Join the discussion on the following article:
New Orleans aims to have new streetcar line ready for Super Bowl
As a Tulane grad and a one-time commuter on the St. Charles line I applaud any effort to get more streetcars rolling in the Crescent City. My only question, as occurs in thousands of cowboy films, “What took you so long”–Three quarters of a mile, folks!
As a Tulane grad and a one-time commuter on the St. Charles line I applaud any effort to get more streetcars rolling in the Crescent City. My only question, as occurs in thousands of cowboy films, “What took you so long”–Three quarters of a mile, folks!
New Orleans has to be the leading city in the US in building streetcar lines. The St. Charles Avenue line began many many years ago and when other cities dumped their streetcars New Orleans kept the line. Before Katrina New Orleans added the Riverfront line and the Canal Street line. Now the new line from the Transportation Center along Loyola Avenue to the French Quarter will tie everything together.
New Orleans has to be the leading city in the US in building streetcar lines. The St. Charles Avenue line began many many years ago and when other cities dumped their streetcars New Orleans kept the line. Before Katrina New Orleans added the Riverfront line and the Canal Street line. Now the new line from the Transportation Center along Loyola Avenue to the French Quarter will tie everything together.
What took so long? 45 million for .8 mile. If this is such a great project then why haven’t local developers stepped up? Because it’s not, that’s why.
What a ‘super’ addition .
Lat time I was in town the St. Charles line was out of service on the north end from Canal St. to a point about 2-3 miles south of downtown near Jackson Ave. Sure would help to get this critical link retored to service.
What happened to plans to revive the Desire line? The last I knew there was an issue with whichever freight railroad crosses Desire. Too bad Now Orleans didn’t at least keep the Canal line, along with the St. Charles line. When I was there with my parents and my brother way back in 1965, the transit map my dad received from NOPSI still showed the Canal line as still running as a streetcar line, which it wasn’t.
I sure hope the photographers of Train Magazine will be on hand for the opening of this line. I commend the editors of Train Magazine for bringing stories to the forefront related to Street Car lines, commuter rail and Amtrak’s new routes. I haven’t been to New Orleans to visit since '69, when I attended school at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi shortly after leaving basic at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. When I was a young lad, my dad took me on a trip from Jacksonville, Florida to New Orleans on the Gulf Wind, back around '59, on the Seaboard Air Line RR & connecting on the L&N…While in New Orleans, I really enjoyed riding the Canal & St Charles Street Cars and going to the French Market to eat some of those delicious donuts at the Cafe Du Monde. Maybe someday soon, Amtrak will once again connect the West Coast with the Sunshine State on East Coast without having to go through Chicago and Washington DC. Even a train from Chicago to New Orleans and then to the Sunshine State would be nice…it would only require refueling and a new crew, approval by CSX has already been made. Now if we could only get the Governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida on board, and the hard part, Amtrak! Just think of the new tourism dollars that could be made. My taxes would for once, be well spent!!
Sacramento RT Metro seemed to take “forever” to finish a line of about the same distance from the existing track to the Amtrak station. When work has to be done in a congested downtown area, with lots of utility relocation, not much room to maneuver and possible objections from NIMBYs and vested interests, projects will bring forth comments like, “I think the Phraraohs got their Pyramids built faster than this.”