The Purple LIne - $2,000,000,000 (2 Billion) to go 16 miles in 53 minutes (basically 16 miles an hour).
Look at google maps - Metro from Bethesda to New Carrolton 58 mins -
$2 Billion for 5 minutes? How is this thing worth it?
Diesel-Hybrid buses cost $500,000
MTA's Preliminary Engineering budget for the next two years - $68,000,000
(68 Million)
That means we can buy 136 new state of the art buses to solve today's traffic problem!
Put an HOV/Bus lane on the MD Beltway!
Siemens has a computerized integrated traffic signal system they're using in London - put that in!
By the time they get through the NEPA process and then final engineering 5 years from now the total costs will be up to $3,000,000,000 (3 Billion).
Today's estimated subsidy (costs over fares collected) is $20,000,000 (20 Million) per year.
Do we really need to forgo education and healthcare spend that kind of money to ride this in 2022?
We can spend $100 Million today and have an efficient system using existing infrastructure in two years - where are our transit advocates?!

Seems like one heck of a waste of money. Why not put that money towards extending the Green Line to Ft. Meade?

We need to make smart investments that keep people moving, but the present plan for the Purple Line is a foolish one, backed by a lot of hype and little common sense.It destroys a unique park enjoyed by thousands: the three-mile stretch of the Capital Crescent Trail between Silver Spring and Chevy Chase. If the present plan for the Purple Line is realized, the trail will be recreated as a shade-less strip of asphalt next to twin sets of railroad tracks beneath high-power electric lines. The Purple Line is a recklessly expensive project designed to urbanize our suburban community. In part, it is being used as the justification for a single 4.3 million square foot development on the edge of the trail near Connecticut Avenue. To fund the Purple Line, some are proposing an $800 million annual increase to the state gas tax and raiding future MARC funding of $135 million.All this for a light rail system estimated to carry a mere 60,000 riders each weekday in 2030, 80% of whom are already riding buses. (A ride on the Purple Line in 2030 between New Carrolton and Bethesda is projected to be slower than the ride on Metro is today!) To find out more about how to stop this environmental and financial folly, visit www.savethetrail.org.

The preliminary engineering report did not address the actual construction disturbed areas which will be approximately 150 to 180 feet of disruption, similar to the Dulles Rail Line impact, and also neglected to address the real environmental impact of the purple line construction, which will be devastating to all the waterways that the purple line crosses. The true width of the construction will necessitate either expensive retaining wall construction and/or considerable eminent domain land purchases, of which neither are included in the projected costs. The purple line as proposed is a financial boondoggle, which will destroy existing mature forestation, waterways, and cut neighborhoods into pieces. A better alternative would be running the purple line as a surface rail down already developed Route 193. However, the primary commercial beneficiary which resides along the Georgetown Branch, would not benefit from the more sensible, less environmentally damaging and less expensive measure. The politicians bend with the large contributors who have financially supported the pro-purple line groups. The pro-purple line support is narrowly based and false, as it is tied to financial influence.

There's nothing green about this project...Bethesda needs to fight to preserve the few natural territories it has; have we not enough urbanization in our little town?!

This old railroad bed has become a treasured nature trail--stripped of its trees and beauty it will never be the same. Nor will it ever be replaced in our increasingly dense region. With all our concern about exercise and health, especially of children, how can we destroy it? Just take a walk along the breathtakingly narrow high section over Rock Creek and see the view of the treetops--imagine trains tearing along every few minutes under the electric wires that overhang their tracks as you try to appreciate the foliage and the rippling creek below.
Even if it didn't cost exorbitantly, the light raill is a tragic misuse of land.
Help Save the Trail!

According to Mike Madden, from the MTA, the Capital Crescent Trail and the Purple Line will be funded separately...So that 1.9 Billion, or the might as well be 2 Billion does NOT include funding for the trail. They have no idea what it will cost to build the trail (or where the funds will come from for that matter) because according to them, "We don't know what is there". Wow. What is envisioned according to their splashy little flier is a two lane blacktop, hardly a walker/hiker path, and NO trees. How much do you want to bet the CCT never gets built? The folks driving the bus on the Purple Line are the developers who will stand to gain. This is not a green environmental positive for anyone. What a misleading slogan, "The Locally Preferred Alternative"? They keep repeating this phrase at all the meetings hoping that eventually we will buy what they are selling...Preferred by whom?
I really hope folks are finally paying attention.

The entire trolley line concept is a constant reminder of Abraham Lincoln's saying "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. The term "Purple Line" sticks in my throat. I think that a better name would be the "Brown Line" to actually describe what we are being fed by our elected officials.

We are suffocating ourselves with layer upon layer of infrastructure. A means of transportation already exists yet we are going to spend billions to add another option that will be only marginally faster. This insatiable need for growth and development needs to be reigned in and balanced by preservation of open space. This will destroy one of the few remaining urban nature sanctuaries enabling people to maintain an active healthy lifestyle in this area. If the developers insist on developing, the public would be better served by extending the trail along the proposed route and simply installing a fleet of rental bicycles at each proposed stop.

It's always interesting when articles are posted across multiple Patch sites.

Certainly two sides to the issue and the debate on whether the money is worth it should be had (though it looks like such a debate has long passed - it doesn't look like there are any real roadblocks in the way, unless Fed. funding can't be acquired). There is, however, a decent amount of fear-mongering and misinformation in these comments. I encourage people to read up on the issue and not take the word of a bunch of savethetrail.org people who are obviously biased.

Jag's comment above about "whether the money is worth it" is very much appreciated. And he's right about misinformation, because he's contributed to the misinformation in part by pointing to the lack of federal funding as the only real roadblock. There's no state money for the project either. And that's why some have proposed an $800 million increase to the gas tax and a raiding of future MARC capital funding of $135 million. If there are other specific instances of misinformation that can be pointed to, the debate or conversation would be welcomed, but it is unfortunate when someone joins the conversation, provides misinformation and then makes vague and unspecific claims that others are doing it. Meanwhile, for real facts about the Purple Line, folks are encouraged to check out www.savethetrail.org.

So if the purple line's purpose is not to speed the travel compared to a more round about route, or to remove many cars from the road (as has been stated by the MTA) then what is the purpose for spending nearly 2 billion dollars? The only justification that I've heard that is credible is to focus development down county (not to enhance it, just to provide grounds to justify it). So we will spend an enormous amount of money and development along the purple line will increase (see Chevy Chase Lakes for example) and all the residents and the commuters that use Connecticut avenue will suffer. Frankly it doesn't seem worth it, and i think once the people point that out to the politicians they'll stop throwing good money after bad. What is $100M compared to half of the $2 Billion.

The Purple Line is a sad joke of an investment. $2B in borrowed money to build something that few people will ride, that there is no money to maintain, that will require subsidies for the life of the project. The only way it makes sense is to give politicians like OMalley an ego boost. Why not name it the OMalley Purple Line?

Bottom line: there is no ROI for this investment, either in direct $ or indirect benefits. It's only a sop to the construction and transit unions.