D.C. streetcars roll in Czech Republic

WASHINGTON -- It's like something out of a Franz Kafka novel -- a city buys streetcars for $10 million, but has no tracks to run them.

Kafka was a famous Czech writer and the streetcars are in the Czech Republic. The city that bought the streetcars -- with no tracks -- is the District of Columbia.

WTOP Radio has learned that three streetcars, purchased by the D.C. Department of Transportation for about $10 million, are running around the streets of the Czech Republic.

The cars were purchased more than three years ago, yet they have not yet found their way to the city that paid for them.

D.C. Department of Transportation Director Emeka Moneme tells WTOP the holdup is tracks for the streetcars to run on. They have not been put down, and there is no current timetable for when those tracks will go down.

"The next step is the construction of the rail line and selection of an operator," says Moneme. "We will be focusing on that this summer."

The initial route for the streetcars took them from Bolling Air Force Base in Southeast, along South Capitol Street, and ended at the Anacostia Metro Station.

But there is no timetable for when rail lines will go down in that section of the city.

"There is still quite a lot of uncertainty associated with this," says D.C. Council member Jim Graham who has oversight of DDOT. "But there is a general feeling of support for the streetcar program."

While all the details about contractors and operators are worked out in D.C., the streetcars continue to roll around streets of the Czech Republic.

They were built and are being maintained by a company named Skoda-Inekon, which specializes in streetcars. Skoda-Inekon manufactures streetcars in Plzen, in the Czech Republic. The company has produced similar vehicles for Portland, Ore. and Tacoma, Wash.

The cars are not picking up passengers, but they do have to be taken out from time to time so that they are maintained.

"They need to get a workout," says Moneme. "They are tested on a pretty regular basis."

Moneme has been a big supporter of the streetcar program in D.C., and says he would love to have the rail cars in the city by the summer.

"My thoughts are that it is a great mode of transit -- it is a third option (compared to a heavy rail or a bus)."

DDOT says it has worked out a deal to extend the warranties on the streetcars, and will make sure they are up to snuff when they finally do arrive in the District.

Until then, D.C.'s streetcars will continue to get a workout in the Czech Republic.

(Copyright 2008 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)