A Streetcar Named…TBD

Three years ago, the District of Columbia spent $10 million to purchase streetcars for a line that… well… doesn’t yet exist. And may not for quite some time:

They have not been put down, and there is no current timetable for when those tracks will go down.

“The next step is the construction of the rail line and selection of an operator,” says Moneme. “We will be focusing on that this summer.”

The initial route for the streetcars took them from Bolling Air Force Base in Southeast, along South Capitol Street, and ended at the Anacostia Metro Station.

But there is no timetable for when rail lines will go down in that section of the city.

Of course the cars do run… in the Czech Republic (they need to be run now and then to keep them in good working order). And the District has “worked out a deal” to extend the warranties on the cars. No word as to how much, if anything, that cost.


Share this article



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)


Comments

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Down Memory Lane!

    DC used to have streetcars. I remember them clearly when I was a little guy when my parents moved up from Camp Lejeune. Rode them in the late 1950s.
    Peter Galuszka

  2. Accurate Avatar

    And streetcars should have stayed in the 50’s. We have a couple lines in Portland – they are slow, they block traffic, they are HEAVILY, VERY HEAVILY subsidized. Half the time the people don’t pay to ride, even if they did the fare wouldn’t even cover half the costs to operate the damn thing. All our planners love it. If you are downtown and want a free ride, you love it (IF IT’S GOING WHERE YOU WANT TO GO). The taxpayers … not so much.

  3. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Whew, for a second I thought that title read

    “A streetcar named TB”.

Leave a Reply