The Maryland Transit Administration has extended the deadline to submit bids for the Light Rail (Purple Line) P3 project in the Washington suburbs.

In mid November we had reported that the submissions for the project's request for proposals (RFP) had been delayed and the project could be cancelled. Finally the deadline has been extended from 9 January to 12 March.

In early January four teams were shortlisted and later in late July the Maryland Department of Transportation together with the Maryland Transit Administration launched the RFP for the project. The four shortlisted teams are the following:

• Maryland Purple Line Partners: VINCI Concessions, Walsh Investors, InfraRed Capital Partners, ALSTOM Transport and Keolis S.A.

• Maryland Transit Connectors: John Laing Investments Limited, Kiewit Development Company and Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC

• Purple Line Transit Partners (PLTP): Meridiam Infrastructure Purple Line, LLC, Fluor Enterprises, Inc. and Star America Fund GP LLC

• Purple Plus Alliance LLC Proposer: Macquarie Capital Group and Skanska Infrastructure Development Inc.

According to sources, the winning consortium is expected to contribute between US$500 million to US$900 million of the total project investment, which is estimated at US$2.4 billion.

The preferred bidder will be responsible for the design, build, finance, operate and maintenance (DBFOM) of the new line for a period of 35 years. The project also involves the equip and supply light rail vehicles.

The Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail line that runs east-west inside the Capital Beltway between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince George's County with 21 stations planned that will provide direct connections to Metrorail's Orange Line, Green Line and two branches of the Red Line, and the MARC Brunswick, Camden and Penn Lines.

In early September we published that the residents of a Washington suburb and an environmentalist association filed, on 28 August 2014, a federal lawsuit to stop the project.

Earlier on 10 March 2014, we reported that the Maryland light-rail Purple Line project had been recommended for US$100 million in federal money as part of the Obama Administration's 2015 fiscal year budget. The project was included on a list of seven large transit projects nationwide to receive full funding grant agreements, which allow for a longer-term payment commitment by the federal government.