Portland Streetcar

Portland Streetcar
A streetcar at the PSU stop.
Info
Type	Streetcar line
Operation
Opened	July 20, 2001
Owner	City of Portland
Technical
Line length	3.9 miles (6.3 km)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Minimum radius of curvature	18 m (59 ft) [1]
Electrification	Overhead, 750 V DC
Maximum incline	8.75%

The Portland Streetcar is a streetcar system in Portland, Oregon that opened in 2001^[2] and serves areas surrounding downtown. It is currently a single line that is almost 4 miles (6.4 km) long and has about 12,000 boardings per day,^[3] but construction of a second line is due to begin soon. The Portland Streetcar is the first new streetcar system in the United States since World War II to use modern vehicles.^[4] Like some of Portland's original streetcar lines,^[5] redevelopment has been a major (and successful) goal of the project.^[6]

Like trains on the heavier-duty MAX light rail network which serves the broader Portland metropolitan area, streetcars are operated and maintained by TriMet personnel. However, the system is owned by the City of Portland and managed by Portland Streetcar Incorporated, a non-profit public benefit corporation whose board of directors report to the city's Office of Transportation.

In contrast with light rail transit, for almost the entire route streetcars are not separated from other traffic and are not given any traffic-signal priority over other vehicles, except where necessary to allow the rail cars to make certain turns. This design minimizes construction costs and disruption to traffic flow and parking, but also means longer travel times as compared with light rail. Each streetcar is 66 feet (20 m) long, whereas light rail cars are typically 75 to 95 feet (23–29 m) long, and streetcars are operated as single cars at at all times, never coupled into trains. This, too, reduces construction cost, by allowing stations/stops to be much smaller, but means the streetcar system's overall passenger carrying capacity is lower than that of a light rail system.

Contents 1 Service 2 Funding 3 Route 3.1 Initial segment 3.2 RiverPlace, South Waterfront (Gibbs St.) and SW Lowell extensions 4 Future expansion 4.1 Eastside (planned) 4.2 Lake Oswego (proposed) 5 Vehicles 5.1 The current fleet 5.2 U.S.-built modern streetcar 5.3 Vintage Trolley service 5.4 Compatibility with TriMet's MAX system 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Service

Streetcars arrive at 12-minute intervals at most times, but every 14 minutes before about 10:30 a.m. and a little less frequently in the evenings and on Sundays. Every stop is fitted with an electronic reader board giving real-time arrival information to waiting passengers, using the NextBus vehicle tracking system.

As on TriMet's MAX line, the streetcar's fare system is a proof-of-payment (or "honor") system, with occasional random inspections of passengers' fares, which minimizes wait times at stops by allowing boarding to take place simultaneously through all vehicle doorways. Streetcar operators do not collect or monitor fares. Although the line is not part of the TriMet system, the city adopted TriMet's fares for the streetcar,^[2] for simplicity and convenience of transferring passengers. This includes honoring TriMet's Fareless Square, which encompasses more than half of the current streetcar route; rides within that area are free at all times.^[7] Passengers not already in possession of a valid fare when boarding—unless riding entirely within Fareless Square—are required to purchase tickets from ticket vending machines on board each streetcar. Each vehicle also carries a ticket validator machine, for stamping "unvalidated" TriMet tickets purchased in advance (such as from grocery stores). TriMet and the city have also agreed to honor one another's fares, which means that TriMet passes, tickets and bus transfer receipts are accepted on the streetcar, and tickets purchased or validated on board a streetcar are valid for travel on TriMet services (bus, MAX or WES) as long as they cover the appropriate fare zones for the trip being made.^[8] To facilitate this, the ticket machines on board the streetcars offer both all-zone (three-zone) and two-zone tickets, despite the fact that the streetcar route lies entirely within TriMet's Zone 1. Streetcar tickets are valid for 2 hours on TriMet services, but effective January 1, 2007, TriMet tickets and transfers are valid all-day on the streetcar.^[8]

Funding

Funding for the streetcar operations comes primarily from TriMet, fares, city parking revenue, and a "Local Improvement District" (special property tax assessed on properties near the line). Fares have been difficult to enforce because much of the line is in Fareless Square.^[7] Another source of funding for the streetcar is sponsorships of vehicles and stops, which in most cases have a minimum duration of one year,^[9] 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.

Route

Portland Streetcar[10] Legend Stop name S Legacy Good Samaritan S NW 22nd at Lovejoy N NW 22nd at Northrup S NW 21st at Lovejoy N NW 21st at Northrup S NW 18th at Lovejoy N NW 18th at Northrup N NW 14th at Northrup S NW 13th at Lovejoy N NW 12th at Northrup N NW 10th at Marshall S NW 11th at Johnson N NW 10th at Johnson S NW 11th at Glisan N NW 10th at Glisan S NW 11th at Everett N NW 10th at Everett S NW 11th at Couch N NW 10th at Couch N SW 10th at Stark S SW 11th at Alder N SW 10th at Alder W MAX Galleria/SW 10th E MAX N Central Library S SW 11th at Taylor N Art Museum S SW 11th at Jefferson S SW 11th at Clay N SW 10th at Clay N SW Park at Mill S SW Park at Market N PSU Urban Center S SW 5th at Market S SW 5th at Montgomery SW 3rd at Harrison SW 1st at Harrison SW Harrison Street SW River Pkwy at Moody SW Moody at Gibbs (for PAT) N SW Bond at OHSU Plaza S SW Moody at Gaines N SW Bond at Lane N Lowell at SW Bond Notes: N Northbound stop S Southbound stop

A streetcar at the corner of SW 11th and Alder.

As of February 2009, streetcars serve a route that measures 3.9 miles (6.3 km) end-to-end. Of the 7.8-mile (12.6 km) round-trip length, 5.3 miles are one-way operation along streets which are mostly also one-way and with the streetcars following parallel streets in opposite directions (the original 4.8-mile loop plus the most recent extension). The remaining 3.0 miles (4.8 km) of round-trip route length are sections where the streetcar route uses a single street (or private right-of-way) for both directions of travel.

Initial segment

Portland Streetcar started with a 4.8-mile (7.7 km) counterclockwise loop of single track that opened on July 20, 2001, running from the campus of Portland State University (PSU), north through the Pearl District west to NW 23rd Avenue and then back to PSU on adjacent streets. Most of the US$57 million used to build it came from local sources, and only $5 million came from the U.S. federal government.

RiverPlace, South Waterfront (Gibbs St.) and SW Lowell extensions

On March 11, 2005, the line was extended at its southern end from PSU to RiverPlace, a distance of 0.6 mile (1 km). This extension was the first phase of a plan to serve Portland's South Waterfront redevelopment area, including a new outpost of Oregon Health & Science University. This section includes a short length of two-way single-track operation, about 100 yards/meters, along Montgomery Street and 4th Avenue. Streetcar-only signals ensure that only one direction is in use at one time. The extension cost $18.1 million, including the purchase of two additional streetcars, with the intent to allow streetcars to run every 10 minutes.^[11]

An additional extension of 0.42 mi (0.68 km) south to the lower terminus of the Portland Aerial Tram at SW Gibbs Street, in the South Waterfront District, opened on October 20, 2006. This section differs from the rest of the streetcar system in that the streetcar track runs entirely in its own right-of-way (formerly used by the Willamette Shore Trolley), allowing streetcars to run at higher speeds. Like the short section around 4th and Montgomery, this section is also bi-directional single track, the only other such running on the current system.

On August 17, 2007, the Streetcar was extended to SW Lowell and Bond, serving more of the South Waterfront district. This 0.46-mile (0.74 km) extension is in the form of a 10-block loop, from SW Moody and Gibbs proceeding south on Moody Avenue, east on Lowell Street and north on Bond Avenue to OHSU Commons at Gibbs, which stop is also directly adjacent to the entrance to the Portland Aerial Tram.

From the southernmost stop, SW Lowell at Bond, one can transfer to the Willamette Shore Trolley by walking one block south, to Bancroft Street.

Future expansion

Eastside (planned)

Construction is due to begin in mid-2009 on a 3.3-mile (5.3 km) expansion of the streetcar system to the city's inner eastside.

In June 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 Industrial Districts.^[12] In part, the desire for an eastside streetcar arose from the July 2001 report, Lloyd District Development Strategy. Proponents see it as a component of a potential transportation hub in the Lloyd District, bringing together the streetcar, MAX and bus service. Additionally, the new streetcar line will provide a transit connection between the Lloyd and Central Eastside districts that supporters believe is more attractive and permanent than the bus service (TriMet line 6) currently provided and is more likely to spur development in those areas. Existing businesses along the route have also voiced strong support for the project, believing it will bring new customers who otherwise would be more likely to shop in nearby downtown.^[13]

The plans were approved by the Metro (Oregon regional government) council in July 2006^[14] and by the Portland city council in September 2007, the council committing to allocating $27 million of city funds.^[15] The estimated total cost of the project is $147 million, just over half of which is to be paid for with federal funds. On April 30, 2009, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the approval of $75 million in federal funding for the Eastside streetcar project, the full amount that had been requested by Portland.^[16][17] This allocation, secured in large part through the efforts of Oregon Representatives Earl Blumenauer and Peter DeFazio, was both the largest and the final component of the financing plan, and consequently the project can proceed to construction as soon as the city council has approved construction contracts. Twenty million dollars in state funds, $15 million from a Local Improvement District and a combination of various other local or regional sources complete the funding plan.^[18] Inauguration of service is now targeted for early 2012.

The routing of the Eastside line was finalized in about 2007 and measures about 3.3 miles (5.3 km) in each direction (slightly longer southbound). It leaves the present line at 10th and Lovejoy and runs east across the Willamette River via the Broadway Bridge to the Lloyd District. From there, it will turn south, passing the Oregon Convention Center, and follow the Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard couplet to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), the initial terminus. Within the Lloyd District, the southbound routing will follow 7th Avenue (from Weidler Street to Oregon Street), so as to come closer to the Lloyd Center and the many office towers in the district, but south of the convention center the route will run south along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and north along Grand Avenue almost all the way to and from OMSI.^[18]

At that location, the new line eventually is expected to connect with a future MAX line planned to link downtown with Milwaukie by 2015. That project, still only a proposal, will require the construction of a new bridge over the Willamette River, but if it comes to fruition, and the bridge is built, the city plans to extend the streetcar from OMSI across the river to the South Waterfront district, connecting with the existing streetcar line there, and thereby creating a large loop in the overall streetcar network. For this reason, the Eastside expansion is often referred to as the "Eastside Loop" or the "Portland Streetcar Loop", but completion of the loop would come about three years after the opening of the Eastside line and is not currently funded. The planned Milwaukie MAX line is a project of TriMet, whereas the streetcar is a City of Portland effort, but TriMet and Metro have already agreed to permit streetcars to share the new bridge with MAX trains, as well as to allow buses, bicycles and pedestrians—but not private motor traffic.^[19][20]

The budget for the Eastside Streetcar project includes the cost of purchasing an additional six vehicles, and in May 2009 Portland Streetcar Inc. was in the process of negotiating with United Streetcar (see Vehicles section, below) for an order for six cars of the same general type as those currently operated.^[21][17]

Lake Oswego (proposed)

Extension of the Streetcar southwards by about 6 miles to Lake Oswego is proposed.

In 1988, a consortium of several local governments^[22] purchased from Southern Pacific Railroad the 6.2-mile Jefferson Branch freight rail line, which SP had ceased using in 1983, with the intention of preserving the right-of-way for future passenger rail transit use.^[23] Since 1990,^[24] the rail corridor has been kept in use by the Willamette Shore Trolley heritage streetcar service, a mostly seasonal, excursion-type operation, but local transportation officials remained interested in putting the corridor to use for mass transit in the longer term, and formal discussion increased as the opening of Portland Streetcar's first line neared, in 2001.^[25] A 2004 study by TriMet showed that extending the Portland Streetcar system over this right-of-way could be cost-effective and would be a better choice in this corridor than building a more costly light rail line.^[26] In December 2007, the Metro council approved undertaking environmental-impact studies for the proposed improvements and comparing the introduction of streetcar transit service with the alternative of "enhanced bus service".^[27][28] The start of this work was temporarily held up by a lack of funding, but got under way in spring 2009 after the interested local jurisdictions reached agreement on financing the study, and is due to result in the completion of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by 2010.^[29]

Currently, the majority of the proposed Streetcar line would follow the Willamette Shore Trolley (WST) right-of-way, extending from the current SW Lowell St. terminus down SW Moody Avenue and proceeding along the WST right-of-way to Lake Oswego, with a terminus at A Ave. There would also be a pedestrian and bike trail. This alignment would relieve traffic congestion on Hwy. 43, which parallels it and on some sections has topography essentially precluding the option of widening of the highway. The route would have 10-11 stations along the alignment and would be mostly single-track with passing sidings. Stops would be at Hamilton Ct., Boundary St., Pendleton St., Nebraska St., Neveda St., Sellwood Bridge, Riverwood Rd., Briarwood Rd., E Ave., and A Ave. Alternative routes are in consideration as well.

The proposal is opposed by some residents living adjacent to or near the right-of-way.^[30]

Vehicles

The current fleet

The streetcars are a Czech design, and all except the most recent car (number 015) were built in the Czech Republic and shipped to the USA complete. They have a low-floor center section between the trucks and at one door on each side they are equipped with a MAX-like bridge plate—a short ramp that extends from the vehicle doorway—to allow easy boarding of wheelchairs. Compared to MAX cars they are shorter and narrower, a result of having to run in mixed traffic on neighborhood streets, alongside parked automobiles. The cars are lighter than those used by MAX, allowing cheaper, less-intense track construction. 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 a streetcar.

As of late May 2009, the fleet includes eleven streetcars, but the last car has only recently been received^[21] and has not yet entered service. They were supplied in four separate batches between 2001 and 2009, built by any of three different manufacturers. However, they have nearly identical dimensions and are very similar in all respects, because the basic design used for all eleven cars was engineered by the same two Czech companies, Škoda and Inekon.

Cars 001 through 005 have been in operation since 2001, while cars 006 and 007 were added in 2002. These seven were built by a now-defunct joint venture between Škoda and Inekon, and are Škoda model 10T (originally also known as the Astra 10T). Most of the design work was by Inekon, while Škoda carried out the construction, in Plzeň.^[4]

Three additional cars, to be numbered 008-010, were ordered for the expansion of service to South Waterfront. By that time, the partnership between Inekon and Škoda had dissolved in an "ugly divorce", so these cars were constructed in Ostrava, Czech Republic, by a partnership of Inekon and the city transit agency, Dopravní Podnik Ostrava.^[31] This partnership was originally named simply DPO-Inekon, but soon adopted the (English) name "Inekon Trams". Portland cars 008-010 are model 12-Trio (a particular version of Inekon's Trio series of streetcar designs)^[32] and have a high degree of spare parts compatibility with the existing fleet. They arrived in Portland in January 2007, and after a period of street testing, entered service at the end of May 2007.

U.S.-built modern streetcar

The latest delivery, on May 15, 2009,^[33] is another Škoda 10T, but built in the United States under license, rather than by Škoda itself.

Under a 2005 Federal Transportation bill, $4 million was allocated for construction of a U.S.-manufactured streetcar vehicle. Congressman Peter DeFazio indicated that the contract would go to Oregon Iron Works in Clackamas, Oregon, and that Portland would be permitted to keep the prototype vehicle permanently.^[34]

The goal of this special Federal grant was to help foster the creation of a domestic manufacturing industry for modern streetcars, which was non-existent at the time. The lack of any domestic manufacturer had forced new streetcar systems to turn to overseas builders as the only source of the type of railcar needed. The first Portland Streetcar project had not used any Federal funds. However, for any future streetcar projects desiring to obtain Federal matching funds, among which were the planned future expansion in Portland, the vehicles would need to comply with the 60% U.S. content provisions of the "Buy America" Act.

In February 2006, Škoda Transportation established an "exclusive technology transfer agreement" with Oregon Iron Works (OIW) to build streetcars meeting "Buy America" rules, and the two companies worked together to prepare a detailed OIW submission when the City of Portland issued a request for proposals in mid-2006 to build one new streetcar for the Portland Streetcar. In January 2007, OIW won a contract from Portland to build the prototype streetcar, to the Škoda design, and established a new subsidiary, United Streetcar LLC, to carry out the work.^[35]

Delivery of the prototype built by United Streetcar was originally projected for September 2008 but fell behind schedule. The car, number 015 in the Portland Streetcar fleet, was delivered on May 15, 2009,^[33] but must undergo several weeks of testing before it is approved to enter service, which officials are hoping can be accomplished by July.^[21] The newly delivered car is model 10T, the same as cars 001-007, but features a slightly modified end design. Although the differences are relatively minor, car 015 is considered to be model variant 10T3, whereas cars 001-5 were 10T0 and cars 006-7 were 10T2.^[36]

The city plans to purchase an additional six streetcars for the now-approved eastside expansion, and it is expected that a contract for these will go to United Streetcar.^[21]

Vintage Trolley service

Until late 2005 the fleet also contained two Portland Vintage Trolleys, replicas of 1904 Brill streetcars owned by TriMet. Two of the four such cars were transferred to the City of Portland in 2001 for use on the Portland Streetcar line on weekends. However, they were not wheelchair-accessible on the streetcar line, and they lacked the satellite-detection equipment necessary for them to be detected by the real-time arrival system (NextBus) informing passengers waiting at stops. When the line was extended to RiverPlace, the Vintage Trolley service continued to terminate at PSU, because of concerns that the steep incline on the new section could damage the cars' motors. The combination of these and other issues led to suspension of the Vintage Trolley service around the end of November 2005.^[37] It never resumed, and eventually the two cars concerned were transferred back to TriMet. (Two other Vintage Trolleys continue to operate on a portion of the MAX system, on most Sundays.)

Compatibility with TriMet's MAX system

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), and the two systems share the same overhead line voltage, 750Vdc. Because of this, it is technically possible for a Portland 10T or 12-Trio streetcar to run on MAX tracks, and indeed originally this was planned to take place when and if a streetcar needed a particular type of maintenance work that was beyond the capabilities of Portland Streetcar's own "carbarn", but only in those rare such instances. A single curve of track at 10th and Morrison connects the two systems.^[4] TriMet's light-rail maintenance shops feature additional equipment, as TriMet's railcar fleet is many times larger, so streetcars were operated along the MAX tracks to the light-rail workshops at Ruby Junction (near the Ruby Jct./E 197th MAX station) for maintenance work on their trucks, a few times. However, because the streetcar has a limited top speed of about 40 mph (compared with 55 mph for MAX trains) and because of differences in the signalling systems, streetcar movements to the Ruby Junction facility had to take place very late at night, a time when TriMet schedules maintenance on the MAX line. Portland Streetcar managers therefore decided, early on, simply to remove streetcar components needing repair at a TriMet facility and transport them there by road, avoiding the need to schedule time on the MAX line to move a streetcar. Ultimately, as part of the eastside expansion, the necessary equipment is planned to be purchased and installed at the streetcar maintenance shop, eliminating the need to send any streetcar components to Ruby Junction or to Elmonica (another MAX maintenance facility) for repair.

While streetcars can operate on the MAX light rail tracks, a MAX car would be too heavy to operate on the streetcar's tracks, too wide for portions of its right-of-way, and unable to pass through the tighter curves on the Portland Streetcar system.

Many organizations from other places have come to tour the system, hoping to replicate it in their hometowns. For example, in 2005, officials of the Toronto Transit Commission visited Portland and evaluated the Škoda streetcars for possible future use on Toronto's streetcar system, as the smaller size is suitable for the city's extensive street-running mixed-traffic operations. The official website for Tucson, Arizona's streetcar system (currently in advanced planning stages), which will connect its downtown area with the nearby University of Arizona campus, features a computer animation video of the Portland Streetcar-style Škoda cars in the livery of Tucson's local public bus system, Sun Tran.^[38]

See also

• Portland Transit Mall
• Transportation in Portland, Oregon

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Portland Streetcar

• Portland Streetcar official website
• Real-time arrivals and live maps
• Metro: Eastside Streetcar
• Portland Streetcar at nycsubway.org
• Streetcar at PortlandTransport.com
• Portland Office of Transportation
• United Streetcar, LLC

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