D.C. Streetcar could begin passenger service in November

Antoinette Washington, left, and Davinia Reid, 45, give each other a high five during their training as streetcar operators in August. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

D.C. Streetcar will start simulated service Monday, and the cars could be carrying passengers as early as November, a District Department of Transportation official said Wednesday.

After many delays, transportation officials have been careful not to offer a target date for opening day, but officials say the route testing that starts next week along a 2.4-mile segment of H Street and Benning Road NE is a sign that operations are nearing.

“We were able to move from systems integration testing to the operator training and now on to pre-revenue operations,” said Thomas Perry, DDOT’s program manager for streetcar engineering and construction. “We are excited that we are hitting those milestones, but we want to make sure that we are cautiously optimistic.”

An opening day has not been set, but the goal is to begin passenger service by the end of the year, Perry said.

“November is a possibility,” he said.

Before the cars start rolling, DDOT needs to get a safety certification through a state safety oversight process that could last a few weeks. Perry said DDOT is wrapping up the documents it will submit for approval and those could be reviewed next month while the agency conducts the simulated service.

The streetcar will return to city roadways more than a half-century after Washington’s last streetcar stopped rolling. The new system has been years in the planning, and a start day will come after many months of delays. City officials had said passengers would be riding the new line in spring 2014.

The H Street/Benning Road Line is the first in a 22-mile network that could eventually cover 37 miles. It runs east on H Street from behind Union Station, then along Benning Road to Oklahoma Avenue.