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Minneapolis A Step Closer To Return Of Street Cars

By Bruce Hagevik, NewsRadio 830 WCCO

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis has obtained a $900,000 federal grant to study the possibility of establishing street car lines along Nicollet and Central Avenues.

"Oh, it's a very big deal. This is a federal seal of approval," said Peter Wagenius, an aide to Minneapolis Mayor R. T. Rybak.

Street car lines potentially could run all the way to Columbia Heights along Central Avenue and to 46th Street along Nicollet Avenue to the south.

"It is steel wheels on steel rails, so it's on tracks and it's powered by an electric wire overhead" said Wagenius.

Street cars are less expensive than light rail to build and maintain. They operate as single cars.

If all goes well, construction could begin in a couple of years. Street car service was a common mode of transportation in the earlier days of Minneapolis.

NewsRadio 830 WCCO's Bruce Hagevik Reports

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