This week the Maryland Transit Administration (“MTA”) issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) requesting private sector involvement to collect best practices for delivery and financing of the planned Maryland National Capital Purple Line and Baltimore Red Line.  The proposed Maryland National Capital Purple Line is a 16-mile light rail transit line project that will extend between Bethesda and New Carrollton, Maryland.  The proposed Baltimore Red Line is a 14.1 mile, east-west transit line that will connect Woodlawn, Downtown Baltimore and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center campus.  The RFI comes days after Governor O’Malley signed the new Maryland Public-Private Partnership (“P3”) legislation into law.  The new P3 legislation provides a more predictable and linear process for private sector involvement in future P3 projects, while also requiring competitive bidding, protection of public assets and the ability for private sector actors to submit unsolicited proposals to address Maryland’s imminent infrastructure needs.  With the new P3 law paving the way, the MTA hopes the RFI will uncover combinations of traditional project delivery approaches that will achieve the highest time and cost savings, while ensuring high-quality service.

The deadline for RFI responses is May 8, 2013.  The RFI and the official press release can be found on the Maryland Transit Administration website.