Canal Streetcar Line

The Canal Streetcar Line is a streetcar line in New Orleans, Louisiana, operated by the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA). The line originally operated from 1861 until its closure in 1964. After a 40-year hiatus, it was rebuilt between 2000 and 2004, with streetcar service resuming on April 18, 2004.

The modern line primarily follows Canal Street and comprises two branches named after their outer terminals, totaling approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 km) in length. The Canal/Cemeteries branch (designated Route 47) runs the full length of Canal Street, from the foot of the Mississippi River—where it connects with the Riverfront Streetcar Line and the Canal Street Ferry—to the Cemeteries Transit Center at the intersection of Canal Street and City Park Avenue, which offers connections to multiple RTA bus routes. The Canal/City Park branch (designated Route 48) follows the same alignment until North Carrollton Avenue, where it diverges to a terminal near the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park, at the intersection of Carrollton and Esplanade avenues. As of 2024, the two branches are depicted in RTA publications using yellow and red colors, respectively.

From 1964 to 2004, after the original streetcar service ended, the Canal Street corridor was served by multiple RTA bus lines, many of which operated in the neutral ground (median strip) through the Central Business District, where the streetcar tracks were later reinstalled.