Purple Line Is Larry Hogan’s Legacy, Like It or Not

After construction, delays, and disruption, Maryland is finally getting close to opening the Purple Line.

I have never been convinced Maryland needed the Purple Line.

I know that will bother the transit crowd. For years, we have been told that connecting Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton by light rail was essential.

Those who love the Purple Line may be right; I may be crazy. However, I don’t think I am.

But if you have lived anywhere near this project for the past eight years, you have earned the right to be skeptical.  Very skeptical. I know what you are thinking, Todd: you are much too young to be skeptical.

Roads have been torn up; Traffic patterns have changed; Businesses have had construction outside their doors. Neighborhoods have dealt with noise, dust, lane closures, steel plates, and detours that appeared to move every few months.  Drivers’ cars have been damaged.

Then there are the roads themselves.

How many Maryland drivers have hit one of those construction transitions hard enough to wonder whether they bent a rim, damaged a tire, or knocked their alignment out? How many trucks have bounced across patched pavement making deliveries through Silver Spring?

Who knows.

I doubt anybody kept track.

But anybody who regularly drives through Purple Line construction knows exactly what I mean.

Larry Hogan Owns This Decision

Like it or not, the Purple Line is part of Larry Hogan’s legacy.

Larry Hogan became governor in January 2015.  The project wasn’t guaranteed. Gov. Hogan, to his credit, questioned the cost.  Hogan could have scrapped the Purple Line.  Which, 8-years later, many would say he should have killed the Purple Line.   An honest look would say that if Gov. Hogan really wanted to save money, he’d have gone with a cheaper, quicker-to-implement solution: BRT.  However, Hogan chose a more costly scaled-back Purple Line plan.  This wasn’t as expensive as the O’Malley Purple Line plan.  That money could have gone to increasingly effective transportation measures,s like widening the BW Parkway.

Gov. Hogan didn’t choose to scrap the Purple Line.  Instead, Gov. Hogan approved a scaled-back version.  I credit the Hogan administration.  They reduced the state’s upfront contribution, required more participation from Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, trimmed parts of the project, and moved ahead with the public-private partnership.

You can argue whether Hogan made the right decision or not. Among Republicans its 50/50 split.   I suppose that’s the best of all worlds.

I still question it.  But the Purple Line survived because Hogan ultimately gave it the green light.  Then things went wrong.  Then Gov. Wes Moore got elected in 2022; You know what democrats do with massive public works programs?  The first construction contract unraveled. Costs rose. Completion dates moved. We went through a global pandemic. A project once expected to open in 2022 is now scheduled for winter 2027.

That means years more construction than many residents expected.

Now Comes the Real Test

Here is where I am willing to set some of my skepticism aside.

The Purple Line is almost built.

All 16 miles of track have been installed. The system will have 21 stations. Trains are being tested. It will connect riders with the Red, Green, and Orange Metro lines, MARC, and Amtrak, while linking Bethesda, Silver Spring, the University of Maryland, and New Carrollton.

That is a real transportation network.

Maryland estimates annual ridership could eventually reach about 20.4 million trips.

That sounds impressive.

But projections are projections.

The real answer comes after the ribbon cutting.

Are people actually standing on the platforms?

Will someone in Bethesda take the Purple Line to Silver Spring instead of driving?

Will University of Maryland students use it?

Will riders use it to transfer between Metro lines instead of traveling into Washington and back out again?

Will the trains be clean, safe, reliable, and frequent?  I don’t know, but let’s look at mass transit systems around the country.  Let’s look at the farebox recovery.  Look at the Baltimore City Subway system, which no one rides or knows of.  Those are the questions that matter now.

Because after billions of dollars, years of delays, torn-up roads, and disruption, Maryland taxpayers deserve more than a nice-looking train running half-empty at best.  I am a skeptic; I hope this doesn’t turn into a Baltimore Subway system.  However, as we know, wishing and hoping isn’t policy.

Make It Work

At this point, debating whether Maryland should have built the Purple Line is almost academic.

We built it.

For better or worse, it is here.

Now Maryland has an obligation to make it work.

That means reliable service, clean stations, real public safety.  This should concern everyone on the University of Maryland campus. Kids crossing campus to get to class dodge cars; now they have to dodge the Purple Line running through campus.   These aren’t unreasonable fares.

It also means management that understands riders have choices.  I still do not believe the first case for the Purple Line justified everything residents and businesses have been put through.  But I will say this.  If the trains open in 2027 and they are packed with commuters, students, and families, I will admit I was wrong.

After eight years of orange barrels, traffic backups, construction equipment and detours, nothing would make me happier.  However, I won’t be holding my breath.  Brightline comes to mind, and the California high-speed rail.  But first, people have to ride it.

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Endnotes

1. Maryland Purple Line, Frequently Asked Questions
https://www.purplelinemd.com/faqs/

2. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Says Purple Line Will Move Forward
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2015/06/25/a255fe8c-1b4d-11e5-93b7-5eddc056ad8a_story.html

3. Excerpts From Md. Gov. Larry Hogan’s Transportation Announcement
The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/excerpts-from-md-gov-larry-hogans-transportation-announcement/2015/06/26/06eab61a-1b9b-11e5-bd7f-4611a60dd8e5_story.html

4. Board of Public Works Approves Purple Line P3 Agreement Modification With New Design-Build Team
Maryland Department of Transportation
https://mdot.maryland.gov/tso/pages/newsroomdetails.aspx?newsid=608&pageid=0

5. FY 2026-2031 Maryland State Report on Transportation
Maryland Department of Transportation
https://mdot.maryland.gov/OPCP/CTP_2026/MDOT_Maryland_Transit_Administration.pdf

Todd Hobbs is a Contributor at Direct Line News Magazine. A project of the Montgomery County Republican Club

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