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Charlotte City Council accepted a $25 million federal grant to start construction of a 10-mile streetcar line in a 6-5 vote Monday night after more than two hours of debate.

With that approval, council committed $12 million in matching funds as required under Federal Transit Administration rules. The agency awarded the grant to Charlotte earlier this month.

The vote means the city will move ahead with a $4.7 million contract with the North Carolina division of URS Corp. for the design and construction administration of the grant and for the design of a stormwater system along Trade Street.

Among the 16 people who stepped up to the podium during the public hearing on the streetcar, nine were in support and seven were in opposition.

However, most in the audience waived large signs that decried the potential debt from moving forward on the project, while others held up pieces of paper that simply stated “Streetcar YES!!!”

The funds will be used to finish an initial 1.5-mile segment that connects the uptown transit center to Presbyterian Hospital. Streetcars could be running on the route by early 2014. The city has already spent $15 million on construction and engineering easy payday loans.

Under terms of the grant, the city must start construction within 18 months of receipt of the federal funds and can use the money only for vehicles, real estate and construction costs.

Three cars that had been used on the trolley line in South End have been identified for use along the uptown route. By using the trolley cars, the city says it will save $8 million.

City Manager Curt Walton says the city has four fiscal years to figure out how to fund an estimated $1.5 million in annual operating costs for the streetcar.

Ultimately, city officials want to build a 10-mile route linking Charlotte’s east and west sides, from the Beatties Ford Road corridor to Eastland Mall. Its full cost is estimated at $450 million.

Council members Pat Cannon, James Mitchell, Jason Burgess, David Howard, Nancy Carter and Patsy Kinsey voted in favor of the streetcar grant. Voting in opposition were council members Andy Dulin, Michael Barnes, Warren Turner, Edwin Peacock and Warren Cooksey.

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