Little Rock — River Rail Update

Rail Transit Online, March 2005

Operations have been trouble free and ridership has been increasing on Little Rock’s River Rail streetcar since service began Nov. 1.  The 2.5-mi. (4 km), $19.5-million line carried its 50,000th passenger on Feb. 11 and there have been no collisions between the three Gomaco replica Birney trolleys and motor vehicles.  “Everybody thought we’d be towing cars left and right and hitting mirrors,” Central Arkansas Transit Authority Executive Director Keith Jones told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, adding that illegal parking has been “…a non-issue.”  Saturday has been the busiest day of the week, averaging 1,115 riders, and many residents are using the line to reach events at Alltel Arena and to visit the River Market.  However, although spates of inclement weather during the fall and winter have held down patronage, the dedication of the Clinton Presidential Center last November drew 3,869 passengers over two days.  “To start in winter time might not be the ideal thing to do to show ridership success at the outset,” Jones told the Democrat-Gazette.  “But you need that time to work the bugs out.  I think it’s a preview of high ridership for spring, summer and even fall.”  A 1998 feasibility study forecast 130,000 riders the first year.  But if the current pace continues, the line will carry 200,000 passengers by its first anniversary.