Posted 15 August 2016 - 10:07 AM
WMATA's Metro, along with its contemporaries BART in California and PATCO in New Jersey/Pennsylvania, is going through a mid-life crisis where its system has aged to the point that it needs large components completely replaced. The Purple Line won't start out being almost 50 years old; it will be a brand new project. In itself it should be fine, but perhaps the concern is that the several Metro lines it is supposed to connect with might not be there or might be closed for repairs often.
The Purple Line idea has been tossed around for decades, and it would not have been had it not been needed. The need exists for crosstown rail service through Montgomery County, whether or not Metro is running at its optimum levels. While the columnist points out that lower passenger counts on WMATA heavy rail Metro could lead to counts below previous projections on the Purple Line light rail, that very well could at least partially be offset by new customers attracted by the Purple Line who will then transfer to the existing Metro.
Kevin Korell
OTOL Board Leader
Lakewood, NJ