The only exceptions are a length of about 1,000 feet (300 m) near the OMSI terminus (mostly on a streetcar-only viaduct over the Union Pacific Railroad main line) and the route sections nearest to, and across, the Broadway Bridge.

[13] Every stop is fitted with an electronic reader board giving real-time arrival information to waiting passengers, using the NextBus vehicle tracking system.

All have a low-floor center section between the trucks, and at one door on each side they are equipped with a MAX-like bridge plate—a short ramp that extends from the vehicle doorway—to allow wheelchair access.

Compared to MAX cars they are shorter and narrower, a result of having to run in mixed traffic on neighborhood streets, alongside parked automobiles.

However, they have nearly identical dimensions and are similar in all respects, since the design used for all eleven cars was developed by the same two Czech companies, Škoda and Inekon.

Portland cars 008–010 are model 12-Trio (a particular version of Inekon's Trio series of streetcar designs)[27] and have a high degree of spare parts compatibility with the existing fleet.

[31] This special federal grant was intended to foster the creation of a domestic manufacturing industry for modern streetcars, which was non-existent at the time.

[34] Car 015, which carries a red, white and blue paint scheme and large "Made in USA" lettering along the sides, was presented to the public in a July 1, 2009, ceremony, at which Secretary Ray LaHood was the featured speaker.

[37] Although the car was complete and operable in mid-2009, it had yet to undertake the extensive "acceptance testing" needed to certify that it was safe for passenger service and would run reliably.

[38] Acceptance testing began in late summer 2009, but revealed unspecified problems, and Škoda and Portland Streetcar were unable to reach agreement on resolving them.

The change was expected to increase the overall U.S. content of the car from around 70% to around 90%,[41] and this helped win the support of federal officials to approve the $2.4 million in "research funds" needed to allow project to proceed.

[39] Prototype streetcar 015 was transported back to the OIW factory, in Portland's southeast suburbs, in May 2010,[37] and it returned on April 30, 2012, now fitted with the experimental Rockwell propulsion system.

[37][45] Fabrication of the streetcars had yet to begin at the time of that decision, but the change was substantial enough that delivery was delayed as a result, and the first cars are now not projected to be delivered until December 2012.

However, they were not wheelchair-accessible on the streetcar line, and they lacked the satellite-detection equipment necessary for them to be detected by the real-time arrival system (NextBus) informing passengers waiting at stops.

When the line was extended to RiverPlace, the Vintage Trolley service continued to terminate at PSU, because of concerns that the steep incline on the new section could damage the cars' motors.

[56] It never resumed,[57][58] and the two vintage-style cars were returned to TriMet and moved back to that agency's Vintage Trolley carbarn next to the Rose Quarter MAX station in January 2007.

TriMet's light-rail maintenance shops feature additional equipment, as TriMet's railcar fleet is many times larger, so streetcars were operated along the MAX tracks to the light-rail workshops at Ruby Junction (near the Ruby Junction/East 197th Avenue station on the Blue Line) for maintenance work on their trucks a few times.

This was the first phase of a plan to serve Portland's South Waterfront redevelopment area, including a new outpost of Oregon Health & Science University.

This section includes a short length of two-way single-track operation, which at the time was about 100 yards (91 m) long and ran along Montgomery Street and 4th Avenue.

Another source of funding for the streetcar is sponsorships of vehicles and stops, which in most cases have a minimum duration of one year,[76] in contrast to the shorter-term advertising found on TriMet buses and MAX.

[77][78] The work of laying the streetcar tracks began in early 2010,[78] with service scheduled to start on September 22, 2012,[46] a delay from what was originally an April 2012 date.

Existing businesses along the route have also voiced strong support for the project, believing it will bring new customers who otherwise would be more likely to shop in nearby downtown.

On April 30, 2009, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the approval of $75 million in federal funding for the Eastside streetcar project, the full amount that had been requested by Portland.

After a series of public meetings soliciting input on a draft, the city council adopted a "Streetcar System Concept Plan" in September 2009.

[90][91] The long-range plan identified potential corridors for future streetcar lines based on studies on ridership, land use, transportation patterns and development opportunities.

These plans will add 2.3 miles (3.7 km) of track and double the capacity for Rose Quarter and Lloyd Center service, and the prospect of farther extension into the Hollywood neighborhood to the east have been a part of the study.

[101] A 2004 study by TriMet showed that extending the Portland Streetcar system over this right-of-way could be cost-effective and would be a better choice in this corridor than building a more costly MAX (light rail) line.

[103][104] The work was delayed by a lack of funding, but got under way in spring 2009 after the interested local jurisdictions reached agreement on financing the study, and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The WST alignment was thought to relieve traffic congestion on Oregon Route 43, which parallels it and on some sections has steep hillsides where it would be cost-prohibitive to widen the highway.

[4][107] Additional factors making the Portland Streetcar line less expensive to build per mile than light rail are that use of city streets largely eliminated the need to acquire private property for portions of the right-of-way, as has been necessary for the region's light rail (MAX) lines,[4] and that the vehicles' smaller size and therefore lighter weight has enabled the use of a "shallower track slab".