Benefits
- Reliable and rapid east-west travel
- Connects to Metrorail Green and Orange lines and both branches of the Red Line
- Supports community revitalization and transit-oriented development
- Provides an environmentally friendly transportation option to help reduce auto-dependent travel
- Connects people to jobs
- Improves connectivity to the regional Metrorail system
- Connects to commuter rails MARC, Amtrak, Metro and local and regional bus routes
- Completes the Capital Crescent Trail between Bethesda and Silver Spring, the Green Trail along Wayne Avenue to Sligo Creek trail, and a bike path through the University of Maryland Campus
Highlights
- 16.2 miles
- 1 short tunnel (Wayne Avenue to Long Branch)
- 21 stations
- 5 modular light rail vehicles spanning 140 feet per train
- Comfortable, well-lit interiors
- Quiet operations
- Low floor for easy boarding
- No fare gates at stations for faster access
- On-board storage for bicycles
- ADA compliant
Environmental Benefits
- The Purple Line is estimated to take 17,000 cars off of the road daily, saving 1 million gallons of gas within 20 years.
- Electric power means no air emissions into the immediate environment
- Purple Line’s use of existing roadways minimizes effects on land and water resources
Community-Friendly Light Rail Transit
Light rail vehicles are modern streetcars, powered by overhead electrical wires.
Features include:
- Low floors to allow passengers to board without climbing steps
- Quiet operations
- Neighborhood stations convenient for pedestrians and bicyclists
Purple Line light rail vehicles have been designed with special wheel profiles, noise dampening wheel skirts, and other noise reducing measures to ensure the train will not exceed 75 decibels on straightaways and 78 decibels on sharp turns.