The Riverfront Streetcar Line is a historic

streetcar line A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport a ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. It is operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA). It was built along the east bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

, in an area with many amenities catering to tourists. It opened August 14, 1988, making it the first new streetcar route in New Orleans in 62 years. The line runs from Julia Street at the upper end of the New Orleans Convention Center to the downriver (far) end of the French Quarter at the foot of Esplanade Avenue. Unlike the other three lines, it travels on an exclusive right-of-way, along the river levee beside New Orleans Belt Railway tracks, making it more akin to a light rail line. The line was regauged in 1997 from standard gauge to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

. Officially, the Riverfront Line is designated Route 2 and is designated with a blue color on most RTA publications.

History

Two retired Perley Thomas streetcars, formerly running along the Canal line until 1964, were repurchased and refurbished, along with two W2-type streetcars originally from Melbourne, Australia. It was the city's first streetcar line to offer handicapped access, using the Melbourne cars; the historic landmark status of the Saint Charles route prevented the modification of the cars on that line. From the time it opened in 1988, the Riverfront line was originally single-track, , with one

passing siding A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

. But the line proved to be so popular that this was inadequate, so in 1990, it was temporarily closed and a second track was added. At the same time, another repurchased Perley Thomas streetcar and another ex-Melbourne streetcar were added to the fleet. The six cars in the fleet were all renumbered into a common series before entering service, with the three original New Orleans (Perley Thomas) cars being numbered 450, 451, and 456 (ex-924, 919, and 952, in that order). The W2-type cars were numbered 452, 454, and 455 for Riverfront service, and were formerly Melbourne cars 626, 478, and 331, respectively. By 1997, RTA felt the need for additional wheelchair access on the Riverfront line. It was decided to build new streetcars, which would be replicas of the venerable Perley Thomas cars, but would have more modern trucks and controls. The first such car used the body shell of another repurchased Perley Thomas streetcar, number 957 (renumbered 457), with a wheelchair access door cut into its side. Six additional replica car bodies, which became cars 458–463, were built from scratch in the venerable Carrollton Shops. After some experimentation with secondhand PCC trucks and controls salvaged from retired

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

streetcars, initially installed in two cars (457–458), eventually all seven new cars were equipped with trucks and controls from the Czech builder

ČKD Tatra ČKD (Českomoravská Kolben-Daněk) () was one of the largest engineering companies in the former Czechoslovakia and today's Czech Republic. It is famous for the Tatra T3, a tramcar that sold 13,991 units worldwide. History ČKD was forme ...

. At the same time, it was decided to regauge the Riverfront line to

() to conform to the St. Charles track gauge, and to build a connecting track on Canal Street from St. Charles to Riverfront. This would make it much easier to service Riverfront cars at Carrollton Station, and they could even be housed at Carrollton rather than out in the open at the ends of the Riverfront line. The last day of standard gauge operation of Riverfront was September 6, 1997, after which the line was again temporarily closed and the track gauge

changed Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

. The three Perley Thomas cars and the three ex-

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

cars were retired at this time. The ex-Melbourne cars were sold to the Memphis Area Transit Authority, for use on that city's Main Street Trolley line. One of the Perley Thomas cars was sent to the

San Francisco Municipal Railway The San Francisco Municipal Railway (SF Muni or Muni), is the public transit system for the City and County of San Francisco. It operates a system of bus routes (including trolleybuses), the Muni Metro light rail system, three historic c ...

, and the other two were stored at Carrollton Station. The Riverfront line reopened on December 13, 1997,"Systems News" section, ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthus ...

'' magazine, February 1998, p. 79. with the new cars running on the broad-gauge track.

Operation

The Riverfront Streetcar normally operates 24 hours a day. Frequencies range from 20 minutes 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., to 40 minutes nightly after 10 p.m. Because of complaints regarding infrequency of service on the Riverfront line, NORTA has installed LCD screens at each of the stops along the route to show approximate incoming times in each direction, as well as an animated display showing destinations and stops in both directions along the line. These times have often proven inaccurate due to fluctuations in the time required to traverse the track length. Due to construction on the World Trade Center building, service is suspended between Canal Street and the Julia Street end of the Riverfront line. On October 12, 2019, a building under construction at the corner of Canal Street and N. Rampart Street collapsed, blocking the Canal line (see

Hard Rock hotel collapse 1031 Canal was a partially collapsed multi-use high-rise building in New Orleans, Louisiana, located at 1031 Canal Street in the Central Business District. If completed, the project would have been known as the Hard Rock Hotel New Orleans. Af ...

). For a while, the Riverfront line provided service on Canal Street through the business district, operating from the French Market terminal to Canal Street, then out Canal to Carondelet Street. Currently, the operable portion of the Riverfront line is combined with the operable portion of the Rampart-St. Claude line as Route 49. From the French Market terminal, it runs to Canal Street, then out Canal to University Place (Loyola Avenue), and out Loyola to the terminal at UPT.

Stop listing

''From the French Quarter to the Convention Center area''

References

External links

Riverfront Streetcar line schedule
{{LouisianaTransit Passenger rail transportation in Louisiana Transportation in New Orleans Light rail in Louisiana Heritage streetcar systems

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

1988 establishments in Louisiana Railway lines opened in 1988