Now, at the dawn of the 21st Century, the streetcar has returned to Portland. Portland Streetcar came about as the result of a nearly 30-year effort to return frequent transit service to some of the city's older neighborhoods.

City officials and supporters expect the line to help reduce short, inner-city automobile trips; ease traffic and parking congestion; help keep the air clean; and encourage additional residential, commercial and business development along its route. 

In 1995, the City of Portland established the non-profit Portland Streetcar, Inc. to coordinate and direct new streetcar development. The first route developed was between the Nob Hill neighborhood in northwest Portland and the Portland State University campus in southwest Portland.

The nearly 5-mile loop would connect these neighborhoods with a route through the Pearl District, an old industrial area built around the old Spokane, Portland & Seattle (later Burlington Northern) railroad yards, which the city was redeveloping into a mixed residential and commercial area.

At its new end point, it could connect with the existing downtown Transit Mall and also provide a jumping-off point for future expansion. Construction of the route began in March 1999.

Testing on the completed infrastructure began in January 2001. Crews used a Vintage Trolley car towed by a Tri-Met utility truck equipped with a coupler adaptor, since the overhead trolley wire was not yet energized. Powered tests began in February, also with a Vintage Trolley car.

The Marshall Street maintenance facility can accommodate two cars at one time, with room to work overhead and underneath them. For more extensive servicing or repairs, the cars can travel to the light rail shops in Gresham or Beaverton, using the connector to the east-west MAX line at SW 10th and Morrison.

Each car is unique in that it wears its own distinctive color scheme, with a combination of two colors. These include blue, teal, green, orange, red and yellow. One side and one end of each car are painted in a different color, so that the same car will appear different when viewed coming and going. A light blue stripe along the lower body accents the colors, and blends into a white bumper on each end.

The route loops around the Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital complex on NW Northrup Street, 23rd Avenue and Lovejoy Street. It follows Lovejoy to NW 11th Avenue, then runs along 11th Avenue all the way to SW Market Street. Along the way, it crosses the east-west MAX line at SW Morrison and Yamhill Streets.

There is also a turnback loop at SW Market and 10th to allow trains to head back north if necessary. The line follows Market Street all the way to SW 5th Avenue, where it links to the downtown Portland Transit Mall, then turns onto 5th for about a block to SW Montgomery Street. Originally, the track turned left here and dead-ended at SW 4th Avenue.

Trains pulled into the stub track, where the operator changed cab ends. The track passes through the PSU Urban Center plaza, then follows SW Mill Street through the PSU campus. It turns back north again at SW 10th and Mill. From there, it heads back north to NW Northrup Street, crossing the MAX line again at SW Yamhill and Morrison. At Northrup, the line turns west again and follows the street back to NW 23rd.

The line uses the MAX fare structure; the route north of NW Irving Street is within Zone 1, requiring a $1.70 fare. South of there, the line is entirely within the Fareless Square area. All regular Tri-Met tickets and passes are accepted on the trains.

The streetcar line draws about 5,000 daily riders and costs about $2.4 million a year to operate. Tri-Met pays about $1.6 million, with the rest coming from parking meter revenue in the River District neighborhood adjacent to the north end of the line; from various streetcar and station sponsorships; from promotions along the route; and from fares, which generate about $100,000 a year.

All told, it cost $56.9 million to build the line, including:

• $28.5 million from bonds backed by city parking revenues;
• $9.6 million from the Local Improvement District, one-time payments from property owners along the route;
• $5 million in federal funds re-allocated to Tri-Met in exchange for local funds;
• $2 million in revenues from city-owned parking garages;
• $7.5 million in tax increment financing from the South Park Blocks Urban Renewal District;
• $500,000 each from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and from the Portland Department of Transportation;
• $850,000 in tax breaks on a tax advantage lease/sales agreement;
• $355,000 in interest earned on project funds;
• $160,000 for helping the Seattle, Wash.-area Sound Transit system in its railcar procurement process;
• $1.9 million in general funds from the city to purchase the seventh streetcar.

The table below shows the line's stops. The stations closest to the east-west MAX line are indicated by an asterisk (*). Stops adjacent to the Transit Mall are indicated by the pound symbol (#).

Construction began in January 2005 to further extend this line from RiverPlace south to SW Gibbs and Moody, where the Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) is building new facilities in the South Waterfront District. This segment opened Oct. 20, 2006.

Construction on the Lowell Extension through the South Waterfront District began in August 2006. Service on this segment began Aug. 17. This 0.6 mile extension connects at SW Moody and Gibbs, follows SW Moody south to SW Lowell, and turns east on SW Lowell to SW Bond. The route loops north on SW Bond back to SW Moody at Gibbs.

Planners would like to ultimately extend the line all the way to Lake Oswego. One plan would use the former SP Jefferson Street Branch, which carried Red Electric interurban trains in the early 20th Century and now hosts the seasonal Willamette Shore Trolley. The 2005 extension into the South Waterfront used a portion of the old right-of-way, between SW Sheridan and SW Moody.

At the north end, the line is just several blocks from Portland Union Station, and a short loop into the depot area could provide an effective connection to intercity or regional commuter trains operating to or through Portland.

Discussions are also underway for other extensions that would serve the Rose Quarter sports complex, the Lloyd District, the Central Eastside Industrial District, and OMSI.

TriMet's light rail alignment along the downtown Portland transit mall, now under construction, will handle trains of the existing Yellow Line to and from the Portland Expo Center and the new Green Line to and from Clackamas Town Center. The new line will cross the streetcar route at PSU, opening up more direct light rail-to-streetcar connections. It is scheduled to open in September 2009.