD - Karma: Terrible

B & A LINE - 2009-08-06 16:21:09

Wikipedia has a good summary of the history of the line. The last train ran in 1950. There was also a line that ran between Annapolis and Odenton. AND, M. Finazzo... the B & O railroad had a line that ran from Easton to Ocean City... might have helped that beach traffic a bit...

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M. M - , - Karma: Neutral

B&A Line - 2009-08-06 16:10:31

How long has that line been gone? I grew up in Severna Park and it was gone when I was a child (and I old)

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M. Donnell - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

Too Bad - 2009-08-06 14:09:32

Too bad Anne Arundel county decided to get rid of the Baltimore Annapolis rail line that ran south through Glen Burnie, Severna Park, Arnold and into Annapolis...
Perhaps in this age of increased demand for mass transit it can be rebuilt. The rt 2 corridor sure could use a lightened load of traffic and Im sure the college students (and staff) at AACC would LOVE this option.

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M. M - , - Karma: Neutral