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Transit Backers: Pipkin, Madaleno Ganging Up Against Their Own Constituents

Press release issued March 21, 2011

Clarification: Senator Madaleno's office says his position was misstated by the Examiner and that his proposal was that Metro should operate the Purple Line, not that it should build it. ACT has taken no position on who should operate the Purple Line. WMATA recently began a study of the advantages and disadvantages of having Metro operate the various light rail lines and streetcars planned in the Washington area.

The Action Committee for Transit today denounced calls by State Senators E.J. Pipkin and Richard Madaleno to shift the cost of needed rail lines onto the projects' immediate neighbors. The proposal, ACT pointed out, would unfairly saddle Pipkin's and Madaleno's own constituents with heavy tax burdens.

Under Pipkin's proposal, the cost of new rail tracks would be borne by the counties in which they run. While the language of Pipkin's legislation applies only to the Baltimore Red Line and Washington-area Purple Line, it would establish a principle that would undoubtedly apply to other rail expansions. The state's MARC Growth and Investment Plan includes $3 billion of investments in the Penn Line, including additional tracks and a new bridge over the Susquehanna River.

"MARC's plan for more trains to Perryville and extension of service to Elkton will benefit the entire state, not just Cecil County," commented ACT president Tina Slater. "Cecil County taxpayers shouldn't be saddled with a bill that will be close to a billion dollars."

Madaleno, who represents Montgomery County, chimed in with Pipkin, suggesting that Metro rather than the state should pay for the Purple Line. But Madaleno's proposal would have a similar boomerang effect on his own constituents' wallets. Virginia would never agree to help pay for the Purple Line unless the Silver Line to Dulles Airport gets the same treatment. The $6.5 billion price tag on this project, which dwarfs the cost of the Purple Line, is being paid entirely with Virginia and federal money.