MATA Trolley
FormerPorto trolley on the Main Street Line in 2002 or 2003; its trolley pole was replaced by a pantograph soon after.
Operation
Locale	Memphis, Tennessee
Open	April 29, 1993 (1993-04-29)[1][2]
Status	Suspended[3]
Routes	3 (of which two have been temporarily suspended, i.e. bus-operated, since 2014,[4][5] the third since August 2024)
Operator	Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA)
Infrastructure
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)standard gauge
Propulsion system	Electric
Electrification	Overhead line, 600 V DC[2]
Statistics
Track length (total)	10 mi (16.1 km)[1]
Route length	6.3 mi (10.1 km)[citation needed]
Stops	25
Annual ridership	233,400 (2024)[6]
Overview Show interactive map Legend Madison Ave. Line Cleveland Ave. Pauline Dunlap Orleans Danny Thomas Third St. City of New Orleans toChicago Trolley yard Riverfront Loop Main St. Line North End Terminal Overton Pyramid Convention Center Civic Center Plaza Jefferson Jefferson St. Court Madison Ave. Line Madison Union Union Ave. Peabody Pl. Beale St. Beale St. Landing Dr. M. L. King Jr. Huling Huling Ave. Butler Riverfront Loop Central Station Main St. Line City of New Orleans toNew Orleans Key Main Street Line Riverfront Loop Madison Avenue Line This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram
Website	https://www.matatransit.com/trolley/routes/

TheMATA Trolley is aheritage streetcar system operating inMemphis, Tennessee. The first line opened in 1993 and consisted of three lines by 2004.^[1] These lines are the Main Street Line, the Riverfront Loop, and the Madison Avenue Line. The system is operated byMemphis Area Transit Authority. Service on the last two lines was suspended in June 2014, following fires on two cars^[7] and remains indefinitely suspended as of May 2024.^[8] The Main Street Line was reopened in 2018,^[9] but all service was suspended again in August 2024 after theTennessee Department of Transportation began investigatingbraking issues with the trolley cars.^[3][10] In 2024, the system had a ridership of 233,400.

The last line of Memphis’ original streetcar network closed on June 15, 1947.^[2]

In the 2011–12 fiscal year, 1.34 million trips were made on the system, a 23.1% year-on-year growth – the highest of any light rail system in the contiguous United States.^[11]

Originally proposed as a 4.9-mile (7.9 km) line along theMississippi River, the Memphis City Council voted 9-4 in January 1990 to build the 2.5-mile (4 km), $33 million Main Street route.^[12] After multiple delays, construction of the line commenced in February 1991 for completion by December 1992.^[13] However, due to the longer-than-anticipated restoration of the vintage streetcars, the opening of the line was delayed until spring 1993.^[14] After further delay, testing of the first of the restored cars began on March 10, 1993,^[15] and the system opened to the public on April 29, 1993.^[2][12][16]

On October 1, 1997, the Riverfront line opened.^[17] The system's third line, running east from Main Street along Madison Avenue for about 2 miles (3.2 km), opened on March 15, 2004. It was completed at a cost of about $56 million, which was approximately 25 percent below the original budget forecast for the project.^[18]

Trolley operation on the Madison Avenue Line was suspended in May 2014 following electrical fires in two trolleys operating on that line in the previous six months.^[19] On June 10, the suspension was expanded to include all MATA trolley lines after it was determined that much of the fleet would need to be renovated. At that time, the suspension was expected to last at least six months until a feasible solution could be found. Options included restoring the existing fleet at a cost of $6 million, or replacing them with new heritage streetcars at a cost of $40 million.^[7] After thorough inspection of the fleet, MATA decided to overhaul several cars rather than purchase new ones, and to eventually reinstate service using only overhauled cars.^[20] In December 2014, MATA announced that it was not yet able to give an estimated date for the resumption of service.^[21] In March 2015, it was announced that limited trolley service might be possible in May or June, but there was still no timetable for full restoration of service.^[22] In October 2016, Memphis MayorJim Strickland said trolleys would not be back in service before 2017.^[23]

Service on the Main Street Line resumed on April 30, 2018.^[9] The Main Street Line was extended toMemphis Central Station in February 2021.^[24]

On November 3, 2021, MATA announced a plan to test a modern streetcar from San Diego on the Madison Avenue Line, on which rail service has been suspended since 2014.^[25] MATA acquired the 1988-builtSiemens–Duewag U2light rail vehicle from theSan Diego Trolley light rail system in fall 2020, and the car arrived in Memphis in April 2021.^[26] At that time, the other two lines were forecast to reopen within two years,^[27] but as of December 2022 they both remained indefinitely suspended (routes served by buses).^[5] In September 2021, MATA was predicting that the Riverfront Loop would reopen when three used Birney-replica cars acquired from Memphis in late 2020 were ready to enter service, which at the time was forecast for circa late 2022.^[26] Service on the Madison Avenue Line was planned to be restored sometime after 2022 after the testing of theSiemens-Duewag U2 LRV on the line is completed and more vehicles are purchased.^[28]

On August 18, 2024, MATA announced that service on the Main Street Line was suspended again indefinitely at the request of theTennessee Department of Transportation after a braking issue arose, for the second time in nine months, while an investigation into the cause proceeded.^[3][10] As there was no estimate at that time for when service might be able to resume, all trolley operators were laid off.^[10] In October, MATA estimated that service on the Main Street line would resume in summer 2025.^[29] In June 2025, MATA began temporarily operatingrubber-tired trolleys along Main Street. Interim CEO John Lewis announced that the trolleys could be repaired for a fraction of the cost quoted by previous leaders.^[30]

The MATA Trolley network consists of three lines. There are stations at 24 locations (inbound and outbound stations are counted as a single location), and 35 of the stations are sheltered andADA-accessible.^[31]

The trolleys used are almost all restored, vintage streetcars.^[12] The original three cars in operation on opening day were all formerly used inPorto, Portugal, and are Car 187, circa 1927; Car 194, circa 1935; and Car 204, circa 1940.^[12] These cars are each 30 feet 6 inches (9.3 m) long,7 feet 10 inches (2.39 m) wide and weigh 25,820 pounds (11,710 kg) without passengers. The cars were restored by Kerns-Wilcheck Associates of Memphis.^[12] Three additional ex-Porto cars (156, 164 and 180) joined them within weeks, and the fleet had six cars (all ex-Porto single-truckers) by May 1993.^[33]

Between the mid-1990s and 2003, the fleet expanded considerably in both number and capacity with the arrival of ten reconditionedMelbourne, AustraliaW2-class cars, all but one (Car 417) supplied byGomaco Trolley Company.^[34] Other additions were single-truck Car 1979 that was built new by Gomaco in 1993, as a demonstrator;^[35] double-truck Car 1794 that was originally an open-sided car fromRio de Janeiro, Brazil, but was heavily rebuilt and enclosed before entering service in Memphis, and, in early 2004, a replicaBirney Safety Car – again, manufactured by Gomaco,^[36] similar to those used on theTECO Line Streetcar in Tampa, Florida, and theMetro Streetcar in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The fleet andoverhead wires were converted fromtrolley pole topantograph current collection in early 2003, during a three-month suspension of service which started on January 5, 2003.^[37]

An eleventh reconditioned Melbourne car, W5-class 799, was purchased in 2006 by MATA with a view toward eventual restarting of trolley service.^[38][39]

In late 2020, MATA acquired three more Gomaco-built replica Birney streetcars, secondhand from theCharlotte Area Transit System, which had used them from 2004 to 2019 on itsCharlotte Trolley System andCityLynx Gold Line.^[26] After a planned refurbishment, they are projected to enter service by late 2022.^[26]

In 2021, MATA acquired one secondhandSiemens-Duewag U2 LRV from theSan Diego Trolley (No. 1035) to be used for testing on theMadison Avenue Line.^[26] The vehicle began testing on the line in March 2022.^[40] In March 2025, the front of the vehicle was damaged by a fire and the car remains parked today in its significantly damaged state.^[41]

By 2023, MATA reportedly acquired several more Siemens-Duewag U2 cars from the San Diego Trolley, including cars 1010, 1026, 1033, 1048, 1049, and 1052. These cars have yet to make their debut on the system.^[42]

On June 1, 2011, two trolleys – a Melbourne W2-class and Porto number 194 – traveling on Main Street collided due to a power failure.^[43] Six people were taken to the hospital, including one MATA employee.^[44]

On November 4, 2013, a Melbourne trolley caught fire while operating on the Madison Avenue Line.^[45] On April 10, 2014, another Melbourne trolley caught fire on Madison Avenue, leading to the closure of the route.^[19]

• Memphis Suspension Railway
• Memphis Street Railway Company
• List of heritage railroads in the United States
• List of rail transit systems in the United States
• Streetcars in North America

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMATA Trolley.

• MATA: Trolley Lines
• A Coordinated Human Services Transportation Plan for the Memphis Area – MATA
• Heritagetrolley.org page on Memphis (APTA)
• Railwaypreservation.com page on Memphis (with many photos)
• Memphis Main Street Trolley (page by Jon Bell)
• Map

• Heritage railroads in Tennessee
• Heritage streetcar systems
• Memphis Area Transit Authority
• Streetcars in Tennessee
• Electric railways in Tennessee
• 1993 establishments in Tennessee
• 600 V DC railway electrification
• Railway lines opened in 1993

• CS1 Russian-language sources (ru)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from July 2014
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from August 2013
• Pages using infobox mapframe with missing coordinates
• Commons category link is locally defined
• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles using KML not from Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension