A modern streetcar will be on display in Tempe on Sept. 18, giving residents a glimpse of the kind of vehicle that will run on Mill Avenue by 2016. The Metro transit agency is hosting the display at the Veterans Way/College light-rail station from 8 a.m. to noon. The vehicle is manufactured by Kinkisharyo, the Japanese company that manufactured Metro’s light rail vehicles.
Tempe’s streetcar fleet will vary from what’s on display Saturday, as Metro will select the vehicle’s manufacturer and design in 2012. The $130 million streetcar line will run along Mill Avenue, from Southern Avenue to Rio Salado Parkway. A downtown portion will create a one-way loop that goes northbound on Mill and southbound on Ash Avenue. Construction is set to begin in 2013. The 2.6-mile track will include 13 stops.
