Maryland Department of Transportation / Maryland Transit Administration (MDOT / MTA) last week announced six private-sector teams responded to a Request for Qualifications to design, build, construct, finance, operate and maintain the Purple Line in Montgomery and Prince George's counties under Maryland's newly adopted Public-Private Partnership (P3) law.

M-PG Connect LLC

• Plenary Group USA Ltd.
• Bechtel Development Company Inc.

Maryland Purple Line Partners

• VINCI Concessions
• Walsh Investors
• InfraRed Capital Partners
• ALSTOM Transport
• Keolis S.A.

Maryland Transit Connectors

• John Laing Investments Limited
• Kiewit Development Company
• Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC

Purple Line Development Partners

• CSCEC
• United Labor Life Insurance Company, Inc.

Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP)

• Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, LLC
• Fluor Enterprises, Inc.
• Star America Fund GP LLC

Purple Plus Alliance LLC Proposer

• Macquarie Capital Group
• Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc.

Following a thorough review of all the responses, MDOT / MTA will announce a short list of teams in January, who will be invited to submit formal proposals in early summer.  In late 2014 or early 2015, MDOT / MTA will select a preferred partner and recommend the final agreement to the Board of Public Works for their review and approval. Construction could begin in spring 2015.

James T. Smith, Jr., Transportation Secretary, said:

Thanks to the hard work of Governor O'Malley, Lt. Governor Brown and General Assembly in passing the new P3 law and the Transportation Investment Act, the private sector has heard loud and clear that Maryland is open for business and serious about getting the Purple Line built.The six responses, from local, national and worldwide firms, clearly demonstrate leaders in the P3 industry have strong interest in delivering this long-awaited project.

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 estimated at US$2.2 billion, which will be funded by a combination of federal, state and local governments. Governor Martin O'Malley added $711 million in state funds for design and construction of the Purple Line to MTA's six-year capital budget (FY 2014 -FY 2019).