Maryland’s Purple Line project is one step closer to completion, as officials said the “28th and final light-rail vehicle” has arrived ahead of schedule.
Maryland’s Purple Line project is one step closer to completion, as officials said the “28th and final light-rail vehicle” has arrived ahead of schedule.
“This milestone underscores the tremendous progress the Purple Line has made in 2025,” Purple Line Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II said in a news release.
Each 142-foot train can transport up to 430 passengers, including seating for 80, and accommodate eight wheelchairs and eight bikes. The vehicles were built by CAF in Spain and assembled in Elmira, New York.
The light rail vehicles are one of the longest in the U.S., according to the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Transit Administration. It said the final vehicle was delivered Nov. 19.
“Every milestone we reach brings us closer to delivering a more accessible and better-connected region,” Biggs said.
28 of 28! All 28 Light Rail Vehicles have arrived in Maryland; a major milestone for the Purple Line. This vital connection will knit communities, ease commutes, promote public transit and link riders to 21 stations and key destinations across the corridor. #PurpleLineprogresspic.twitter.com/fPPt88PsYd
The MDTA said the Purple Line is now 84.6% complete, with all rail installed in Prince George’s County and more than 148,000 feet of the 193,100 feet of track laid overall.
The 16-mile, 21-station light rail line will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, linking to Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines, plus MARC, Amtrak and local bus services.
After years of delays, the Purple Line is expected to open in 2027.
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A drive along the Capital Beltway showed almost 20% of streetlights were not working. A Maryland highway official said that while lighting is essential, one big problem remains.
WTOP drove along Interstate 95’s Outer Loop earlier this week and found that it appears that more than 18% of the road’s streetlights are not turning on at night.
(WTOP/Mike Murillo)
WTOP/Mike Murillo
In an email to WTOP, MDOT SHA spokesperson Shanteé Felix said, “In the month of March, we had 90% of the highway lighting systems operational on highways in Montgomery and Prince George’s [counties].”
(WTOP/Mike Murillo)
WTOP/Mike Murillo
In all, WTOP tallied at least 300 streetlights that were dark on both sides of the Beltway that were visible from the Outer Loop.
(WTOP/Mike Murillo)
WTOP/Mike Murillo
In early April, a WTOP staffer noticed an unusual number of streetlights were out along the Beltway in Maryland, with more than 60 spotted between Interstate 95 and the exit to Connecticut Avenue. This left large sections of the interstate where streetlights exist, in the dark.
Was it just one section of highway being plagued by the outages?
On April 15, WTOP decided to drive only the Outer Loop from the Woodrow Wilson Bridge to the American Legion Bridge — and discovered the 60 downed lights just scratched the surface for the total number of lights out.
In all, we tallied at least 300 lights that were dark on both sides of the Beltway that were visible from the Outer Loop.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration, the nighttime fatality rate during crashes is three times higher than during daylight hours. The FHA also said that adequate lighting along roads can reduce crashes by 42%.
Before the drive illustrated an issue more widespread than initially thought, the Maryland State Highway Administration issued a statement, saying that an initial report from the WTOP staffer has been passed on to its team.
Derek Gunn, an MDOT SHA transportation engineer who oversees the area that includes the Beltway, told WTOP while lighting is seen as a “critical part of our infrastructure,” one big problem remains: the system is old.
“It’s an aging infrastructure,” Gunn said. “It’s approaching, if not well over, 60 years old.”
Gunn named other issues that affect lighting: “For example, rodents and vermin. You’re dealing with environmental issues. And it’s just tougher to maintain an underground system.”
He said work continues to not only repair the downed lights, but also convert them to newer, longer lasting LED technology.
Gunn also said the state conducts monthly surveys to see if any of the lights are down.
“I would say that our inspectors and our crews, they’re working around the clock,” Gunn said. “They’re working day and night, to get all our lights up and running as quickly as possible.”
After speaking with WTOP, the SHA investigated the number of lights that were out and provided a response.
“In the month of March, we had 90% of the highway lighting systems operational on highways in Montgomery and Prince George’s [counties],” spokesperson Shanteé Felix said in an email to WTOP.
On April 15, after the full nighttime drive along the Outer Loop, it appeared the problem was bigger than state officials realized. With 1,600 total lights, it appears that more than 18% of the road’s streetlights are not turning on at night. It’s not clear if those lights quit working since March.
When questioned, the state provided another statement which spoke only of the initially reported outage.
“We received a recent report the Beltway outages from [Maryland Route] 185 to MD 650 were addressed,” Felix wrote.
This isn’t the first time WTOP has reported streetlight outages along Beltway. Just last year, a three-mile stretch between Connecticut Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue had malfunctioning lights.
