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The Purple Line Loop
updated: January 21, 2008
In late 2002, Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan introduced a new proposal to connect Bethesda to Silver Spring via heavy rail.
The plan called for a heavy rail Metro line that would go north from the Silver Spring Metro station along the CSX railroad, turn west to follow the north side of I-495 (Beltway) and then head southward to connect to the western leg of the Red Line just north of the Medical Center/NIH stop.
In the Loop proposal, half of the Red Line trains heading to the Shady Grove Station would be redirected onto the loop just after the Medical Center stop and run along the new tracks until they rejoined the Red Line north of Silver Spring. There would be one new station near Connecticut Avenue and the Beltway, with another located somewhere near Walter Reed Army Medical Center in the Linden area of Silver Spring.
The Coalition expressed the following concerns with this concept.
- It was more than twice the cost of the similar section of the Inner Purple Line along the Georgetown Branch, so it was not clear why the Federal Transit Administration would support the option when a lower-cost alternative existed.
- It would be less likely for this connector to be extended eastward to College Park and New Carrollton any time soon because of the high cost of underground heavy rail and lack of any conceivable surface routing.
- Even if a way were found to extend the line to New Carrollton, it would have fewer stops than the light rail option, providing less service to communities along the way that have expressed support for the Inner Purple Line in the past.
- The loop proposal would have substantially more serious negative impacts on Silver Spring, Kensington, and Bethesda neighborhoods than the current Inner Purple Line trolley/trail proposal.
- The Loop would not address how the Capital Crescent Trail would be completed into Silver Spring.
- Environmental impacts would be worse than those of the Georgetown Branch option due to the major construction required along Rock Creek Park. The proposed alignment would extend along the northern edge of the beltway for more than 1.5 miles where the Beltway hugs the park between Chevy Chase and Kensington.
- Locating a station and parking garage in the vicinity of Connecticut Avenue and the Beltway would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, without taking parkland or private property. This location is the least appropriate Connecticut Avenue site for transit-oriented development and would worsen already serious traffic congestion on Connecticut Avenue. If the design of other Metro station parking is any guide, cars would enter the garage via a neighborhood street such as Kensington Parkway.
- Impacts on Metro operations of the Shady Grove line were not fully assessed but the proposal would limit improvements in service frequency on both outer ends of the Red Line.
- Impact on Beltway traffic for the three year construction period is unimaginable. It would be far more disruptive than recent bridge replacement work (and will also require additional bridge replacements or modifications)
- Connecting the loop to the Red Line in North Bethesda would probably require taking property somewhere in the Cedar lane area where the elevated beltway structure is brought down to the portal of an underground tunnel leading to Medical Center.
In early 2003 the Montgomery County Planning Board staff recommended that study of this proposal not be continued. The Montgomery County Planning Board and the Montgomery County Council agreed with this position. Maryland DOT did not accept Doug Duncan’s proposal and requested state and federal funds only for light rail or bus options. However, Mr. Duncan submitted a letter in September 2003 to Maryland DOT requesting that this Metrorail loop be considered an option in the Bi-county Transitway study.
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68,000 riders each weekday is huge! Counting down to completion of Purple Line DEIS; Latest news: Latest News; How you can help
See: Calendar of Events.
We need you to help keep the Purple Line a state and county priority. Write a letter, make a call or send an e-mail in support of the Purple Line today. See: Contact List
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