Streetcar Lines
Streetcars in New Orleans, Louisiana have been an integral part of the city's public transportation network since the first half of the 19th century. The longest of New Orleans' streetcar lines, the St. Charles Avenue line, is the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world. Today, the streetcars are operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA).
There are currently four operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Riverfront Line, the Canal Street Line, and the Loyola Avenue Line. The St. Charles Avenue Line is the only line that has operated continuously throughout New Orleans' streetcar history (though service was interrupted after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and resumed only in part in December 2006, as noted below). All other lines were replaced by bus service in the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Preservationists were unable to save the streetcars on Canal Street, but were able to convince the city government to protect the St. Charles Avenue Line by granting it historic landmark status. In the later 20th century, trends began to favor rail transit again. A short Riverfront Line started service in 1988, and service returned to Canal Street in 2004, 40 years after it had been shut down.
The wide destruction wrought on the city by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent floods from the levee breaches in August 2005 knocked all the streetcar lines out of operation and damaged many of the streetcars. Service on a portion of the Canal Street line was restored in December of that year, with the remainder of the line and the Riverfront line returning to service in early 2006. On December 23, 2007, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) extended service from Napoleon Avenue to the end of historic St. Charles Avenue (the “Riverbend”). On June 22, 2008 service was restored to the end of the line at South Carrollton Avenue & South Claiborne Avenue.
All Streetcar Lines
There are currently four operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Riverfront Line, the Canal Street Line, and the Loyola Avenue Line. The St. Charles Avenue Line is the only line that has operated continuously throughout New Orleans' streetcar history (though service was interrupted after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 and resumed only in part in December 2006, as noted below). All other lines were replaced by bus service in the period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Preservationists were unable to save the streetcars on Canal Street, but were able to convince the city government to protect the St. Charles Avenue Line by granting it historic landmark status. In the later 20th century, trends began to favor rail transit again. A short Riverfront Line started service in 1988, and service returned to Canal Street in 2004, 40 years after it had been shut down.
The wide destruction wrought on the city by Hurricane Katrina and subsequent floods from the levee breaches in August 2005 knocked all the streetcar lines out of operation and damaged many of the streetcars. Service on a portion of the Canal Street line was restored in December of that year, with the remainder of the line and the Riverfront line returning to service in early 2006. On December 23, 2007, the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) extended service from Napoleon Avenue to the end of historic St. Charles Avenue (the “Riverbend”). On June 22, 2008 service was restored to the end of the line at South Carrollton Avenue & South Claiborne Avenue.
All Streetcar Lines
- The St. Charles Streetcar Line is the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, having opened in 1835. Each car operating on the line is a historic landmark. It runs from Canal Street all the way to the end of St. Charles Avenue at South Carrolton Avenue, then out South Carrolton Avenue to its terminal at Carrolton and Claiborne.
- The Canal Streetcar Line, which originally operated from 1861 to 1964 and which was rebuilt and reopened in 2004, runs the entire length of Canal Street, from near the Mississippi River to the cemeteries at City Park Avenue. A branch line turns off of Canal Street into North Carrollton Avenue to the entrance of City Park at Esplanade Avenue, near the New Orleans Museum of Art. During some recent periods, some Canal cars have operated through on the Riverfront tracks from the French Market terminal to Canal Street, before proceeding out Canal.
- The Riverfront Streetcar Line opened October 14, 1988, and runs parallel to the river from Esplanade Avenue along the edge of the French Quarter, past Canal Street, to the Convention Center above Julia Street in the Arts District.
- The Loyola-UPT Streetcar Line, opened on January 28, 2013, runs along Loyola Avenue from New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Canal Street, then continues along Canal Street to the river, and on weekends on the Riverfront line tracks to the French Market.