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Maryland Ready To Buy Land To Build Purple Line

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) -- Hundreds of people who own land in the path of the proposed Purple Line transit link in suburban Maryland will soon be receiving purchase offers from the state.

The Washington Post reports the Maryland Transit Administration will soon begin buying land needed for the light-rail project.

The Purple Line would run between Bethesda and New Carrollton to help link Metro, Amtrak and MARC commuter rail stations. Two-car trains would run mostly along local streets.

Purple Line planning manager Michael Madden says the state plans to acquire 608 properties. They include several small apartment buildings, a strip mall, an office building and 25 houses in Riverdale Park.

The rail plan recently received federal environmental approval and a recommendation for $900 million in federal construction aid from the Federal Transit Administration.

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

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