Little Rock — Ahead of Schedule

Rail Transit Online, April 2004

Construction of the 2.5-mi. (4 km) River Rail streetcar project connecting the downtowns of Little Rock and North Little Rock is several weeks ahead of schedule.  According to Central Arkansas Transit Authority Executive Director Keith Jones, revenue service could begin sometime in September, well ahead of the planned opening in late October or early November.  “The contractor is really making headway,” Jones told Arkansas Business.  Meanwhile, a tentative operating schedule has been released: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.  Headways will probably average 10 to 15 minutes.  However, the timetable won’t be finalized until a series of public meetings have been held.  “How late the trolley runs depends on businesses and how late they stay open and how they promote (the trolley),” Jones told Arkansas Business.  “Whatever they do, the streetcar will be there.”  Fares are expected to be 25 cents on weekdays and 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children on weekends, with all three cars running Saturday and Sunday.   Annual operating costs are estimated at $438,150, offset by fare revenues of $79,250 from around 195,000 passengers.  Several route variations are being considered, including operating a loop in each city and assigning one car to run a through service.  Another alternative is to have all cars cover the entire line.  Expansion of the $19.5-million project is in the advanced planning stage and includes a $7.6-million, quarter-mile (0.4 km) extension to within two blocks of the Bill Clinton presidential library that could be completed in late 2005 and the purchase of two more trolleys from Gomaco sometime next year.