MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Trolleys are not supposed to catch fire. You know that, I know that, and the people who run the Memphis Area Transit Authority definitely know it.
They had to shut the entire trolley system down in 2014 after two separate cars caught fire.
After four years of repairs, and dealing with federal transportation agencies, service resumed on Main Street.
And now, the next step is to reintroduce refurbished cars on the Riverfront Line.
“The demand from the community is there,” says MATA Chief Executive Officer Gary Rosenfeld. “The demand from tourism is there. The economic impact this will have on downtown is huge. So it’s a big step.”
Charlotte, North Carolina, is the main reason this big step is moving quicker.
Rosenfeld says, “We are taking advantage of the fact they have heritage cars coming out of service. We had some negotiations and have come to an agreement to purchase the cars from the folks in Charlotte.”
The total price for the three refurbished cars is $550,000. As far as restoring service on the Riverfront line, which was the most used trolley line in the city, Rosenfeld says it will happen.
“If I were to predict right now,” he said, “... just being ultra conservative, I’d say really the end of 24 months. But that will depend on what we run into as we go into the testing process.”