Washington, DC — Streetcars Ordered

Rail Transit Online, March 2005

Three streetcars from the Czech Republic have been ordered for the Anacostia Light Rail Demonstration Project, a six-station, 2.7-mi. (4.34 km) line that will serve the Anacostia area in southeast Washington.  The double-ended cars will be built by DPO Inekon, a joint venture of the Czech commercial house Inekon and the transit authority in the Czech city of Ostrava, which has a large, modern maintenance facility capable of building new streetcars.  Service is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2006 with projected daily ridership of 3,000.  The route will use an existing CSX right-of-way along the east side of the Anacostia River between Bolling Air Force Base and Pennsylvania Avenue.  The project, estimated to cost between up to $40 million, will include a maintenance facility and two substations.  The Anacostia line is part of a planned citywide LRT system designed to improve downtown circulation.