Today, Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu and RTA officials commemorated the opening of the Rampart/St. Claude streetcar line at a news conference outside Armstrong Park. Back on track for the first time since 1949, streetcars are operating along the North Rampart/St. Claude corridor, moving the City of New Orleans and the Regional Transit Authority into the future. 

Dignitaries and invited guests followed a second line led by Gene’s Music Machine across the street for the inaugural ride on the streetcar line. Students from Joseph A. Craig and Homer Plessy Elementary Schools presented original drawings of the streetcar to special guests. 

“Streetcars are iconic symbols of our city, and the RTA wants to continue to expand streetcar service in the coming years,” said RTA Board Chairwoman Sharonda R. Williams. “The Rampart/St. Claude Streetcar Line is part of the French Quarter Streetcar Expansion, which started with the Loyola line that was completed in 2013. We hope to continue extending the tracks as funding becomes available.” 

The red streetcars that serve the Canal Street and Loyola Avenue lines will also run on the Rampart/St. Claude Line, which will operate from the Union Passenger Terminal on Loyola Avenue to Elysian Fields Avenue every 20 minutes. Bus service remains along the line, also operating on 20-minute headways, effectively providing transportation every 10 minutes along the corridor. The line is in operation from 6 a.m. to 12 midnight. The line is accessible to people with mobility impairments. 

The six double-sided, lighted stops are situated at Conti, St. Ann, Ursulines, Esplanade, Pauger and Elysian Fields. Historic light poles along North Rampart Street were refurbished, with replicas replacing the previous cobra-style lights along St. Claude Avenue. 

“It’s been almost 70 years since buses replaced streetcars along this corridor, and we have come full circle,” said Mayor Mitchell J. Landrieu. “In New Orleans, we always knew that streetcars and light rail, work well in urban areas and are more environmentally friendly than buses. We are happy that the rest of the country now knows that, and we are calling on our local transit leaders to learn from them. 

“We also know that where there is quality transit service, there will be economic development. We saw it almost 200 years ago with the St. Charles Streetcar, in the 1980s with the Riverfront Streetcar line and in the early 2000s along the Canal Street line. Most recently, we had $2 billion of development along Loyola Avenue in part because of the streetcar line, and now, with the renaissance that is happening along the Rampart/St. Claude corridor, we predict even more investments in this corridor.” 

To further commemorate the occasion, a public celebration is planned from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 8, inside Armstrong Park with live music and free food and beverages from area vendors.