Via DDOT.

Training of streetcar operators will take place in the actual location where the streetcars will eventually run beginning Monday.

First reported two weeks ago by WAMU, the D.C. Department of Transportation announced today the start of in-traffic operator training, which “builds on the training and pre-qualification that operators already received at the Testing & Commissioning Site,” on H Street and Benning Road NE.

Each operator will train with supervisors along the corridor under various traffic scenarios in order to be certified to carry passengers on H/Benning. Pre-Revenue Operations, in which service is simulated without passengers, will follow operator training. These elements are required for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to certify its system and be accepted by the State Safety Oversight Agency (SSOA). The safety certification process involves several critical steps and is intended to ensure that the system meets safety standards and is ready to carry passengers.

According to WAMU, the training is expected to take between one month and seven weeks.

Eighty-nine percent of the streetcar operations team’s 37 employees are residents of D.C. Passenger service is expected to begin before the year ends.