Maryland's Purple Line Begins Testing on Bethesda Section

Maryland's Purple Line light-rail project has begun live-wire testing on its Bethesda section, the newest of the Purple Line's seven construction sections to reach this stage, with MDOT MTA's statement putting live-wire testing underway across four of the seven sections, the Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT MTA) said in a 16 July statement. The 2.5-mile stretch between the Lyttonsville Operations and Maintenance Facility and Bethesda Station, via Chevy Chase, is the first section in Montgomery County to undergo live-wire testing.

Testing validates track integrity, electrical systems and overall system functionality, including acceleration and braking at different speeds. Initial runs are taking place overnight, from 9pm to 5am, before shifting to weekday daytime hours of 7am to 7pm.

Overall construction on the 16-mile New Carrollton-to-Bethesda line is about 90% complete. MDOT MTA's statement does not give an official opening date; a winter 2027 target has circulated in local reporting but is not confirmed by the transit agency. No spokesperson for Purple Line Transit Partners, the project's private concessionaire, is quoted in the July statement.

The Purple Line has faced years of delays and cost overruns since its original 2015 groundbreaking, with the project restructured in 2022 after its first contractor withdrew. The Bethesda testing milestone marks incremental progress toward a line intended to connect Bethesda and New Carrollton with 21 stations across the Washington DC suburbs, linking to the Metrorail Red, Green and Orange lines and MARC commuter rail.