January 5, 2009
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| THE SOURCE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION NEWS AND ANALYSIS |
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New Orleans Welcomes Back Six Red Streetcars
 The New Orleans Regional Transportation Authority gave the city an early Christmas gift on Dec. 12 with the return to service of six of the city’s 24 candy-apple red Canal Street streetcars. The entire fleet suffered extensive damage in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina’s levee breaks in 2005, and NORTA is continuing renovation efforts for the remaining cars.
The streetcars are once again operating on Canal Street, on North Carrollton Avenue to City Park, and along the majestic Mississippi riverfront. They originally entered operation in April of 2004.
“In the case of New Orleans’ streetcars, seeing red is truly a cause for celebration. The return of the red streetcars is just one of the many steps in the ongoing recovery process,” said outgoing U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters, who was among those on board for the first ceremonial ride on the streetcars.
Doug Whitmer, chief of staff of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Louisiana Transitional Recovery Office, called the repair of the streetcars and their return to Canal Street “yet another significant milestone in this city’s recovery process, and the timing couldn't be better to bring back this splash of red to Canal Street during the holiday season.”
The 24 Canal streetcars and six of NORTA’s seven Riverfront streetcars were engulfed in five feet of murky, brackish water in their storage facility for more than two weeks. The city’s historic St. Charles Perley Thomas models were safe from the flooding in their home base at the Carrollton Street barn, and have been operating on all three streetcar lines.
NORTA estimated the rehabilitation cost at $1 million per streetcar, covered in part by a $27 million FEMA appropriation. Authority craftsmen disassembled the cars, reinforced and fixed the flooring, reassembled the interiors, restored the mahogany seats, and repainted the cars; Brookville team members restored the undercarriage of each car, including the wiring and electronics.
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