The joint venture comprises Fluor, Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, and Star America Purple Line. “Fluor is honoured to break ground today on the second transit public-private partnership project in the US,” said Mr Hans Dekker, president of Fluor’s infrastructure business line. “We bring robust megaproject experience and industry-leading abilities to successfully design, build, finance and manage complex projects. Fluor and our partners are currently operating the Denver Eagle PPP commuter rail project, the only other transit PPP in the country and we look forward to building on its success to deliver the Purple Line.”

 

The ground-breaking was capped off with the signing of a Federal Transit Administration (FTA) full funding grant of $US 900m for the $US 5.6bn 36-year PPP project. The Purple Line is being built for Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Maryland Transit Administration (MTA).

Fluor is the managing partner of the design-build team, Purple Line Transit Constructors, comprising Fluor Enterprises, The Lane Construction Corporation and Traylor Bros. Following construction, Purple Line Transit Operators, a Fluor-led team comprising Fluor Enterprises, Alternate Concepts, and CAF USA, will operate and maintain the line for 30 years. CAF USA holds a 20% stake in the operations and maintenance consortium and will supply a fleet of 26 LRVs worth around $US 200m.

The east-west line will have 21 stations and will have a mixture of dedicated rights-of-way and street running. It will run from Bethesda to New Carrollton serving suburbs inside the Capital Beltway north of Washington DC and will connect with four branches of the Washington Metro, three commuter rail lines, plus Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. Passenger service is scheduled to begin in early 2022.