Riverfront Loop

Riverfront Loop
Trolley approaching the Jefferson Street (Avenue) station.
Overview
StatusTemporarily suspended since 2014[1]
LocaleMemphis, Tennessee, United States
Stations18
Service
TypeHeritage streetcar
SystemMATA Trolley
Operator(s)Memphis Area Transit Authority
History
OpenedOctober 1, 1997 (1997-10-01)[2]
Technical
Track length4.1 mi (6.6 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
ElectrificationOverhead lines
Route map

Maintenance facility
M
North End Terminal Bus interchange
I
Overton
S
Pyramid Arena
S
Convention Center
I
Civic Center Plaza
S
Jefferson Street
S
Court
I
P
Madison
P
Union Avenue
I
Union
Peabody Place
Beale Street
R
Beale Street Landing
I
Dr. M.L. King Jr.
V
Huling
E
Huling Avenue
R
Butler
Central Station Amtrak

The Riverfront Loop is a line of the Memphis Area Transit Authority trolley system. It began operation in 1997, as the second line in the system. It runs for 4.1 mi (6.6 km) through downtown Memphis and along the Mississippi riverfront, with 18 stops along the way. It is the longest of the system's three lines, though it is concurrent with the Main Street Line for about half of its length. Part of the line offers panoramic views of the Mississippi River from atop to the Chickasaw Bluffs.[3]

Trolley service on this line has been suspended since June 2014, after two trolley cars caught fire within a span of about six months. Buses have been serving the Riverfront Loop since then, but MATA plans to restore trolley operation to the line eventually.[4] In September 2021, MATA was predicting that the line would reopen in late 2022,[5] but as of December 2022 the service remained suspended, with no predicted date for the planned reopening.[1]

  1. ^ a b Reals, Steffen (December 1, 2022). "Memphians eagerly waiting for trolleys to return to the Madison and Riverfront lines". WATN-TV. Archived from the original on December 2, 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-31.
  2. ^ "Worldwide Review [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: Ian Allan Publishing. January 1998. p. 134. ISSN 1460-8324.
  3. ^ "MATA Trolley Service". Memphis Area Transit Authority. Archived from the original on 2013-01-03. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
  4. ^ Flyer Staff (May 5, 2021). "The ?s Issue: You had questions. We found answers. – Will the trolleys ever return to the Riverfront Loop or Madison Avenue?". Memphis Flyer. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  5. ^ "Worldwide Review [regular news section]". Tramways & Urban Transit. UK: Light Rail Transit Association/Mainspring Ltd. September 2021. pp. 389–390. ISSN 1460-8324.