The Purple Line light rail is expected to start passenger service in fall 2026.
Construction started ramping up over the summer, said Matthew Pollack, Executive Director for Transit Development and Delivery with the Maryland Transit Administration.
There are factors threatening the project schedule, like utilities and required miles for vehicles, Pollack said during a county council committee meeting Monday. A group of experts has been looking at various ways to mitigate issues.
The light rail vehicles are required to have hundreds of miles before they are allowed to carry passengers. Operators must also be trained.
If necessary, the service date will be pushed out, Pollack said.
County Council President Evan Glass, Councilmember Marilyn Balcombe and Councilmember Kate Stewart heard an update on the Purple Line as members of the council’s Transportation and Environment Committee.
The project schedule is still under review, Glass noted during a media briefing Monday.
“But I am hopefully optimistic that we have turned a corner in the construction of the Purple Line and that it will open in the fall of 2026,” he said.
Work at the Silver Spring Transit Center station platform has started. Project leaders are preparing for concrete to be poured for the platform this spring.
At the Silver Spring Library station, fencing has been installed around the work site and will stay in place through the end of the year. Utility work within the station is now in the starting process.
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