DC Streetcars May Be Running By the End of the Year

• May 1, 2013
• 5 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

Courtesy of DC Streetcar.

The H Street Corridor’s dormant streetcar tracks may actually be used soon.

At a press conference this morning, Mayor Vincent Gray announced that the H Street/Benning Road streetcar line should (notice optimistic italics) be up and running by the end of 2013. According to DCist, testing could begin on the line in the fall.

From DCist:

The car introduced today is one of three manufactured by the Czech firm Inekon, which delivered the streetcars in late 2009. The cars’ idling up at a Metro facility in Greenbelt continued as the opening of the streetcar line was pushed back from late 2012 to late 2013. H Street has been nearly ready for some time, with tracks laid in and elevated stations positioned on curbs. Last month, crews returned to the area to complete a turnaround area between Third Street NE and Union Station. Work resumed last month on the line’s continuation along Benning Road.

DC’s newest streetcar line will run in an east-west orientation along H Street and Benning Road, with one end on H Street near Union Station and the other on Benning Road, at Oklahoma Avenue (map).

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/h_street_streetcar_may_be_running_by_the_end_of_the_year/7006

5 Comments

1. K said at 7:41 pm on Wednesday May 1, 2013:
   It's about time!

1. Graham said at 7:47 pm on Wednesday May 1, 2013:
   We've heard that before.

1. Kim said at 9:05 pm on Friday May 3, 2013:
   For what??? They're going to make more traffic on an already congested route. SMH!

1. rachelle said at 9:27 pm on Friday May 3, 2013:
   pointless...smh

1. Andre Perez said at 10:32 pm on Monday August 19, 2013:
   The last news I heard was that the first vehicles will roll out during the fall of 2013 in a testing capacity. As with older trolleys, these modern streetcars get their power from overhead grids. New traffic signals will be installed that will help facilitate the way in which they integrate with mixed traffic, using essentially the same lanes as cars. This first wave of D.C. Streetcars will be operational along a two-mile stretch, beginning at Union Station and progressing along H Street, through the Atlas District to Benning Road at Oklahoma Avenue. Lets hope that these new transportation options reduces traffic, ease the lack of transportation alternatives to the area and create an appealing environment for the area to keep growing in value.