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State transportation officials and representatives from the University of Maryland, College Park, insist they are still a long way from deciding whether the Purple Line will run along Campus Drive, despite Governor Martin O'Malley's (D) endorsement of the route Tuesday morning.

Planners want the proposed 16-mile light rail route from New Carrollton to Bethesda to run through the university's main thoroughfare, while university officials have argued the train could endanger pedestrians and disturb sensitive research equipment in science buildings along the road.

"We're trying to work through the issues right now and mitigate their concerns," said Mike Madden, the Purple Line's project manager for Maryland Transit Administration.

The university continues to prefer that the rail run along Preinkert Drive on the university's south campus, Madden said.

Ann Wylie, the university's vice president of administrative affairs, was on vacation and unavailable for comment.

One of the university's main concerns is whether the light rail will produce enough electromagnetic interference to disturb research equipment inside several science buildings along the road.

Madden said that with certain preventive measures — such as distributing the rail's electrical current along above, and below, ground trolley wires — the rail would have no more of an ill effect than the cars and buses that currently run along the route.

"We are confident that we can do that and end up on Campus Drive," he said.

While the university opposes a Campus Drive alignment, its Student Government Association considers the plan the more accessible and environmentally friendly option. A light rail would close the stretch of Campus Drive from Regents Drive to Union Lane to all private vehicles, which SGA President Steve Glickman said is a welcome change.

"Our goal is always to keep as many cars off of campus as possible ... the Purple Line should help alleviate that congestion," he said.

College Park officials also support the alignment, drafting a letter endorsing the option to state transportation officials. The letter was signed by Mayor Stephen Brayman and the mayors of Berwyn Heights, Greenbelt and New Carrollton at their Four Cities meeting July 30.

The letter's first draft was written by Jonathan Sachs, the university's student liaison to the College Park City Council. Sachs said the Purple Line will give students reliable transportation to internships and jobs in Montgomery County, while Greenbelt Mayor Judith Davis said it will do the same for area residents.

"A lot of our people work over in Montgomery County," she said. "We'd like it if there were jobs here, but that's the reality of it."

The next step for state officials is to seek federal funding for the $1.5 billion project. The project's completion date has been estimated at anywhere from 2016 to 2020, depending on how soon funding can be secured.

"Things aren't looking very good at the moment [for securing funding]," said Del. Tawanna Gaines (D-Dist. 22) of Berwyn Heights. "But we strongly believe that if you don't plan for it, you'll never get it."