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Purple Line hits milestone ahead of 2027 opening

By Matt Small

Maryland’s Purple Line project is one step closer to completion, as officials said the “28th and final light-rail vehicle” has arrived ahead of schedule. “This milestone underscores the tremendous progress the Purple Line has made in 2025,” Purple Line Senior Project Director Ray Biggs II said in a news release. Each 142-foot train can transport up to 430 passengers, including seating for 80, and accommodate eight wheelchairs and eight bikes. The vehicles were built by CAF in Spain and assembled in Elmira, New York. The light rail vehicles are one of the longest in the U.S., according to the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Maryland Transit Administration. It said the final vehicle was delivered Nov. 19. “Every milestone we reach brings us closer to delivering a more accessible and better-connected region,” Biggs said.

The MDTA said the Purple Line is now 84.6% complete, with all rail installed in Prince George’s County and more than 148,000 feet of the 193,100 feet of track laid overall. The 16-mile, 21-station light rail line will connect Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, linking to Metro’s Red, Green and Orange lines, plus MARC, Amtrak and local bus services. After years of delays, the Purple Line is expected to open in 2027.

NASA says historic materials will be preserved as Goddard research library shuts down

By Mike Murillo
The library at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, home to thousands of books and documents chronicling America’s space history, is closing in the coming months, raising concerns that rare records could be lost. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said on X that every item will be reviewed before the closure as part of a facilities consolidation plan approved in 2022 under the Joe Biden administration.
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