Memphis — Trolley Extension Opens

Rail Transit Online, April 2004

A two-mile (3.2 km) extension of the Memphis Area Transit Authority’s five-mile (8 km) downtown trolley loop opened on Mar. 15.  The new link, which cost $56 million, runs along Madison Avenue to the city’s medical center and also serves the new FedEx Forum.  The project was completed on time and $19 million under budget.  Despite a light rain, several hundred people were on hand for the ceremonial first run of car No. 453, which broke through a banner and carried elected officials and other VIPs from Cleveland Station to downtown.  “We're not building this just for tourists,” said MATA president William Hudson.  “We're building it for all of us.”  The celebration also included a week of free rides on the entire trolley network.  MATA expects weekday ridership on the extension to increase from 2,100 this year to 4,200 by 2020.