U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and other city officials to break ground on the Union Passenger Terminal/Loyola Avenue streetcar project, which received $45 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program last year. The new streetcar extension is expected to begin service in June 2012.

"The New Orleans Streetcar project will create new jobs, economic opportunities and greater transit choices," Secretary LaHood said. "Not only will it stimulate development along Loyola Avenue, but it will also provide residents greater access to the central business district."

The new streetcar extension will run through New Orleans' central business district along Loyola Avenue from the Union Passenger Terminal to Canal Street. The Union Passenger Terminal is a major Southern hub for Amtrak, with three trains serving the station.

In addition to the streetcar project, Secretary LaHood said that the New Orleans Regional Transit Administration will receive a $400,000 grant from the Federal Transit Administration to establish a streetcar maintenance training program to assist in hiring and training skilled streetcar maintenance workers.

RTA's new training program is one of a dozen programs supported by FTA's Innovative Workforce Development grants offering support for efforts that improve the state of the practice in workforce development and help address the needs of human capital in the transit industry.