Atlanta Streetcar

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This article is about the new streetcar system. For the first-generation 19th and 20th century streetcar system in Atlanta, see Streetcars in Atlanta.
Atlanta Streetcar
Atlanta Streetcar.JPG
A streetcar in service near the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site
Overview
Owner City of Atlanta, Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
Locale Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Transit type Streetcar
Number of lines 1
Number of stations 12
Operation
Began operation December 30, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-12-30)
Operator(s) Atlanta Streetcar
Character Street running
Number of vehicles 4 Siemens S70s
Train length 1 car
Headway 15 minutes (planned avg.)
Technical
System length 2.7 mi (4.3 km)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius of curvature (?)
Electrification Overhead wires
Route diagram
Centennial Olympic Park
Carnegie at Spring
Luckie at Cone
Peachtree CenterMARTA MARTA
Woodruff Park
Park Place
Hurt Park
Auburn at Piedmont
Sweet Auburn Market
I‑75 / I‑85 (Downtown Connector)
Dobbs Plaza
Edgewood at Hilliard
King Historic District
This diagram:

Atlanta Streetcar, or simply the Downtown Loop, is a streetcar line in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

The Downtown Loop is the Phase 1 of the Atlanta Streetcar project, which is planning to expand onto the BeltLine surrounding central Atlanta. It was planned to start service in late spring of 2014, but was delayed.[1] Testing on the line began in summer 2014[2] with passenger service beginning as scheduled on December 30, 2014.[3][4][5][6][7]

The project is the first regular passenger streetcar service in Atlanta since the original Atlanta streetcars were phased out in 1949.

Route

The Downtown Loop runs 2.7 miles (4.3 km) east-west, serving 12 stops,[8] from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, with tracks that converge at Woodruff Park.[9] The route provides access to MARTA heavy rail lines at Peachtree Center.[10] The vehicle maintenance facility is located under the I-75/I-85 overpass on Edgewood Ave.[11]

The exact route is:

  • From the King Historic Site at Jackson St. and Auburn Ave., westbound along Auburn Ave. to Peachtree St.
  • North on Peachtree St., stopping at Peachtree Center MARTA station, to Ellis St.
  • West on Ellis St. to Carnegie Way
  • Northwest on Carnegie Way to Andrew Young International Blvd.
  • West on Andrew Young International Blvd. to Centennial Olympic Park Dr.
  • South on Centennial Olympic Park Dr. to Luckie St.
  • Southeast on Luckie St., crossing Peachtree St. to Park Place.
  • South on Park Place to Edgewood Ave.
  • East on Edgewood Ave. to Jackson St.
  • North on Jackson St. to Auburn Ave.[12]

Rolling stock

The Atlanta Streetcar system uses Siemens S70 light rail vehicles (LRVs).[13] A total of four S70 cars were purchased.[7] They were delivered in the first months of 2014 and are numbered 1001–1004.[14]

Background

Atlanta Streetcar, Inc.

Atlanta Streetcar, Inc. (ASC) is a non-profit organization founded in 2003 with the mission to bring streetcars back to downtown Atlanta. ASC's board members include the leaders of Georgia Tech and Georgia State University, MARTA, Georgia World Congress Center, Buckhead Community Improvement District, Buckhead Coalition, Underground Atlanta, Central Atlanta Progress, Woodruff Arts Center, and many local corporate business leaders as well.[15]

Peachtree Corridor Partnership

In the summer of 2007, a new privately funded group called the Peachtree Corridor Partnership was formed, with the goal of determining how best to move forward the proposed rebuilding of Peachtree Street as a more attractive and pedestrian-friendly thoroughfare.[16] The addition of a modern streetcar line was (and remains) one of the main components of the proposed transformation of the corridor, so many of the board members of ASC became members of the Peachtree Corridor Task Force, and the partnership eventually replaced the function of ASC as the organization advocating for a streetcar line along Peachtree Street.

In July 2009, the Atlanta city council approved funding a feasibility study to work out certain details of the proposed streetcar line in time to apply for federal economic-stimulus funds for the construction of a such a line.[17] However, several council members later expressed doubts over whether the remainder of the funding necessary to bring the project to fruition was likely, particularly during a time of recession.[18]

Downtown Loop route funded

In September 2010, it was announced that Phase I of the Atlanta Streetcar Project had received $47 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II funding. The funding represents 8% of the overall TIGER II allotment, and will fund the construction of the downtown loop, not the Peachtree Corridor line, which is now regarded as Phase V of the project.[19][20]

In May 2011, Siemens announced that it had won the $17.2 million contract to build the four streetcars that will run on the Downtown Connector line. They would be based on the company's S70 light rail vehicle platform, built in Florin, California, but with major components, including the propulsion system, assembled at Siemens’ Alpharetta plant in the Atlanta metropolitan area.[21]

In February 2012, the city announced that the budget would increase from $70 million to $90 million. The city attributed the increase to:[22]

  • about $9 million to purchase newer and more expensive streetcars that could last 20 years longer than the refurbished ones that were originally planned to be purchased
  • $4 million so that the Atlanta Regional Commission's Livable Centers Initiative could provide grants for sidewalk improvements and bicycle lanes.
  • Additional work by the water department to move water and sewer pipes

In March 2012, the MARTA Board of Directors formally approved the design-build contract with URS Corporation for the Atlanta Streetcar.[23]

Construction and opening

Groundbreaking for the project took place on February 1, 2012.[22][24] At that time, the line was projected to open in May 2013, but various delays pushed the opening back, first to summer 2014 and later to December.[7] The first two S70 streetcars were delivered in February 2014[14] and began test runs on the line in the spring.

The 2.7-mile (4.3 km) loop opened for service on December 30, 2014,[3] and all rides will be free until January 1, 2016.[6][7]

Expansion

Currently there are plans to extend the streetcar to Bankhead MARTA Station, via Luckie Street and Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy, and east to Piedmont Park. The City of Atlanta is applying for a TIGER 7 grant to extend the current loop east, 1.6 miles (2.6 km) to Irwin St and the entrance of the BeltLine.[25] Costs are estimated at $62.7 million.

See also

References

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External links

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