 Streetcar at the corner of 11th and Alder The Portland Streetcar is a tram system in Portland, Oregon.
It is one of two light rail systems in Portland. The larger MAX network serves the overall region. By contrast, the Portland Streetcar is a smaller and more localized transportation system.
There is currently only one line, a 4.8 mile (7.7 km) loop of single track, which opened on July 20, 2001. It runs from Portland State University (PSU), north through the Pearl District, then west to Northwest 23rd Street. Trains run counter-clockwise around the loop at 14 minute intervals (less frequently on nights and weekends). The cost of this initial construction was about US$57 million. Most of the funds 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 billions of dollars in new urban development to the area.
As of 2005, the southern end of the line is being extended from PSU to RiverPlace, a distance of 0.6 mile. This $18 million extension (including the addition of two more streetcars) is one phase of an ongoing plan to serve Portland's South Waterfront development area. Service to RiverPlace is planned to begin on March 11, 2005. An additional extension another 0.6 mile south to SW Gibbs Street, to serve the South Waterfront and to connect to the proposed Portland Aerial Tram, began construction in January 2005 and is expected to open in July 2006. The extension is expected to cost $15.8 million, including the purchase of an additional three streetcars, with the intent to improve headways along the route to 10 minutes.
The streetcar vehicles are a Czech design, built by Skoda-Inekon in Plzen. They are shorter and narrower than MAX cars because they have to run in neighborhood streets, alongside parked automobiles. The streetcar runs in mixed traffic, while the MAX tracks run in a reserved lane. The streetcars operate as single cars.
Streetcar tracks are similar to MAX tracks. In fact, they are the same gauge, but streetcar tracks are of a lighter 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. The free Vintage Trolley tourist trains run on both Streetcar and MAX tracks on weekends.
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