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Project Profile: Purple Line Project

Purple Line Project

photo credit: Purple Line Transit Partners

Location

Washington DC Metro Region / Central Maryland

Project Borrower / Sponsor

Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT)

Maryland Transit Administration (MTA)

Purple Line Transit Partners, LLC (PLTP)

Program Areas

P3Project FinanceTIFIA

Mode

Light Rail Transit

Description

The Purple Line Project is a 16-mile, 21-station light rail transit line that will connect several communities in Maryland, from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in Prince George's County. The corridor is located along the Capital Beltway near Washington, D.C., in a densely populated area with continued commercial, institutional, mixed-use, and residential development. The Project will include five major activity center stations (Bethesda, Silver Spring, Takoma-Langley Park, College Park, and New Carrollton) and 16 smaller stations that serve residential communities, commercial districts, and institutional establishments. It will also provide direct connections to three branches of the existing Metrorail system, all three MARC commuter rail lines, and Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line. Although the Project will provide direct connections with Metrorail and MARC, it will remain physically and operationally separate.

MDOT and MTA entered into a public-private partnership (P3) agreement on April 7, 2016 with a special purpose company comprised of several leading design, construction, and maintenance firms to facilitate delivery and amplify performance of the asset. Under the terms of this agreement, the private partners will accept risk from MDOT and MTA in exchange for availability payments, and they will complete five third-party projects that will complement the completed Purple Line.

The Purple Line Project is primarily intended to address severe traffic congestion and improve mobility for transit-dependent neighborhoods, providing for an east-west transit option to complement the north-south option currently available through the existing Metrorail system and MARC lines. The Project is expected to reduce travel times by approximately 40% and eliminate approximately 17,000 auto trips per day.

Cost

$2,650 million

Funding Sources

Progress Payments - $860 million

Revenue Service Availability Payment - $100 million

Final Completion Payment - $30 million

Short-term Private Activity Bonds (PABs) - $100 million

Long-term PABs - $213 million

PABS Premium - $54.3 million

TIFIA Loan - $874.6 million

Equity - $138.5 million

Interest Income - $6.8 million

MTA Funds - $608.879 million

Project Delivery / Contract Method

Design-build-finance-operate-maintain Availability Payment Concession (35 years)

Project Advisors / Consultants

To the MDOT and MTA

  • Legal Advisor - Nossaman LLP
  • Financial Advisor - Bank of Montreal Capital Markets GKST Inc.

To Borrower

  • Financial Advisor - Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
  • Legal Advisor - Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
  • Lender's Counsel - Latham & Watkins LLP
  • Lead Underwriter - J.P. Morgan Securities, LLC
  • Lead Underwriter - RBC Capital Markets

To USDOT TIFIA JPO

  • Financial Advisor - Sherman & Sterling LLP
  • Legal Advisor - Greengate LLC
Lenders

Bondholders, USDOT TIFIA

Duration / Status

Substantial completion is expected in 2022.

TIFIA Credit Assistance

Direct Loan - $874.6 million.

The TIFIA loan will be repaid through September 2050.

Financial Status

The TIFIA credit agreement was signed on June 14, 2016. Principal repayment of the TIFIA loan will begin with substantial completion of delivery and will amortize through a 29-year maturity with final maturity anticipated in 2050.

Innovations
  • Proof of Payment (PoP) fare collection system
  • Third-party construction projects built into P3 agreement
  • Use of single-car vehicles to reduce overall train length
Related Links / Articles

Purple Line State of Maryland

Purple Line Transit Partners

Contacts

Jeffery D. Ensor
TDD Chief of Staff and Director of Project Delivery & Finance
Maryland Transit Administration
Office of Transit Development and Delivery (TDD)
Tel: (443) 278-7200
jensor@mta.maryland.gov

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