Maryland's next governor, Larry Hogan, has stated that he is considering not to fund transit plans like the Light Rail (Purple Line) PPP project in the Washington suburbs.

Submissions for the project's request for proposals (RFP) have been delayed. According to Maryland officials, they want to give Mr. Hogan and his transition team time to learn about the project and provide their direction on the proposal.

In early September we published that the residents of a Washington suburb and an environmentalist association filed, on 28 August 2014, a federal lawsuit to stop the project.

In late July the Maryland Department of Transportation together with the Maryland Transit Administration launched the RFP for the design, build, finance, operate and maintenance (DBFOM) the US$2.2 billion Light Rail project. The project also involves the equip and supply light rail vehicles.

On 10 March 2014, we reported that the Maryland light-rail Purple Line project had been recommended for US$100 million in federal money as part of the Obama Administration's 2015 fiscal year budget. The project was included on a list of seven large transit projects nationwide to receive full funding grant agreements, which allow for a longer-term payment commitment by the federal government.

In early January the following four teams were shortlisted:

• Maryland Purple Line Partners: VINCI Concessions, Walsh Investors, InfraRed Capital Partners, ALSTOM Transport and Keolis S.A.

• Maryland Transit Connectors: John Laing Investments Limited, Kiewit Development Company and Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC

• Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP): Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, LLC, Fluor Enterprises, Inc. and Star America Fund GP LLC

• Purple Plus Alliance LLC Proposer: Macquarie Capital Group and Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc.

Shortlisted consortia had to submit their proposals on or before 9 January 2015. The preferred bidder was scheduled to be announced on 12 March 2015.

The Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail line that runs east-west inside the Capital Beltway between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George's County with 21 stations planned that will provide direct connections to Metrorail's Orange Line, Green Line and two branches of the Red Line, and the MARC Brunswick, Camden and Penn Lines. The total project cost is US$2.2 billion, with the private sector expected to invest between US$500 and US$900 million.