End of the line for False Creek streetcar

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It looks like the Downtown Historic Railway won’t be leaving the station in the near future, if ever.

The century-old streetcars that once ran along the south shore of False Creek have been deemed unsafe.

According to a review of the service done by staff with the City of Vancouver which had leased the cars, they are simply too old and would cost too much to fix.

“The business case for them is not great because they had very low ridership,” admits Councillor Geoff Meggs.

“So neither Granville Island or Tourism Vancouver were factoring them in very much as part of the city’s economy.”

That means the two cars will go back to their respective owners, the local volunteer Transit Museum Society (TRAMS), and a private individual in Oregon.

The locally-owned car will be allowed to remain as a static display.

“The view is we should really be focusing on the Broadway Corridor,” adds Meggs.

“We have tens of thousands of trips per day and people being passed up and overcrowding and [we should] try to get new investment there.” 

The historic trains, which had been running off and on this line since 1998, have sat idle since 2012.

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