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Purple Line Testing In Maryland Will Not Begin Until 2020

GLENRIDGE, Md. (AP) -- The contractor for Maryland's Purple Line says light-rail trains won't run on test tracks until 2020, at the earliest.

The Washington Post reports Purple Line Transit Partners CEO Fred Craig said Thursday he wanted to clarify previous remarks indicating Maryland testing could begin as early as 2019.

He says CAF USA will begin assembling rail cars this year at a New York plant with parts shipped from Spain. Trains will begin testing on tracks at the New York plant in 2019, before moving to 2 miles (3 kilometers) of test track in Prince George's County, where there'll be a train storage facility. The Maryland testing is dependent on the results of the New York tests and the completion of construction.

Construction on the 16-mile (26-kilometer) line between Montgomery and Prince George's counties began in August.

(© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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