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Purple Line Leaders Optimistic For 2020 Opening

SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) -- Project leaders for the Maryland Transit Administration's purple line say they're optimistic that the 16-mile light rail line will be open by 2020.

The purple line would connect Bethesda in Montgomery County with New Carrollton in Prince George's County. It would link Metro subway lines that serve Washington and its Maryland suburbs.

Purple line project manager Mike Madden says the project is in the design phase. He says the federal government would have to pay for about 50 percent for the line to be built.

Some transportation analysts have questioned whether there's enough federal money to build both the purple line and a new light-rail line in Baltimore. But Madden said Saturday it would be possible to do both with the help of public-private partnerships.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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