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Insights Maryland Purple Line | connecting communities

graphic image of Maryland purple line

Our teams are connecting people and business

The Purple Line is a new 16.2 mile, light rail transit line, running east-west between Bethesda, Maryland, and New Carrollton, Maryland. The first direct suburb-to-suburb rail link in the region, the project will connect five major activity centers just north of Washington DC with a total of 21 stations and platforms. It will also link commuters to existing transit, helping to ease the notoriously congested Capital Beltway region.

Bringing end to end global expertise

Atkins, a member of the AtkinsRéalis Group, is lead designer on this exciting project. Our teams in the US and at our Global Design Centre in India are providing services across multiple disciplines: from major transport infrastructure, to rail systems, and 3D modelling for clash detection.

Progress on the purple line

Our teams have designed the Purple Line to operate at grade, in dedicated and shared use lanes, in a highly condensed urban area. We’re successfully delivering design and engineering services for the project’s life-cycle, including:
One short tunnel section and three aerial sections
21 stations
Two operations and maintenance facilities, designed to LEED silver certification level
52 grade crossings
Four major bridges and a tunnel
Track work, for ballasted, direct fixation and embedded tracks

Improving lives all over maryland

We are excited by our rail projects because of the marked difference they make to the communities we work in. Benefits of this project will mean rapid, reliable east west travel, direct transfers to Metrorail’s Red, Orange and Green Lines, as well as connections to Amtrak and the regional MARC commuter rail system. The Purple Line will continue to revitalize Maryland’s communities by connecting major economic and job centers, bringing about transit oriented development.

Excited about creating smarter cities and transport for the future? Discover how you can innovate with us, search here.

STATISTICS:

21 
stations/platforms

16.2 
miles of new transit rail

52 
grade crossings

major bridges

LEED 
certification for operations and maintenance facilitIes

69,000 
projected total daily riders by 2030, and 74,000 in 2040!