Tourists come to the Nation’s Capital to see monuments, museums, and—at this time of year—festive features of the holidays, such as the National Christmas Tree near the White House.

If they’re lucky, they may also catch a peek at an empty streetcar making yet another test run along its 2.4-mile route between H Street and Benning Road, much as it has since the summer of 2013. It’s a rolling reminder that yes, Virginia…er, DC, there is a streetcar line to make your travels easier. It’s just not ready yet.

“幽灵有轨电车”是哥伦比亚特区运输部（DDOT）所设想的最初$ 2亿美元阶段的一部分22-mile, $3 billion networkcrisscrossing the Nation’s Capital was due to begin operation in late 2014.

But a series of problems with construction (misaligned platforms and broken rails), rolling stock (a rooftop electrical fire), and operations (hitting parked cars on a snowy night) pushed the start date further into the future.

Then there was the matter of following up on18 recommendations for safety and operations improvementsidentified by an American Public Transportation Association (APTA) panel of experts. Those deficiencies were to be corrected by summer’s end, according to DDOT’s Streetcar Launch Manager Tim Borchers, who insisted they were no different from hiccups experienced by other streetcar start-ups.

However, the remaining tests and certifications weren’t immediately scheduled, leaving the public to watch the supposedly repaired streetcar system continue making test run after test run.

现在有消息说，有轨电车线将终于begin 21 days of pre-revenue operationssometime in December. It’s up to officials in DC’s Fire & EMS Department to schedule those tests, then make the final determination that the streetcar is safe to start carrying passengers.

但是，尚未设定这些测试的日期，也没有确定该部门分析结果并发出GO/No GO决定所需的时间。这么久，2015年；您好2016初创企业……也许。

一个完整的解释自2011年成立以来，由于该项目跨越了不同优先级的不同市长管理，因此该街头电脑项目的反复和延误越来越复杂。至于有关施工特定问题的详细信息，设计建造承包商Dean-Facchina，拒绝参加链接的《华盛顿邮报》的故事，以及有关该项目的计划中的故事。新利luck

Meanwhile, as the rest of the city gears up (and clears out) for the holidays, DC’s streetcars will continue their lonely test runs up and down H street--seemingly ready to serve, but unable to take passengers along for the ride.