Portland — Eastside Line Opens

September 2012

On Saturday morning, September 22, 2012, Portland's newest streetcar line began operation. Many city residents watched as Mayor Sam Adams, Gov. John Kitzhaber, Oregon's U.S. senators and congressional representatives, and several other local officials were on hand at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for the ribbon cutting ceremony commemorating the Eastside Streetcar line's opening.

The line, to be called the Central Loop, is 3.35 miles long with 28 station stops, from Downtown and the Pearl District on the west side of the Willamette River, across the Broadway Bridge to east side serving new stops in the Rose Quarter, Lloyd District, and at OMSI. Follow this link for PDF showing the expanded Portland streetcar system: Portland Streetcar Map.

The ceremony included introduction of the first "Made in USA" streetcar in 50 years, though the car has been undergoing testing and reconstruction for years. The City of Portland ordered six new streetcars that are being manufactured at United Streetcar in Clackamas County.

Working with TriMet's Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project, Portland Streetcar and the City of Portland are planning to complete the loop line by building the connections to put streetcar on an under-construction bridge that will connect the Central Eastside and South Waterfront.