By Scott Shaffer, The Baltimore Sun; November 8, 2017
Maryland is not known as a mass transportation innovator. Despite having the longest average commute times in the nation, its transit projects have traditionally produced mediocre performance for their massive costs. The MARC, the Baltimore Metro subway, and the Light Rail have long under-performed the potential they once promised, and their aging infrastructure questions the wisdom of any continued development.
In recent years, the state’s transportation planning has been consumed with two projects that seemed antiquated from the start. The Purple Line in Montgomery County will connect three lines of Washington’s Metrorail, allowing commuters to transfer between them without first having to enter the District. With a cost of $5.6 billion for a light rail line traveling just 16.2 miles, it’s the most expensive government contract ever undertaken in Maryland. Yet it’s little more than a Band-Aid on an ailing Metrorail system plagued by chronic service disruptions, extended track closures and highly publicized safety lapses.
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