Seattle's First Hill Streetcar Returns After 20 Days Away

SEATTLE, WA - The First Hill streetcar line returned to service Monday morning at 5 a.m. following an overhaul of the entire fleet after a malfunction earlier this month.

The Seattle Department of Transportation announced the return of the line, which connects Pioneer Square to north Capitol Hill, on Sunday night. On March 1, a streetcar traveling southbound down a hill along Broadway unexpectedly lost power and slid down the tracks.

That incident caused SDOT to halt service to install a modification to the entire First Hill fleet and one streetcar from the South Lake Union line.

"The malfunction was traced to a 'Load Contactor' (similar to a circuit breaker) that tripped into open position. The Load Contactor connects the low voltage battery that runs power to the streetcar operations systems (separate from propulsion system battery)," an SDOT blog post about the malfunction explained.

In addition to the modification, streetcars will travel at 7 MPH along the section of track where the March 1 malfunction occurred and along other steep grades.

"Prior to returning to service, the entire fleet of vehicles had a modification installed, tested, and documented individually. The modifications and operating orders have been reviewed and approved by the required safety officials. With these modifications, operating orders, and safety approvals in place, the vehicles are safe and operational for return to service," SDOT wrote in a blog post.

Image via SDOT