Skip to main content

The El Paso Streetcar


In November 2018, a part of El Paso's past returned to the city's streets- the El Paso Streetcar.  Forty-four years after the last streetcar ran on city streets, the city inaugurated a new service.

El Paso's first streetcar system began as horse-drawn cars in 1881.  Twenty years later, the first electric streetcars began operation.  The electric cars were operated by the El Paso Electric Railway Company.  At its peak, the El Paso Streetcar system consisted of 64 miles of track running seventeen lines.

By the end of the Second World War, El Paso was down to a single line, the line that linked El Paso to Juarez, Mexico.  This line was the only local transit line to serve two different countries.  It was highly popular with tourists and residents of both cities.

Well into the early 1970s, the streetcar was a popular option for travel from Juarez to El Paso and vice versa.  Here passengers board in El Paso bound for Juarez.  (Public Domain)

The El Paso Streetcar service to Juarez ended in 1973.  That year, a strike supporting former Mexican toll collectors blocked cars from entering Mexico, ending service there.  A year later, all streetcar service in El Paso stopped.  Over the next thirty years, numerous studies and proposals - including a light rail line or a people mover - were made to restore service between El Paso and Juarez.  Over time, the studies found limiting operations to El Paso the most feasible.

Fast forward to 2014, when the Camino Real Regional Mobility Authority received $97 million to restore streetcar service to El Paso.  

The current El Paso Streetcar Route

The current El Paso Streetcar system is a 4.8-mile figure-8 loop that services the University of Texas - El Paso, Downtown, Government complexes, the Arts District, and the area near the international bridges.  The fleet consists of six restored PCC (Presidents' Conference Committee) cars.  The restored cars are the same cars that ran along El Paso and Juarez streets from 1950 - 1974.  These cars first had been in operation in San Diego.  In 1950, El Paso purchased 20 PCC cars from the San Diego Electric Railway.  A year earlier, in 1949, San Diego had ended their streetcar network.  The cars were shipped from San Diego to El Paso and put into service.

Refurbished PCC Car #1511 has a perimeter seating arrangement.  This was a common feature on many of the Juarez-bound cars.

With the end of service in El Paso, nine PCCs moved into storage near El Paso International Airport.  Six of the nine were fully refurbished as part of the new streetcar line.  The cars were painted to match the livery of the 1950s.  Inside, the cars retain the look and feel of the classic PCCs but with modern amenities - air conditioning, wifi, wheelchair lifts, and bike racks.

Initially, the new service charged $1.50 per ride.  Currently, it is completely free to ride the El Paso Streetcar.  Typical service has four cars running at a time- so on average, you can expect a car to go by your stop every 15 minutes.

Beginning in September 2023, El Paso's streetcar system will operate seven days a week. Hours will be 7 am to 7 pm Monday-Thursday, 7 am to 11 pm Friday, Noon to 11 pm Saturday, and Noon to 6 pm Sunday.

Sources & Links:
Further Reading:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

  Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

The Pollasky Bridge

The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road.  The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California.  The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940.  The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River.   Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge."  The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map.   Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County.  The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County.  The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.  Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947.   Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume.   The  Kings River Lumber Company  had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin.  This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood."  The co...