page_title: Canal Streetcar Line
section_title: Branches
hierarchical_section_title: Canal Streetcar Line / Route description / Branches
caption_attribution_description: English: New Orleans, early years of 20th century. Canal Street, about halfway between the intersections Magazine and that of Camp, looking lakewards along the neutral ground. Intersection with Camp Street visible at left; Chartres Street at right. Three electric streetcars are on the neutral ground, the route signs of two are visible, showing "Prytania" Street line and "Annunciation" Street line. A small group of men and boys standing around, including a police officer.
context_page_description: The Canal Streetcar line is a historic streetcar line in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority. It originally operated from 1861 to 1964. It was redesigned and rebuilt between 2000 and 2004, and operation was reinstated in 2004 after a 40-year hiatus. Primarily running along its namesake street, Canal Street, it consists of two branches named for their outer terminals, totaling about 5 ¹⁄₂ miles in length: "Canal - Cemeteries" and "Canal - City Park/Museum". Each branch is denoted with the red and light green colors respectively on most RTA publications.
  Before the return of the line, the Canal Street corridor was served from 1964 to 2004 by several RTA bus lines utilizing the neutral ground in the Central Business District where the tracks now run.
context_section_description: The "Cemeteries" branch continues on Canal Street past Carrollton Avenue to its terminus at Metairie Road (which continues as City Park Avenue), surrounded by several cemeteries.  For much of its history, this area constituted the northern (lakeside) boundary of the city, which explains the density of cemeteries, Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish, in this area. Beginning July 31, 2017, and completed on December 4, a new loop terminal was built north of City Park Avenue on Canal Boulevard, providing passengers with better access to transfer between the streetcars and connecting bus lines.  Following a month of testing and training, the new loop went into service January 7, 2017. 
  The "City Park/Museum" branch (or sometimes just "City Park") turns northward from Canal onto North Carrollton Avenue, where it runs in the inside lanes of the street rather than in the neutral ground.  It is reduced to a single track at the intersection of City Park/Moss Avenues and returns to the neutral ground before it ends at Beauregard Circle, at Esplanade Avenue and Bayou St. John, near the entrance of the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park.  It is within easy walking distance of the New Orleans Fairgrounds, site of the yearly Jazz and Heritage Festival.
  On October 12, 2019, a building under construction at the corner of Canal Street and N. Rampart Street collapsed (see Hard Rock Hotel Collapse). Currently, in order to provide service along Loyola Avenue, Canal-Cemeteries streetcars operate along that avenue instead of going down Canal Street from Loyola Avenue (Elk Place) to the river.
  The Canal Cemeteries and City Park branches were originally designated as Routes 42 and 45, respectively, until January 2009, when the route numbers were changed to 47 and 48.
caption: Three streetcars on Canal Street, early 20th century.
exif: {}