A Streetcar Named H/Benning Runs Feb. 27
By • March 10, 2016 0 720
The grand opening ceremony for the first segment of the repeatedly delayed D.C. Streetcar will be held Saturday, Feb. 27, at 10 a.m. near the intersection of 13th Street and H Street NE. With eight stops from Union Station to Benning Road at Oklahoma Avenue, the five shiny red cars of the H/Benning line will welcome passengers after the ceremony, which Mayor Bowser is expected to attend.
Rides will be free during the “introductory period” until decisions about fares and fare collection are made. Hours of operation will be Monday to Thursday from 6 a.m. to midnight, Friday from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. There will be no Sunday or holiday service.
Over the next decade, the 2.2-mile segment is projected for extension to the Benning Road Metro station in the east and to Georgetown in the west, ideally in dedicated transit lanes (H/Benning shares its route with other traffic). D.C.’s streetcars last ran on Jan. 28, 1962.
