Passenger Streetcars Return to the Rails of Savannah

On Wednesday, November 19, for the first time in more than 60 years, passenger streetcars returned to the rails of Savannah.

City-hired contractors in Pennsylvania spent the past year restoring an authentic 1930s-era Melbourne streetcar, making it ADA accessible and retrofitting it with a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly propulsion system. After more than a month of testing, the streetcar was turned over to Savannah.

The 47-foot-long streetcar, delivered by flatbed truck, arrived at the Railroad Roundhouse Complex west of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Wednesday.

The Melbourne streetcar will spend the next few weeks at the Roundhouse rails, where conductors will be trained on its operation. It is scheduled to ride the rails of River Street beginning mid-December. The two-sided streetcar will ride back and forth along the length of River Street, picking passengers up at seven stops along its route.

Streetcars were Savannah's first mode of public transportation, with horse-drawn versions running the rails through town beginning in 1869. The first electric streetcar arrived in 1890, and allowed Savannah to dramatically expand its city limits. Streetcars flourished over the next 50 years, until they were phased out by public buses. The last day of Savannah streetcar operation was Aug. 26, 1946.

The new River Street Streetcar is part of the Dot system -- Savannah's farefree Downtown Transportation network. The Streetcar will share stops with the Dot's other two components -- the Dot Express Shuttle and the Savannah Belles Ferry, using three interlinked modes of transportation to get residents and visitors around the Historic District.

The Dot is a service of Savannah Mobility Management - a public-private partnership aimed at increasing downtown mobility while decreasing traffic and parking congestion.