The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Purple Line project team unveiled the first Purple Line vehicle at a press conference in Glenridge in Prince George’s County on Thursday.
Each light-rail vehicle measures 142 feet, the longest of its kind in the nation, according to a MDOT press release sent Thursday.
Under construction since 2017, the Purple Line is a 21-station light-rail line that will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton and connect riders to the Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines as well as to MARC and Amtrak trains and bus services. Construction of the line has faced numerous delays since the project’s inception, but state transportation officials expect that it will be open for service in late 2027.
The vehicles are being built by CAF, a rail car manufacturer based in Spain. According to a press release, each vehicle has room for 430 passengers, with seating for 80. They are also built to accommodate up to eight wheelchairs, feature eight bike racks, and are designed to reduce noise as they travel through communities.
Maryland Transit Administrator Holly Arnold said in a press release that the Purple Line project is more than 65% complete, “with thousands of feet of rail track installed and 16 of 21 stations currently under construction.”
Several Montgomery County officials were on hand at the event.
“This new light rail vehicle embodies the many benefits transit provides from connecting communities to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a press release. “The progress being made is because of the commitment and effort over the past year and a half to expedite work along the alignment.”
The vehicle unveiling is the latest milestone for the light-rail project.
The redesigned Talbot Avenue Bridge in Silver Spring reopened in May after roughly seven years of closure, marking the return of a century-old connection between two neighborhoods as well as a milestone for the Purple Line.
In May, MDOT announced that the Capital Crescent Trail is projected to reopen between Bethesda and Silver Spring in spring 2026—a year earlier than expected. The 11-mile trail, which runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Silver Spring, has been partially closed since 2017 due to Purple Line construction.