El Paso, TX
Streetcar Comeback
El Paso was one of the last cities in the American west to abandon its first generation streetcar system. A unique cross border circular streetcar line running through downtown El Paso then across the bridge into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico survived until 1974 (though service was spotty in later years). Now the city has built a new system on the American side of the border using the PCC cars that ran on the original system and have been stored outdoors at the El Paso airport since the end of service. Service on the new line began on November 9, 2018.
The new route runs in two loops, connecting the international bridges, retail areas, government buildings, convention center and downtown ballpark with the medical center, University of Texas at El Paso and several historic neighborhoods.
The following images show the first rebuilt El Paso PCC about to be shipped from Brookville's Pennsylvania plant in February 2018:
Follow this link for a review of the project evolution and its status after the first few months of operation. This presentation was given at the Tucson meeting of the Subcommittee on February 27, 2019:
The following news notes from provide further details about El Paso's streetcar development:
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