Atlanta Streetcar

The Downtown Loop runs 2.7 miles (4.3 km) east-west, serving 12 stops,[11] from Centennial Olympic Park to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, with tracks that converge at Woodruff Park.[12] The route provides access to MARTA heavy rail lines at Peachtree Center.[13] The vehicle maintenance facility is located under the I-75/I-85 overpass on Edgewood Avenue[14]

The exact route is:

• From the King Historic Site at Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue, westbound along Auburn Avenue to Peachtree Street.
• North on Peachtree Street, stopping at Peachtree Center MARTA station, to Ellis Street.
• West on Ellis Street to Carnegie Way.
• Northwest on Carnegie Way to Andrew Young International Boulevard.
• West on Andrew Young International Blvd. to Centennial Olympic Park Drive.
• South on Centennial Olympic Park Drive to Luckie Street.
• Southeast on Luckie Street, crossing Peachtree Street to Park Place.
• South on Park Place to Edgewood Avenue.
• East on Edgewood Avenue to Jackson Street.
• North on Jackson Street to Auburn Avenue.[15]

The Atlanta Streetcar system uses Siemens S70 light rail vehicles (LRVs).[16] A total of four S70 cars were purchased[9] and were built at two different facilities; the cars themselves were built in Sacramento, California while most other major components, like the propulsion system, were assembled at a plant about 30 miles (48 km) north of Atlanta, in Alpharetta.[17][18] They were delivered in the first months of 2014 and are numbered 1001–1004.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21] 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 such a line.[22] 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.[23]

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.[24][25]

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, with the cars themselves being built in Sacramento, California, while other major components, including the propulsion system, were to be assembled at a Siemens plant about 30 miles (48 km) north of Atlanta, in Alpharetta.[17][18]

In February 2012, the city announced that the budget would increase from $70 million to $90 million. The city attributed the increase to:[26]

• 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.[27]

Groundbreaking for the project took place on February 1, 2012.[26][28] 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.[9] The first two S70 streetcars were delivered in February 2014[19] and began test runs on the line in the spring. The initial 2.7 mile loop cost $98M which was almost $30M higher than originally projected.

The 2.7-mile (4.3 km) loop opened for service on December 30, 2014,[5] with all rides free until January 1, 2016.[8][9]

By June 2018, MARTA agreed to take control and ownership of the streetcar; the route is planned to be integrated into a larger MARTA light rail system.[29] Operations were placed under the control of the newly formed Office of Light Rail Operations on July 1, 2018.[30]