Leaving the downtown area, the line mostly traverses several neighborhoods in the Mid-City portion of the city and consists of 3 miles (4.8 km) inland.

Beginning July 31, 2017, and completed on December 4, a new loop terminal was built north of City Park Avenue on Canal Boulevard, providing passengers with better access to transfer between the streetcars and connecting bus lines.

This system's first lines opened in June 1861, running on Esplanade, Magazine, Prytania, and Canal Streets.

The original car barn for the Canal Line, which served it until the end in 1964, was established at White Street.

The line was extended slightly in the central business district to terminate at the foot of Canal Street, not far from the Mississippi River.

West End made only limited stops along Canal Street from Claiborne Ave. to City Park Ave.

The West End line was converted to buses in 1950, after which the surviving Cemeteries cars were once again signed Canal.

[10] In 1964, the streetcar company (known since 1922 as New Orleans Public Service Incorporated, or NOPSI) proposed to convert the Canal line to buses.

The last day was May 30, 1964, with the final run (NOPSI car 972, carrying banners which read "See Me On St. Charles") leaving Canal Line tracks at about 5:00 a.m. on May 31.

All the streetcars, except for 35 reserved for the St. Charles Line, were scrapped or donated to museums across the country, and all track and overhead wire were removed.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina damaged the red streetcars of the Canal and Riverfront lines which were stored at the car barn behind the RTA headquarters.