The Main Street Line is a line of the

Memphis Area Transit Authority The Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is the public transportation provider for Memphis, Tennessee. It is one of the largest transit providers in the state of Tennessee; MATA transports customers in the City of Memphis and parts of Shelby C ...

trolley system. It began operations in 1993, becoming the first

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line to operate in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

since 1947. It runs for about along Main Street, with 14 stops in

Downtown Memphis Downtown Memphis, Tennessee is the central business district of Memphis, Tennessee and is located along the Mississippi River between Interstate 40 to the north, Interstate 55 to the south and I-240 to the east, where it abuts Midtown Memphis. It ...

. The Main Street Line is concurrent with the

Riverfront Loop The Riverfront Loop is a line of the Memphis Area Transit Authority MATA Trolley, trolley system. It began operation in 1997, as the second line in the system. It runs for through downtown Memphis and along the Mississippi River, Mississippi r ...

for almost all of its length.

Route description

The Main Street Line begins in the South Main Arts District at Butler Avenue. From here it runs north past major attractions such as the

National Civil Rights Museum The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings in Memphis, Tennessee; its exhibits trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The museum is built aro ...

and

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, th ...

. At Peabody Place, Main Street becomes a pedestrian mall allowing the trolley full right-of-way. On the Main Street Mall, the line passes through the heart of downtown Memphis, passing Court Square, the Civic Center Plaza, and the Cook Convention Center. At Madison Avenue, the tracks connect with the Madison Avenue Line, though the two lines to not have connecting routes. The mall ends at Exchange Street in front of the convention center, whereby the trolley continues north to the North End Terminal on Shadyac Avenue. The terminal provides connections with the MATA bus system. For the entirety of its route, the Main Street line has a double track, with cars operating in both directions. In February 2021, MATA opened a new stop in front of

Memphis Central Station Memphis Central Station, referred to as Grand Central Station prior to 1944, is a passenger terminal in Memphis, Tennessee. Located along Main Street and G.E. Patterson Boulevard in Downtown Memphis, it currently a service stop for Amtrak's ''Cit ...

. Construction of the new stop was funded through a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement grant from

TDOT The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is a multimodal agency with statewide responsibilities in roadways, aviation, public transit, waterways, and railroads. The mission of TDOT is to provide a safe and reliable transportation system ...

List of trolley stops

''South Main Arts District to North End Terminal''

References

{{MATA Memphis Area Transit Authority Railway lines opened in 1993