Streetcar Service Suspended Following Truck Crash

Overhead wire warning in front of the portion of streetcar overhead wire system that was struck on N. Milwaukee Street. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee’s streetcar system is temporarily out of service.

On Monday afternoon, the boom on a concrete mixer truck struck the overhead catenary system that powers the system. A live electrical wire was reported to have fallen onto a streetcar that came through the area shortly after the line was damaged.

Five passengers were aboard the vehicle at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported.

Streetcar service is suspended “until further notice,” according to a system status alert. City officials have not announced a date when service may be restored.

The incident occurred in the Historic Third Ward near N. Milwaukee Street and E. St. Paul Avenue. Both the M and L lines are offline because of the location of the incident.

N. Milwaukee St., just north of E. St. Paul Avenue, is also closed to vehicles and pedestrians.

The Hop operates on a mix of battery and overhead wire power, with portions of both routes running wire-free. The overhead wire is powered with direct current at 750 volts.

A 2024 safety notice said vehicles struck the catenary system above E. Ogden Avenue multiple times that year. Construction vehicles, according to the city’s safety warning, were the suspected culprit. The bi-directional wiring above E. Ogden Avenue is 18 feet off the ground. The wiring above N. Milwaukee Street, where the line passes beneath Interstate 794, is the lowest in the system at 14 feet, 1 inch.

Newsradio 620 WTMJ reported Monday that the truck driver failed to properly lower the vehicle’s boom before driving under the wire system.

The Hop provided an average of 1,508 rides per day in September, the highest September ridership total since the system’s opening year.

A Department of Public Works spokesperson told Urban Milwaukee an estimated repair timeline was not immediately available.

In 2023, a broken water main under Wisconsin Avenue resulted in streetcar service being suspended for several days.

The latest service suspension comes as one alderman is seeking to defund the system as part of the city’s 2026 budget adoption.

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