D.C. streetcar target date again reset

As the New Year began, Washington, D.C. city officials announced that the oft-delayed H Street streetcar line is expected to commence passenger service on Jan. 19, 2015.

The 2.4-mile line has received safety clearances from the Federal Transit Administration, but must still be certified by the D.C. Fire Department as safe. As the year waned, published reports of municipal squabbles over safety issues cast a 2014 debut into even more doubt.

Running along its namesake street in the city’s Northeast quadrant east from Union Station toward Benning Road, the line was delayed repeatedly throughout 2014 by testing and by safety concerns, thwarting the ambitions of outgoing Mayor Vincent Gray, an ardent streetcar proponent, to inaugurate the service before stepping down on New Year’s Day.

Newly elected Mayor Muriel Bowser has been less enthusiastic about the project, among other concerns, beginning her term with an emphasis on statehood for the District of Columbia. Bowser has offered no comment on the projected opening date for the streetcar.