One of the streetcars being considered by the City of Dallas took a test drive on Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) rail tracks on Tuesday, transporting DART officials and news media between Akard, Victory and Baylor University Medical Center stations.
The ameriTRAM prototype is manufactured by Kinkisharyo, the maker of DART's light rail vehicles. The ameriTRAM is electric and is powered by either overhead catenary, like DART Rail, or on-board lithium-ion batteries.
The vehicle can travel up to five miles on a full charge, is 100 percent low floor and fully accessible.
DART is working as a technical advisor with the City of Dallas on a number of streetcar projects, including the planned connection to Oak Cliff, a connection with the McKinney Avenue Trolley and a future downtown streetcar network.
METRO TV:To view video of the streetcars test run, click here.