Cincinnati’s last streetcar line was shut down in 1951. Sixty years later, the process began to bring streetcars back to the city. Construction began in 2012, but was dogged by the election of mayor John Cranley who made opposition of the trolley one of his primary platform. Construction was forced to “pause” in 2013 while the mayor asked the city council to review alternatives, including cancelling the project. The city council voted to move forward with completion, and testing began in 2016. A ten-year naming rights contract will brand the ride as the Cincinnati Bell Connector, which will begin regular revenue service on the 3.6-mile loop on September 9. The service will be administrated by Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority.

—Passenger Train Journal