Rail Projects at the Mercy of U.S. Agency

Transportation experts say the disparities between highway and transit-system funds -- and how money is awarded -- are rooted in outdated thinking. Highways have traditionally received more federal money because they have been viewed as connecting the country, while transit systems have been seen as serving individual cities.

"There's still a lack of understanding of how fundamentally broken the transit program is," said Robert Puentes, a Brookings Institution fellow.

Meanwhile, competition for that money is increasing rapidly. Many booming areas -- including such traditional highway-loving cities as Phoenix, Denver and Houston -- are turning to transit to curb air pollution and control their car-dependent sprawl.

"The demand for transit has never been higher," Puentes said. "At the same time, the federal government substantially underfunds transit, so it's very competitive to get those funds."

To win, said Porcari, the transportation secretary, Maryland's biggest challenge will be proving that a Purple Line would attract enough riders. He said he thinks it would beat out other proposals in its ability to serve a heavily transit-dependent population and blend into communities while "stabilizing and enhancing" them.

The 16-mile Purple Line, which could open by 2015, is designed to revitalize older communities, including such areas as Langley Park, where many lower-income residents rely on buses because the Metrorail system doesn't take them east or west.

Unlike the Dulles project, which had little opposition beyond the Tysons Corner tunnel supporters, the Purple Line has met organized and vocal protest. Some residents in East Bethesda and Chevy Chase have complained that trains or buses would rumble past their back fences.

Efforts to save money by building most of the line aboveground also have drawn complaints. Trains or buses would pass through the Columbia Country Club's golf course, and Capital Crescent Trail fans say the line would destroy the trail's tranquillity while requiring thousands of trees to be cut between Bethesda and Silver Spring. Some University of Maryland officials have also argued that running trains or buses through the College Park campus would be unsafe for pedestrians.