MDOT - Maryland Department of Transportation

07/11/2024 | Press release | Archived content

Maryland Transit Administration Unveils First Purple Line Light Rail Vehicle

Ken Forsythe
Deputy Director of Communications
Office: 240-695-9196
Cell: 443-854-6497

LRV Arrival Marks Another Major 2024 Project Milestone

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RIVERDALE, MD (JULY 11, 2024) - The Maryland Department of Transportation Maryland Transit Administration and the Purple Line project team today celebrated the arrival of the first Purple Line light rail vehicle. Each Purple Line light rail vehicle is 142-feet long, currently the longest of its kind in the United States. The vehicles are assembled in Elmira, New York and then transported to Maryland by flat-bed trucks.

"Celebrating the arrival of the Purple Line's first light rail vehicle is the latest significant milestone in getting this much-needed new transit line up and running," said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. "This new light rail vehicle embodies the many benefits transit provides from connecting communities to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The progress being made is because of the commitment and effort over the past year and a half to expedite work along the alignment."

The unveiling, held at the Operations and Maintenance Facility in Glenridge, Maryland, was attended by Secretary Wiedefeld, MTA Administrator Holly Arnold, FTA Regional Administrator Terry Garcia Crews, MTA Purple Line Senior Project Director, Ray Biggs II and Purple Line Transit Partners CEO Doran Bosso, in addition to state and local officials from Prince George's and Montgomery counties.

The vehicles are being built by CAF, a Spain-based rail car manufacturer. Each vehicle has capacity for 430 passengers, with seating for 80, can accommodate up to eight wheelchairs and features 8 bike racks to encourage passengers to take their bicycle or scooter onboard. The electric-powered vehicles have been designed to reduce noise as they travel through communities.

"Today marks a major milestone for the Purple Line and a major step forward for Maryland's public transit future," said Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold. "With thousands of feet of rail track installed and 16 of 21 stations currently under construction, we are happy to announce that the project is now more than 65% complete."

Once delivered to Maryland, the light rail vehicles will undergo an extensive commission and testing process, followed by static track testing that is scheduled to begin later this year. CAF is expected to deliver the entire fleet of 28 light rail vehicles by the end of 2025.

"Over the past several years, the Purple Line project partnership has steadfastly worked toward today's milestone," said Purple Line Transit Partners CEO Doran Bosso. "We're heartened by our accelerating progress, and we'll continue to rely on our strong partnership with the State of Maryland and the communities we are connecting."

For more information about the vehicles and the Purple Line project, as well as the latest construction updates, road closures and detours, visit purplelinemd.com. View and download the media kit for the Purple Line light rail vehicles here.

L-R: Jim O'Leary, President of ACI; Martha Gross, Executive Director of Transit Development and Delivery, Maryland Transit Administration; Mark Melson, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Tikehau Star Infra; Terry Garcia Crews, Federal Transit Administration, Regional Administrator; José Antonio Lopez-Monis, President of Dragados, North America; Holly Arnold, Administrator, Maryland Transit Administration; Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Secretary of Transportation; Ray Biggs II, Purple Line Senior Project Director, for Maryland Transit Administration; Doran Bosso, CEO of Purple Line Transit Partners.

The Maryland Transit Administration is one of the largest multi-modal transit systems in the United States. The Purple Line is a 16-mile, 21-station light rail line connecting communities from New Carrollton in Prince George's County to Bethesda in Montgomery County. The Purple Line will directly connect to the Metrorail's Red, Green and Orange Lines at Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park and New Carrollton. The Purple Line will also connect to MARC, Amtrak, and local bus services. To learn more, visit purplelinemd.com and follow the project's progress on Facebook, Instagram and X.