MATA Trolley

Originally proposed as a line along the Mississippi River, the Memphis City Council voted 9-4 in January 1990 to build the , $33 million Main Street route. However, due to the longer-than-anticipated restoration of the vintage streetcars, the opening of the line was delayed until spring 1993. After further delay, testing of the first of the restored cars began on March 10, 1993, and the system opened to the public on April 29, 1993. On October 1, 1997, the Riverfront line opened. The system's third line, running east from Main Street along Madison Avenue for about , opened on March 15, 2004. It was completed at a cost of about $56 million, which was approximately 25 percent below the original budget forecast for the project. Trolley operation on the Madison Avenue Line was suspended in May 2014 following electrical fires in two trolleys operating on that line in the previous six months. On June 10, the suspension was expanded to include all MATA trolley lines after it was determined that much of the fleet would need to be renovated. At that time, the suspension was expected to last at least six months until a feasible solution could be found. Options included restoring the existing fleet at a cost of $6 million, or replacing them with new heritage streetcars at a cost of $40 million. In December 2014, MATA announced that it was not yet able to give an estimated date for the resumption of service. In March 2015, it was announced that limited trolley service might be possible in May or June, but there was still no timetable for full restoration of service. In October 2016, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said trolleys would not be back in service before 2017. Reopening and resuspension Service on the Main Street Line resumed on April 30, 2018. On November 3, 2021, MATA announced a plan to test a modern streetcar from San Diego on the Madison Avenue Line, on which rail service has been suspended since 2014. MATA acquired the 1988-built Siemens–Duewag U2 light rail vehicle from the San Diego Trolley light rail system in fall 2020, and the car arrived in Memphis in April 2021. At that time, the other two lines were forecast to reopen within two years, but as of December 2022 they both remained indefinitely suspended (routes served by buses). In September 2021, MATA was predicting that the Riverfront Loop would reopen when three used Birney-replica cars acquired from Memphis in late 2020 were ready to enter service, which at the time was forecast for circa late 2022. On August 18, 2024, MATA announced that service on the Main Street Line was suspended again indefinitely at the request of the Tennessee Department of Transportation after a braking issue arose, for the second time in nine months, while an investigation into the cause proceeded. In June 2025, MATA began temporarily operating rubber-tired trolleys along Main Street. Interim CEO John Lewis announced that the trolleys could be repaired for a fraction of the cost quoted by previous leaders. As of March 2026, MATA hopes to reopen the trolley system in fall 2026. == Lines ==

The MATA Trolley network consists of three lines. There are stations at 24 locations (inbound and outbound stations are counted as a single location), and 35 of the stations are sheltered and ADA-accessible. == Rolling stock ==

trolley in the South Main St Historic District The trolleys used are almost all restored, vintage streetcars. -built number 1979, with a trolley pole, in its original livery. By 2003 all of the trolley poles were replaced by pantographs. Between the mid-1990s and 2003, the fleet expanded considerably in both number and capacity with the arrival of ten reconditioned Melbourne, Australia W2-class cars, all but one (Car 417) supplied by Gomaco Trolley Company. Other additions were single-truck Car 1979 that was built new by Gomaco in 1993, as a demonstrator; double-truck Car 1794 that was originally an open-sided car from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but was heavily rebuilt and enclosed before entering service in Memphis, and, in early 2004, a replica Birney Safety Car – again, manufactured by Gomaco, similar to those used on the TECO Line Streetcar in Tampa, Florida, and the Metro Streetcar in Little Rock, Arkansas. The fleet and overhead wires were converted from trolley pole to pantograph current collection in early 2003, during a three-month suspension of service which started on January 5, 2003. An eleventh reconditioned Melbourne car, W5-class 799, was purchased in 2006 by MATA with a view toward eventual restarting of trolley service. In late 2020, MATA acquired three more Gomaco-built replica Birney streetcars, secondhand from the Charlotte Area Transit System, which had used them from 2004 to 2019 on its Charlotte Trolley System and CityLynx Gold Line. In 2021, MATA acquired one secondhand Siemens-Duewag U2 LRV from the San Diego Trolley (No. 1035) to be used for testing on the Madison Avenue Line. In March 2025, the front of the vehicle was damaged by a fire and the car remains parked today in its significantly damaged state. In 2022, a further seven U2's (no.s 1033, 1066, 1010, 1048, 1049, 1052, and 1026) were purchased, MATA intends to have them refurbished for the line's reopening. == Ridership ==

On June 1, 2011, two trolleysa Melbourne W2-class and Porto number 194traveling on Main Street collided due to a power failure. Six people were taken to the hospital, including one MATA employee. On November 4, 2013, a Melbourne trolley caught fire while operating on the Madison Avenue Line. On April 10, 2014, another Melbourne trolley caught fire on Madison Avenue, leading to the closure of the route. == See also ==