Kansas City just spent over $100 million per mile for its Main Street streetcar extension, making it the most expensive system per mile in the United States. Last year, Randall O’Toole estimated that the average streetcar cost per mile is around $91 million. It’s worth looking at some recent examples to see if that number is accurate.
Looking at recently opened systems (see table below), the cost per mile seems to be lower, at about $61.6 million. Note that I am excluding the yet-to-be opened Orange County line, which may run as much as $156 million per mile, and the Sacramento line (~$47.7 million per mile), which had been paused because of construction costs.
Former Kansas City City Manager Brian Platt told KCUR radio in 2024: “These things cost $150 million per mile.” That’s way off the mark, but important because Kansas City is considering a few other extensions to the streetcar line. If $150 million per mile is the baseline cost, streetcar passengers won’t be the only ones taken for a ride.
