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U.S. Streetcar Systems- Tennessee |
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| Memphis |
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| MATA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Began Operation: 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Route Miles: 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stops: Main St: 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Organization: Transit Agency | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Schedule: Daily | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| photo: John Smatlak | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The
Memphis trolley system is operated by the local transit agency and currently transports more than 800,000 passengers a
year over three lines radiating from the downtown area. Conceived as part of a plan to resuscitate a
failing pedestrian mall in a fading downtown, the trolley has grown into an
effective transit circulator system. The 2.5 mile Main St. Line line
opened in 1993 and travels the length of Main St., linking the South Main
and Pinch historic districts with numerous downtown attractions. The 2
mile Riverfront Trolley Loop connects together the two ends of the Main
St. Line, primarily using a railroad right-of-way shared with Amtrak. The
2.5 mile Madison Line opened in 2004 and was intended as the starter
line for a future light rail system. Service is offered 7 days a week, and the
base fare is One Dollar, with a lunchtime fare of 50 cents. An all-day
pass is available for $3.50, or a 3-day pass for $8.00. Main St. Trolley: This double track line has .8 miles of track on an exclusive trolley/ pedestrian mall, with the remainder sharing the street with traffic. Boarding is at street level, via rather elaborate stations which project out from the sidewalk. Initial cost was $34.9 Million, $3 million of which was vehicle costs. Funding was 77.2% Federal, 7.1% State, 7.1% City and 8.6% private. In 1998, MATA completed its $5.4 Million North End Terminal project, providing parking and transfer facilities between bus and trolley lines.
Riverfront Trolley Loop: In 1997, another 2 miles of parallel line (with 6 stations) was opened, primarily on a double-track railroad right-of-way running along the edge of downtown close to the Mississippi River. One of the tracks is dedicated to MATA use, and the other to Amtrak. Riverfront cars operate in a one-way loop, using the Main St. Line as one leg of the circle. Project cost was $9.4 Million. The infrastructure for both the Main St. and Riverfront lines is quite impressive. The .8 mile Main St. trolley/pedestrian mall features a track area covered with paving blocks and sidewalks paved with bricks in attractive herringbone patterns. A line of reproduction light poles runs down the middle of the street, also equipped with bracket arms to support the trolley wire. The tops of many of the poles are also equipped with lighting units that provide for night-time illumination of adjacent building facades. The steel and concrete waiting shelters are all built to a common theme, and present an attractive appearance. Benches, planters, information kiosks, and other pedestrian- friendly features line the length of the mall, and there is also a booming horse and buggy business. The "Main Street Trolley" logo appears on all of the stations on the mall as well as on the street signs themselves. Equally impressive is all of the development going on around the trolley lines. On Main St., a great deal of commercial development is apparent along the tracks. Although there are still many vacant storefronts, there are also plenty of rehabilitated historic buildings as well as significant new construction. Along the Riverfront line there are great number of new homes in evidence as well as a flurry of loft conversions underway in some truly incredible historic industrial buildings. The Memphis Center City Commission values the current building boom at over $2 billion dollars. Madison Avenue Line: In March 2004, MATA opened a 2.5 mile extension on Madison Avenue, connecting the existing downtown system with the Medical Center complex, thus linking the city's two largest employment centers by rail. The line operates in mixed traffic along Madison Avenue generally on tracks located in the inside travel lanes. The extension included two major bridge projects. The first was comprised of two new rail-only bridges at Danny Thomas Blvd. (one on each side of the existing street bridge) and the second was a reconstruction of the existing bridge at I-240, with tracks placed on the bridge. The line adds six new stations and a small park-and-ride facility at the eastern terminus. Five of the six stations are located in the center of the street, and all feature platform based lifts to accommodate wheelchairs. The Gomaco Trolley Company won a contract to refurbish three additional vintage trolleys for use on the line, and to supply one new replica trolley. An upgrade to light rail vehicles is planned when the new LRT system comes on line. The project is proposed as the last segment of the downtown rail circulation system as well as the first segment of a regional light rail line. Total cost of the Madison Avenue Line was $60 million with eighty percent (80%) of the funding provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the remaining 20% split between the City of Memphis (10%) and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (10%).
Equipment: Service is provided with 18 rehabilitated cars imported primarily from Portugal and Australia, as well as two replica cars. There are six single-truck cars from Oporto, Portugal, ten double-truck cars from Melbourne Australia, a single- truck Gomaco replica car, a double-truck Gomaco replica car, and a double-truck car rebuilt by MATA from a former Rio de Janeiro open car. Each of the cars is painted in a unique paint scheme. ADA Accommodations: The entire system is ADA accessible. The ex-Melbourne cars, with their wide center section doorways, lend themselves very well to ADA access, which is accomplished via high-level island platforms on the Riverfront Loop, and wayside lifts on Main St. and Madison Avenue. In order to accommodate wheelchairs inside the relatively narrow ex-Oporto cars, a substantial rebuild was required. The cars had their platforms modified to achieve a level floor inside the car. All cars are equipped with a steel plate to bridge the gap between the floor and the wayside lift or platform.
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