Metro’s mounting maintenance and safety problems have provided a fresh legal argument for opponents of the Purple Line, who say Maryland can’t afford to build a new light-rail line when the subway system it will connect to needs millions in repairs.
In an ongoing federal lawsuit, opponents also argue that Maryland officials can’t prove the Washington region needs another rail line when Metro has steadily lost riders over the past six years. Riders transferring to and from Metro are projected to make up about one-third of the ridership of the 16.2-mile Purple Line in the Washington suburbs.
The Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), which plans to begin the line’s construction this year, justified the project’s need and cost based largely on its connection to a “thriving Metro system,” the opponents say. Metro’s severe deterioration, they argue, provides “new circumstances or information” that requires additional environmental review, including more consideration of less expensive transit options.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Katherine Shaver over at Washington Post