Portland Streetcar
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Image:Streetcar.jpg The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon which serves the downtown and surrounding areas. It is a lighter and shorter range system than the MAX light rail network which serves the broader Portland metropolitan area. While the system is operated by TriMet, they do not own it. Instead, management is handled by a non-profit public benefit corporation called Portland Streetcar Incorporated, whose board of directors report to the Office of Transportation of the City of Portland.
Funding for the streetcar operations comes primarily from TriMet, fares, and city parking revenue. Another source of funding for the streetcar is sponsorships of vehicles and stops, in contrast to the shorter-term advertising found on TriMet buses and MAX. Sponsoring organizations can have their name placed on the side of the vehicle, stop shelter or in the stop announcement, as well as a small advertisement placed inside the vehicle or shelter. Brochures and ticket sales can also be sponsored.
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Route
As of 2005, Streetcars run on one, 3-mile (one-way) route, including counter-clockwise around an initial 4.8-mile loop and on a 0.6-mile extension. They arrive at fourteen-minute intervals (less frequently on nights and weekends).
Initial segment
Portland Streetcar, also known as "The Czechie" (owing to its Czech-built vehicles), started with a 4.8-mile (7.7 km) loop of single track that opened on July 20, 2001, running from the campus of Portland State University (PSU), north to the Pearl District and then west to Northwest 23rd Avenue. It was the first new modern (not using historic or replica cars) streetcar line to be constructed in the United States since World War II. Most of the US$57 million used to build the line came from local sources, and only $5 million came from the U.S. federal government. The investment has already paid off in some respects, reportedly bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in new urban development to the area.
RiverPlace and South Waterfront extensions
On Friday, March 11, 2005, the southern end of the line was extended from PSU to RiverPlace, a distance of 0.6 miles. This $18 million extension (including the addition of two more streetcars) is one phase of an ongoing plan to serve Portland's South Waterfront redevelopment area. An additional 0.6-mile extension south to Southwest Gibbs Street, connecting to the under construction Portland Aerial Tram, began construction in August 2005 and is expected to open in September 2006. This extension differs from the rest of the streetcar system in that it will run on its own right-of-way, allowing the streetcar to run at higher speeds. The completion of the tram and the streetcar extension will link the main campus of the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) to the South Waterfront district south of the Ross Island Bridge, as well as to Portland State University. The extension is expected to cost $15.8 million, including the purchase of three additional streetcars, with the intent to allow streetcars to run every 10 minutes. The streetcar extension to Gibbs Street in the South Waterfront is completed but will not open until either the first residential building opens, called the 'Meriwether,' in early Summer 2006 or until the Aerial Tram opens in late 2006. An official opening date has yet to be decided.
Eastside
In June of 2003, the Office of Transportation adopted the Eastside Streetcar Alignment Study, a study into an extension of the streetcar to the Lloyd and Central Eastside districts. In part, the desire for an eastside streetcar arose from the July 2001 report, Lloyd District Development Strategy. Proponents of the eastside streetcar see it as a component of a potential transit hub in the Lloyd district, bringing together the streetcar, MAX, and bus service. Additionally, they hope that the streetcar could provide a connection between the Lloyd and Central Eastside districts, which are divided by I-84.
The route proposed by the study follows Grand Avenue and MLK Boulevard, with the MLK side diverting to 7th Avenue at Oregon Street. An alternative route proposal uses Grand Avenue for both directions. Under either route, it would cross the Willamette River on the Broadway Bridge to join with the westside line at 10th and Lovejoy. The route would pass the Rose Garden Arena, Lloyd Center, and the Oregon Convention Center on the north end, and OMSI on the south end.
Vehicles
The streetcars are a Czech design, built by Škoda-Inekon in Plzen. Compared to MAX cars they are shorter and narrower, a result of having to run in mixed traffic on neighborhood streets, alongside parked automobiles. Furthermore, couplers on the streetcars are hidden behind bumper skirts and only used to move disabled ones back to the yard. This safety feature protects any hapless motorists who may collide with the end of the streetcar.
Portland Streetcar maintains a fleet of seven Škoda streetcars. Cars 001 through 005 have been in operation since 2001, while cars 006 and 007 were added in 2002. Prior to the extension to Riverplace, Portland Vintage Trolley cars were also used to supplement the Portland Streetcar fleet on weekends.
Three additional vehicles have been ordered for use in operation to Gibbs. They are being constructed in Ostrava in the Czech Republic by a partnership of Inkekon and the transit agency in Ostrava, Dopravní Podnik Ostrava. The Inekon/Škoda partnership has dissolved since Škoda was acquired by a holding company. The vehicle is known as the Trio car and will have a high degree of spare parts compatibility with the existing fleet.
Under the most recent Federal Transportation bill, $4.5M has been allocated for construction of a U.S.-manufactured streetcar vehicle. Congressman Defazio has indicated that this contract will go to Oregon Iron Works in Clackamas, Oregon. Portland Streetcar would operate the prototype vehicle. This is signficant because if future streetcar expansions use Federal matching funds, vehicles would need to comply with the 60% U.S. content provisions of the "Buy America" act.
Streetcar tracks in Portland are the same gauge as MAX tracks, but of a lighter and shallower construction (the rail bed is only one foot, or 30 cm, deep). Because of this, a streetcar could run on MAX tracks (for example, if it had to go to another location for maintenance), but a MAX train would be too heavy and too wide to operate on the streetcar's tracks.
Portland streetcars for tourists
The primary function of the Portland Streetcar and MAX within the overall Portland transit system is to move people. Two tourist lines also operate in the metropolitan area:
- The free Portland Vintage Trolley tourist trains run on both Streetcar and MAX tracks on weekends.
- The Willamette Shore Trolley runs from Lake Oswego to a site close to the developing South Waterfront neighborhood.