Portland (Oregon) Tram

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Portland Streetcar Inc.
Portland Streetcar logo.svg
Basic information
Company headquarters Portland
Web presence http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/
owner City of Portland
Employee approx. 24
Lines
Gauge 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
tram 2
number of vehicles
Tram cars 16
statistics
Passengers approx. 4.4 million
Stops 76
Length of line network
Tram lines 23.5dep1
Operating facilities
Depots 1

The Portland streetcar , English: Portland Streetcar , is the streetcar of the city of Portland in Oregon ( USA ). The operator Portland Streetcar Incorporated is a public sector company committed to the common good. The Portland light rail is operated by Trimet .

History of the Portland Tram

In 1990 the first plans for a streetcar in Portland began. The tram company was founded in 1995. In 1999, construction work began on the first line. The route was opened in July 2001. An extension from Portland State University to the Riverplace was built in 2004 and opened in 2005. In 2005, work began to expand to SW Moody / Gibbs.

The enterprise

Portland Streetcar Incorporated currently operates two tram lines. Use in the inner city area was free until September 2012. Individual companies can “buy” individual stops and thereby advertise themselves. This is made clear by an announcement in the tram and by signs at the bus shelters.

The trams in Portland can use the light rail tracks, but not the other way around, as the light rail vehicles are heavier.

Line network

Tram corner SW 5th and Montgomery

North-South Line

The NS-Line runs from NW Portland via NW Lovejoy along NW / SW 11th through downtown to the campus of Portland State University . From there the line runs partly on its own route south to the “South Waterfront” district, where there is a connection to the Portland Aerial Tram (cable car). In the opposite direction, the line divides at the university and runs parallel on the SW / NW 10th through downtown Portland. The route two blocks away continues on NW Northrup and ends on NW 23rd.

During the week, the frequency is approx. 14 minutes.

Central loop line

Car No. 021 (built 2012) crosses the Broadway Bridge, a bascule bridge on the CL-Line built in 1913

The CL-Line, completed in 2012, runs from Lovejoy Street via Broadway Bridge over the Willamette River into the Lloyd District, where it runs south along 7th Avenue and then Martin Luther King Boulevard to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry . The way back leads parallel to this on Grand Avenue north again.

After the completion of a new Willamette crossing in 2015, the CL-Line will in future connect the east and west banks of the Willamette as a loop.

The frequency is 18 minutes during the week.

Planned routes

A line into the suburb of Lake Oswego is planned. It would begin at the southern terminus of the city loop and instead of an existing rail route, the Willamette Shore Trolley would lead south.

vehicles

Portland Streetcar has a total of sixteen articulated cars , including seven (001–007) of the Škoda 10T type , three of the Inekon 12-Trio (008-010) type, one of the United Streetcar 10T3 (No. 015), and five of the United type Streetcar 100 (021-025). These are bidirectional vehicles made up of three car bodies that are connected with two swivel joints. The vehicles are 20.13 m long, 2.46 m wide and some have low floors.

literature

  • Robert Schwandl: Subways & Light Rail in the USA. Volume 2: West. Robert Schwandl Verlag Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-936573-35-0 . Page 28 f.
  • Portland Streetcar - Hop on and get carried away . [Leaflet] 2012.

Web links

Commons : Portland Streetcar  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files