New Orleans’ historic street cars return to duty

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans on Sunday resumed its streetcar service, which had been out of commission since Hurricane Katrina wiped out utility poles and metal tracks.

Car number 930, adorned with holiday garland and red ribbon, was the first to roll out from the French Market post at 7 a.m.

Six of the 35 historic New Orleans streetcars that before Hurricane Katrina ran along St. Charles Avenue, the oldest continuously operating streetcar line in the world, operated Sunday along the Mississippi Riverfront line and part of the Canal Street line

The Department of Transportation allowed the RTA to use up to $70 million in federal money to make repairs to the streetcar system.

Also Sunday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., toured hurricane-devastated areas.