Bi-County Transitway
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The Bi-County Transitway (BCT), incorrectly referred to as the Purple Line but in actuality its successor, is a proposed 14-mile transit line to feed into the Washington Metro system. This project is a result of the merging of two projects known as the Georgetown Branch Light Rail Transit (GBLRT) and the Purple Line. The GBLRT was proposed to be a light rail transit line from Silver Spring westward, following the former Georgetown Branch of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (now a short CSX siding and the Capital Crescent Trail) to Bethesda. The Purple Line was conceived as a transit line from New Carrollton to Silver Spring. The merging of these projects was initiated by Maryland Secretary of Transportation Robert Flanagan in order to lower costs and allow trips across both corridors.
The current planned route is expected to connect the existing stations of:
Additional communities that will be served are planned to include:- Chevy Chase Lake
- West Silver Spring
- Woodside
- Long Branch
- Takoma / Langley Park
- College Park / University of Maryland (possibly additional stations to existing)
- Riverdale
Status
The Bi-County Transitway is currently in the planning phase with public involvement being consulted often through Community Focus Groups and Open Houses. The modes being considered are Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Heavy Rail Transit (HRT or Metro) is currently not under consideration as an option for this project. All options under consideration do preserve a continuous Capital Crescent Trail in some form.Final approval for the Purple Line, pending an environmental impact study, was given late in the administration of Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening. However, the project has essentially restarted due to the merging into the Bi-County Transitway under Governor Robert Ehrlich.
Community support and opposition
The leading lobbying group for the main corridor line in Maryland is the Action Committee for Transit (ACT) centered in Montgomery County. ACT is a major player in Montgomery County politics and has most notably intervened in numerous local Democratic Party primaries in order to reward candidates and officials who promote the expansion of mass transit and to punish those who do not. A proposal for a rail system which circles the entire existing Metrorail system as a sort of "Beltway Line" continues to be promoted by the Sierra Club.The leading and most effective opponent of the Bi-County Transitway project has been the prestigious Columbia Country Club of Chevy Chase, whose golf course is bisected by the right-of-way of the former Georgetown Branch. This right-of-way is one possible alignment, as are alignments adjacent to local streets that would skirt the golf course. The Country Club has been joined in many cases by residents of the neighborhoods adjacent to the right-of-way, however, critics such as ACT have consistently alleged that they are merely fronting for the country club.
External links
- Official Website - [Maryland Transit Administration]
- Supporting - [ACT Purple Line Page]
- Supporting - [Coalition To Build The Inner Purple Line]
- Supporting - [Action Committee for Transit]
- Supporting - [Prince George's Advocates for Community-based Transit]
- Supporting - [Sierra Club proposal]
- Opposing - [Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Coalition]
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