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State and county leaders renewed their push for the Corridor Cities Transitway, telling a roomful of developers and real estate executives that the 14-mile mass transit line between Shady Grove and Clarksburg will be an essential conduit in Montgomery County's transformation from a suburban, bedroom community to an urban enclave of more than 1 million residents.

The CCT, a proposed light rail or rapid bus line between Shady Grove and Clarksburg, is vital to attracting large companies and government contractors to Montgomery County, officials and stakeholders say.

County Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown told 50 businesspeople at a meeting of NAIOP Maryland/D.C., a national organization for developers, owners and industrial and mixed-use real estate, on Jan. 27 the CCT would allow employees to get from home to work easily without hassle of traffic.

"We used to be a suburban area and now we're a county of more than a million people," Knapp said. "We recognize that we will be an urban community with the addition of more businesses. To have an urban community, you need a good transportation infrastructure in place."

Marilyn Balcombe, chairwoman of the CCT Coalition, said the coalition, a group of business leaders in support of the CCT, is lobbying for state funding.

Funding for the project would be split between the federal and state government, CCT project manager Rick Kiegel said.

The County Council supports light rail over buses for the CCT.

It could be 2015 before construction on the CCT right-of-way could begin, if federal and state funding is acquired, Kiegel said. A Bus Rapid Transit project on private right-of-way would cost $461.2 million compared to $875.7 million for a Light Rail Transit project, Kiegel said.

State leaders have pinned their hopes on covering half of that price tag with federal "New Starts" funding, a competitive program that pays for half or more of a mass transit project's construction.

For years, the primary criteria in awarding New Starts funding has been the project's ratio of cost to ridership benefit. Last year, the Federal Transit Administration scrapped that paradigm to incorporate other factors.

While the details remain unclear, more weight could be given to a project's impact on "community development," Kiegel told the County Council's committee on planning, housing and economic development on Monday.

FTA officials are scheduled to explain those changes to the council in the coming weeks.

The 17 proposed stops along the 14-mile CCT route include Germantown Town Center, King Farm in Rockville, Clarksburg and the Johns Hopkins Research Campus in Rockville.

The CCT will help the county stay competitive in luring businesses, said James Soltesz of the Rockville-based engineering firm Loiederman Soltesz Inc.

The only way the county can "compete with Northern Virginia for prospective businesses are to build the CCT," Soltesz said referring to the Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project that will connect northern Virginia to Washington, D.C.

Businesses and residents stand to benefit from the CCT, business leaders say.

Balcombe, president of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce, said the CCT, specifically light rail, would attract businesses and cut down on traffic. The CCT Coalition and the chamber support light rail, Balcombe said.

"Light rail is a more permanent fixture than buses," Balcombe said. "Light rail would also increase ridership between Clarksburg and Shady Grove. You can add another car to a light rail vehicle as opposed to having to get another driver and bus for the BRT."

The Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce supports the CCT, said Lisa Fadden, vice president of public affairs.

"With more transportation infrastructure in place, prospective businesses will have options for their employees to get to and from work," Fadden said. "The CCT will help people get to work and shopping areas easier than jumping in a car. This project would cut down on traffic on an already busy road."