Via DDOT.
Update: Mayor Gray said in a statement released this evening that streetcar service “is expected” to begin during the week of January 19, 2015.
Original post
Passenger service on the H Street-Benning Road NE streetcar line will not begin in 2014, as promised.
“As many know, launching the DC Streetcar system has been a top priority of my administration and of the District Department of Transportation,” Mayor Vincent Gray, whose term ends this week, said in a release. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see that goal through to completion as we wind down, but I can tell you that we are exceedingly close to carrying passengers on H Street and Benning Road. We know that DC Streetcar will be a welcomed economic engine that will result in new services and amenities for the community and I am confident the benefits of DC Streetcars will be realized in the very near future.”
Disagreements between DDOT and the State Safety Oversight Office — which is part of D.C.’s Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services — over safety documentation delayed the launch of the streetcar. While there was some hope that service would begin on New Year’s Eve, Gray said the certification review process has not been completed.
“At this time, DDOT has completed all the requisite steps for system testing and certification and has submitted its final Safety and Security Certification Report,” Gray said in the release. “The SSO is in the process of reviewing the final documentation and DDOT is addressing the SSO’s final recommendations based on its readiness review. All parties agree that this process will not be a long one to complete. Once DDOT delivers on all SSO recommendations, the SSO approval to begin passenger service will follow.”
With years of missed deadlines, DDOT declined to give a specific date for the start of passenger service, with officials only saying it would occur in 2014. Gray said in November 2013 the system would start carrying passengers in February 2014. Maybe we’ll be riding streetcars by February 2015.
