The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA), a non-profit organization, operates the M-Line Trolley in Dallas, Texas (United States). In operation since 1989, it is an example of a heritage streetcar running historic cars. The M-Line Trolley operates 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Since 2002, the M-Line Trolley is free to the public, thanks to donations and a joint operating subsidy received from Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and the Uptown Improvement District. The main stretch of the line runs along McKinney Avenue in Uptown between West Village and Klyde Warren Park / Dallas Arts District. The M-Line Trolley connects to the DART light rail system at CityPlace/Uptown on the northern end and St. Paul on the southern end.
The "M-Line" name was officially adopted in 2002 following the route's expansion beyond McKinney Avenue, but the line continues to be commonly known as "the McKinney Avenue trolley". M-Line Trolley cars are typically referred to as "trolleys" or "cars" (rather than "streetcars") to avoid confusion with the Dallas Streetcar.
History
Metropolitan Dallas had an extensive network of streetcar lines from the late 19th century through 1930s. Before the McKinney Avenue Transit Authority (MATA) began operations in 1989, the last streetcar ran in Dallas until January 1956. Numerous maps of the old trolley routes are available online.
During the 1980s, there was a movement to restore streetcar service in Dallas's Uptown neighborhood after some of the original rails were uncovered on McKinney Avenue. At 2:08 a.m. on January 14, 1986, 30 years exactly after the last scheduled service of Dallas streetcars, MATA signed a lease for the Bowen Avenue car barn. New rails were first laid in September 1988 near Hall Street. The initial infrastructure would be in place in the summer of 1989. On July 22, 1989, Dallas saw a return of the streetcar as car 122 broke a celebratory banner.
In 1995, the agency had to fix subsidence in Cole Avenue causing a dip in the tracks between Hall and Bowen Streets. About 200 feet of track was replaced.
By the late 1990s, it became apparent that the 110-year-old brick pavement on McKinney Avenue could no longer support modern-day car, truck and bus traffic. Repairs began in July 1999 and were completed in December 2000. The street was repaved with concrete brick and most of the old brick was saved for sidewalks and other amenities. Work was done on one lane of the street at a time. Many times the streetcars were rerouted, sometimes with a shoofly. For several months the north loop was inaccessible due to utility work at Allen and McKinney.
First expansion
The first expansion of the system opened in 2002. Both Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) and MATA desired the streetcar to meet up with DART's CityPlace subway station a few blocks from the route. The first new track for the CityPlace extension was laid on Cole Avenue south of Blackburn in June 2001. In the summer of 2002 while the tracks were being laid, construction crews unearthed history as old center-of-the-street rail from Dallas Railway and Terminal tracks were discovered. On May 6, 2002, the extension was opened for the public (after a ceremonial opening on April 13, 2002, without service starting). It is now possible to ride the DART Light Rail system and get off at CityPlace station and board the streetcar to Uptown. Effective May 6, 2002, all service on the line became free. The extension increased the line's length to . The line was given the name "the M-Line" in the local transit system at this time.
Second expansion
The City of Dallas and MATA worked together to further expand the streetcar system past the southern terminus further into downtown. The plan was for a line to split off from the current line at McKinney and Olive Streets and travel down Olive to the light rail transit mall downtown near Pearl Station.
Part of the money needed for the expansion was put to voters in the form of a bond. On November 7, 2006, the voters of Dallas approved Proposition One, which asked voters if they would like to approve "The Issuance of $390,420,000 general obligation bonds for street and transportation improvements." The bond was approved 87.4% to 12.6%. Engineering for the project was to follow, with construction planned for 2010.