Future of the Trolley

[BrandonTO416]

Memphis has a useful trolley system. It isn't designed to be a city-wide system with high speed, its designed to get downtown/medical center students, tourists, business, and residents around to events and work and etc. For that, it is a very convenient way to travel.

 

However, with the recent problems the system has had with fires, I'm hoping MATA switches from old vintage trolleys to modern light rail vehicles for a streetcar/tram style system. Anyone else have any opinions on this? I understand vintage trolleys have charm, but European cities have switched to light rail vehicles and have very few vintage systems running, and they are just as historic as the cities were before. Modernizing transit doesn't mean modernizing historic sites in your city.

 

Hopefully more information can be added as the discussion begins on how much maybe this would cost vs other options, or if other people agree.