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-JG-77- t1_j1vp0ht wrote

How fast will it be:

We won’t know for sure until they can do testing and validation, since a lot is dependent on how traffic signals are configured and how much things like pedestrians and intersections slow it down. The MTA estimates it will take about an hour to complete the full 16 miles, tho I suspect the Bethesda>Silver Spring and CP Metro>New Carrollton bits will be substantially faster than the Silver Spring>CP Metro stretch. So let’s say on average it will be about half the speed of metro trains as another commenter suggested.

What is the wait between trains

The website says they aim for trains every 7.5 min during rush hour and every 12 min off peak, but I am told that those numbers are still only estimates and may change when they can actually start running trains and get a sense of the reality of the operating conditions. In the future I believe it’s designed to hypothetically be able to have trains as frequently as every 5 min.

Medical Center to Forest Glenn

Almost certainly faster to incorporate the purple line, the section from Bethesda to Silver Spring is nearly completely grade separated from traffic so it will be the fastest part of the whole line.

How do transfers work

At Bethesda, the purple line station will be a bit underground, and they are building a new southern entrance to the metro station to directly link to the purple line and provide better access into the metro from that part of Bethesda.

At Silver Spring, it will be on the top floor of the adjacent transit center, and they plan to construct a new bridge from the purple line station to the Red line, with stairs leading down to the red line platform from above. This overpass isn’t present on the online renderings but I have had it confirmed to me multiple times by people on the purple line team that it is planned.

At College Park and New Carrollton it will have its own platform somewhat adjacent to the bus bays, you can see those layouts on the website under construction>plans.

How do fares work

You will need to tap out of the metro to get to the purple line, but the purple line will almost certainly be SmarTrip compatible. What exactly the fares would be or if discounts for Metro/Bus > Purple Line transfers will be offered is still up in the air.

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liquibasethrowaway OP t1_j1w12k5 wrote

You are the best, thanks for typing this out, sounds like it will be a lot more useful than I thought it would be haha, great to hear!

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NotQuiteConfident t1_j1wvx1o wrote

> At Silver Spring, it will be on the top floor of the adjacent transit center, and they plan to construct a new bridge from the purple line station to the Red line, with stairs leading down to the red line platform from above. This overpass isn’t present on the online renderings but I have had it confirmed to me multiple times by people on the purple line team that it is planned.

Wait, that's happening? Awesome! I remember way back before they started construction I provided feedback or answered a survey about the purple line (or maybe just about transfers between the purple line and Metro) and the bridge from the new mezzanine to the top of the transit center was the number one thing I wanted. Even did a really bad photoshop of the station renders and everything. Never got any responses so I doubt it was because of me or anything but still glad to see it is actually happening.

Edit: I found an old email relating to it. I was responding to a WMATA hearing about changes to Metro stations for the Purple Line in late 2017. So not before construction but right after it started.

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voikya t1_j1xtvws wrote

You can still find some of the old renderings if you Google something like "Silver Spring Purple Line mezzanine". Here's an example (from WMATA): https://www.wmata.com/initiatives/upload/general-plans-silver-spring.pdf (PDF)

When the new contractor took over, it seems like a lot of old materials were yanked from the Purple Line site; I'm guessing some of it may have been the property of the old builder.

I definitely remember the old contractor talking about it; at one of the community meetings a few years back I explicitly remember them talking about the phasing of the construction on the Metro platform for the new mezzanine and entrance. However, since then I haven't really heard anything concrete. I certainly hope it's still in the plan.

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WrongSplit3288 t1_j20jl0d wrote

I don’t think the bridge will go to top level of the SSTC. You would still need to go down to ground level and then go up to the top level.

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NotQuiteConfident t1_j20u6nh wrote

But that's what's already in the renders, they were saying the overpass isn’t in the renders.

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WrongSplit3288 t1_j20ylvy wrote

I hope you’re right. That would make transfer between the two stations easier.

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