Quote Originally Posted by catch22 View Post
It's not just an existing right of way, it's an existing rail. Very little modification ($$$) needs to be spent to get that line working again. The cost to buy new rail and place it in the street would be hundreds of millions. (more than the MAPS3 streetcar budget). The streetcar can run on that line as it is. All you need is a power source and some small modifications to certain areas of the line.
There is a lot more to it than that. The safety requirements for mixing passenger and freight probably takes any type of streetcar out of the mix. Plus, it could be free to build but with no riders what difference does it make?