Maryland chooses four teams of private companies to bid on Purple Line

By Katherine Shaver

Four teams of private companies have been chosen to compete for a public-private partnership to design, build, operate, maintain and help finance construction of a $2.2 billion light-rail Purple Line in the Maryland suburbs, state officials said Wednesday.

The four were chosen from six teams that submitted “statements of qualifications” in mid-December.

Maryland Department of Transportation officials said they plan to select a bid by early next year. That would allow construction of the 16-mile line between Bethesda and New Carrollton to begin in spring 2015 and open in 2020, officials said. The line connecting Montgomery and Prince George’s counties would have 21 stations, including in Silver Spring, College Park, Langley Park and the Riverdale area.

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