There are still many unknowns about the Purple Line, the light-rail train that will connect Bethesda to New Carrollton. The opening date is up in the air. The construction hasn’t finished. The cost for riders has yet to be finalized.
But one thing is for sure: It won’t be free. Some future riders have wondered what payment will look like.
When it comes time to pay, riders will be able to use Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority SmartTrip cards or the Maryland Transit Administration’s CharmPass mobile app, the Maryland Transit Administration told The Washington Sun. Riders can also use cash or a credit card to purchase tickets at vending machines located at each of the line’s 21 stops.
Trains won’t have entry or exit faregates, and tickets will be a flat rate, not charged based on distance like Metro rail travel. The actual cost per ride has yet to be decided, according to MTA.
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The mostly aboveground train system will stretch 16 miles east to west with 21 stations along the way. The final piece of track was laid in the spring, and construction was 92% complete as of Wednesday.
While the contractual opening date is slated for Dec. 30, 2027, there’s a chance the line doesn’t open until 2028. Ray Biggs, senior project director at the Maryland Transit Administration, which will run the Purple Line, told the Montgomery County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee on Monday that the opening date remains “dynamic.”
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