Last day for streetcar preview

District streetcars arrive at the Port of Baltimore from the Czech Republic on Dec. 15, 2009. (Courtesy District Department of Transportation).

The District's much-talked about streetcars are available for tours through Saturday.

The District Department of Transportation brought one of the cars to the site of the old convention center at Ninth and H streets NW. The car is on temporary tracks in Lot B of CityCenter DC. The District purchased three streetcars for $10 million more than three years ago for a future streetcar network and is storing them at Metro's Greenbelt rail yard. The cars were kept for several years in the Czech Republic, where they were made.

DDOT is billing the event as a "Streetcar Showcase" to whet riders' appetites while construction is underway in Anacostia and along H Street and Benning roads, the first two lines of a planned 37-mile, eight-line system.

Funding has not been secured for much of the network, but it has stirred debate in the District over whether the trolleys will run on overhead wires or be powered by wireless technology.

The streetcar will be open for touring Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

-- Staff reports