The Purple Line, an 16.5-mile light rail line currently being constructed in Maryland suburbs surrounding Washington D.C. in Bethesda, Silver Spring and College Park will offer faster and more reliable transit than buses; as well as being environmentally-friendly: taking 17,000 cars off of Maryland roadways every day while saving one million gallons of gas over 20 years.
This project is set to open its doors by late 2027 and, if everything goes according to plan, will become Maryland’s first direct suburb-to-suburb rail line, featuring 21 stations connected with Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines and bus rapid transit (BRT) routes. Furthermore, this line aims to encourage economic development around its stations by including plans for high-rise buildings and retail space nearby.
Construction on this project has been delayed and cost overruns have resulted in delays and cost overruns, pushing back its completion from 2018 to more than five years later than originally scheduled. Maryland transportation administrator Holly Arnold noted that initial costs did not take into account significant increases caused by pandemic-induced construction costs and labor market turmoil.
As well as the Purple Line, several other projects are under development on the MBTA system. These include a $580 million, 28-mile BRT extension in Montgomery County that will operate with dedicated lanes to reduce vehicle emissions and noise pollution while connecting directly to both Baltimore International Airport and downtown Baltimore.
One such project is the reopening of Green Line State Street station, providing access to both TD Garden, home of Boston Celtics and Bruins, and Downtown Boston in general, while helping reduce congestion and air pollution via an alternative mode of transportation compared to Boston’s streets. Following its reopening will come the opening of State and Charles substation, featuring noise-dampening wheelsets with special wheel profiles as well as other soundproofing technology which will reduce noise pollution even further.
Travel on the MBTA using either a Charlie Card, paper ticket, or cash. Charlie Cards are reusable plastic cards which can be loaded with cash value or one day, seven day, or monthly passes; discounted fares are available for people 65 years and over as well as students and low income adults; children aged 11 or under ride free of charge.
The Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA) will introduce several changes to its fares and pass options this summer, the most notable one being customers no longer needing to insert their card into an automated machine in order to validate their trip; they simply tap their card at a reader to prove payment – part of an ongoing effort to improve security on its network.
In addition to shortening boarding time, this change will make MBTA easier for travelers unfamiliar with its system and free up MBTA resources to focus on other aspects of its operations, including customer service.
