This is a list of African cities and towns that have, or once had, town tramway (urban tramway, or streetcar) systems as part of their public transport system.
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
el-Jazair ولاية الجزائر /Algiers | Steam | 12 Sep 1894 | 1935 | ||
Electric | 14 Apr 1898 | 3 Sep 1959 | |||
Algiers tramway | Electric | 8 May 2011 | |||
Annaba عنّابة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Qacentina قسنطينة /Constantine | Constantine tramway | Electric | 4 July 2013 | ||
Biskra بسكرة | Horse | ? | ? | ||
Sidi Bel Abbès سيدي بلعباس | Sidi Bel Abbès tramway | Electric | 26 Jul 2017 | ||
Blida البليدة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Miliana مليانة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Mestghanem مستغانم /Mostaganem | Mostaganem Tramway | Electric | 18 Feb 2023 | ||
Wahrān وهران /Oran | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Electric | 1898 | 1950 | |||
Oran tramway | Electric | 1 May 2013 | |||
Ouargla ورقلة | Horse | 1911 | 1941 | Narrow gauge. From Ksar to Bordj Lutaud, around 1500 metres. | |
Ouargla tramway | Electric | 20 Mar 2018 | |||
Sétif سطيف | Horse | ? | ? | ||
Sétif tramway | Electric | 8 May 2018 | |||
Touggourt تقرت | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boma | Steam | 4 Mar 1890 | ca. 1900 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
el-Iskandariya الإسكندرية /Alexandria – Urban system | Alexandria Tram | Horse | 1860 | 1902? | |
Electric | 1902 | ||||
♦ Ramleh (suburban) system | Alexandria Tram | Horse | 1869 | ? | |
Steam | ? | ? | |||
Electric | Dec 1903 | ||||
el-Qāhirah القاهرة /Cairo | Trams in Greater Cairo | Electric | 12 Aug 1896 | ca. 2015 | In autumn 2015 the operation very short path length of about 3 km, which was supposed to close at the end of that year. It was finally closed in 2019. Metre gauge See Transport in Cairo |
♦ Miṣr el-ǧidīdah مصر الجديدة /Heliopolis | Trams in Greater Cairo | Electric | 9 May 1908 | July 2018 [1] | Cairo system extended to serve Heliopolis in 1908. Express tramway between Cairo main station and Heliopolis opened 11 Jul 1910. |
Hulwan /Helwan | Electric | 19 Feb 1981 | ca. 2011 | Metre gauge; Ceased operation in the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. By the end of 2015, trams were finally removed from the depot, located in Arab al-Fawarsa. | |
Būr Saʻīd بور سعيد /Port Said | Horse | 22 Sep 1900 | 1932 | Metre gauge |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Massawa | Steam | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Addis Ababa | Addis Ababa Light Rail | Electric | 20 September 2015 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accra | Steam | 1906 | 1941 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mombasa | human | 1890s | 1921 | In Mombasa's Fort Jesus you can find a historic car |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banġāzī بنغازي /Benghazi | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antananarivo | (Steam) | Construction started after 1921, not completed. | |||
Toamasina | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Port-Louis | Metro Express | Electric | Dec 2019 [2] |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Casablanca | Casablanca tramway | Electric | 12 Dec 2012 | ||
Marrākiš مراكش /Marrakech | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Rabat | Steam | 1917 [3] | 1930 | ||
Rabat-Salé tramway | Electric | 23 May 2011 [4] |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maputo | Electric | Feb 1904 | 30 Nov 1936 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lagos | Steam | 23 May 1902 | 31 Dec 1913 | ||
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freetown | Steam | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Franschhoek | Franschhoek Wine Tram | Diesel | (Since 1904) 2012 | Present | Two double deck trams and one single deck tram operate on the 27km Paarl-Franschhoek branch line |
Cape Town – Urban | Trams in Cape Town. | Horse | 1 May 1863 | ? | |
Electric | 6 Aug 1896 | 28 Jan 1939 | |||
♦ Suburban tramway | Electric | Nov 1901 | 17 Feb 1930 | Sea Point – Camps Bay – Burnside Road See also Trams in Cape Town. | |
Durban | Trams in Durban | Horse | 1881 | ? | |
Electric | 1 May 1902 | 1 Aug 1949 | |||
♦ Isipingo | Horse | 1905 | 1910s | Closed during World War I. | |
East London | Electric | 25 Jan 1900 | 25 Oct 1935 | ||
Johannesburg | Trams in Johannesburg | Horse | 2 Feb 1891 | ? | |
Electric | 14 Feb 1906 | 18 Mar 1961 | |||
Kimberley | Trams in Kimberley, Northern Cape | Mule | 1887 | ? | |
Steam | 1900 | ? | |||
Electric | 1906 | 1947 | |||
Electric Heritage tram | 1985 | ||||
Pietermaritzburg | Trams in Pietermaritzburg | Electric | 2 Nov 1904 | Dec 1936 | |
Port Elizabeth | Trams in Port Elizabeth | Horse | 1881 | ? | |
Electric | 16 Jun 1897 | 16 Dec 1948 | |||
Pretoria | Horse | 1897 | ? | ||
Electric | 1910 | 19 Aug 1939 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
al-Ḫarṭūm الخرطوم /Khartoum | Steam | 1904 | ? | ||
Electric | 16 Jan 1928 | Feb 1962 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zanzibar | Animal | 1907 | ? | Domesticated zebras used at opening. See also History of rail transport in Zanzibar. | |
Steam | 1911 | 1928 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manzil Bourgueeba منزل بورقيبة /Menzel Bourguiba | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Tūnis تونس /Tunis | Horse | 1885 | ? | ||
Electric | 1900 | 20 Apr 1960 | |||
Métro léger de Tunis | Electric | 15 Sep 1985 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mutare | Horse | 22 Aug 1901 | by 1920 |
A tram is a type of urban rail transit consisting of either individual railcars or self-propelled multiple unit trains that run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or tram networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Because of their close similarities, trams are commonly included in the wider term light rail, which also includes systems separated from other traffic.
The RATP Group is a French state-owned enterprise (EPIC) that operates public transport system primarily in Paris, France. Headquartered in Paris, it originally operated under the name Régie autonome des transports parisiens. Its logo represents, in a stylized version, the Seine's meandering through the Paris area as the face of a person looking up. The company had described itself as the fourth-largest presence in public transport.
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but also be permitted operation alongside mainline trains. This allows services that can utilise both existing urban light rail systems and mainline railway networks and stations. It combines the urban accessibility of a tram or light rail with a mainline train's greater speed in the suburbs.
Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. Based in Paris, France, the company is 70% owned by SNCF and 30% owned by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
The Île-de-France tramways is a network of modern tram lines in the Île-de-France region of France. Fourteen lines are currently operational, with extensions and additional lines in both construction and planning stages. Although the system mainly runs in the suburban regions of Paris, lines T3a and T3b run entirely within Paris city limits, while lines T2 and T9 start their routes within Paris' borders. While lines operate independently of each other and are generally unconnected, some connections do exist: between lines T2 and T3a, T3a and T3b, T1 and T5, T1 and T8, T8 and T11 Express, T3a and T9 and T6 and T10. However, the final design of the entire planned tram network is fairly integrated.
The Rouen tramway is a tramway / light rail network in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France. Construction began in 1991 and the network opened for service on 17 December 1994.
Premetro is a type of light rail transit. Here infrastructure is gradually built with the goal to use rapid transit trains in the distant future, but using trams or light rail vehicles preliminary in the meantime. This infrastructure consists of tunnels and/or viaducts, so vehicles have no conflicts with other traffic. To achieve that these rapid trains will be able to use the infrastructure, wider curves and lesser grades need to be designed and built.
The Métro Léger de Charleroi is a 33-kilometre (21 mi) light rail network in Belgium. The system consists of a loop line around central Charleroi and three branches towards the suburbs of Gilly, Anderlues and Gosselies. Another branch to Châtelet was partially built, never entered service, but will finally do so in 2026.
The Strasbourg tramway, run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, and Kehl in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the few tram networks to cross an international border, along with the trams of Basel and Geneva. The first tramline in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn, opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built, including several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine.
SYSTRA is a multinational engineering and consulting group in the mobility sector, whose fields of activity include rail and public transport. SYSTRA employs about 10,300 people worldwide, and is a limited company which shareholders include French national railway company SNCF, RATP, and various banks.
Reims tramway is a tram system in the French city of Reims, which opened in April 2011. It travels north to south, through the city, along 11.2 kilometres (7.0 mi) of route.
Although tram and Heritage streetcar systems date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many old systems were closed during the mid-20th century because of the advent of automobile travel. This was especially the case in North America, but postwar reductions and shutdowns also occurred on British, French and other Western European urban rail networks. However, traditional tramway systems survived, and eventually even began to thrive from the late 20th century onward, some eventually operating as much as when they were first built over a century ago. Their numbers have been augmented by modern tramway or light rail systems in cities which had discarded this form of transport.
The Casablanca Tramway is a low-floor tram system in Casablanca, Morocco. As of 2024, it consists of four lines - T1 from Sidi Moumen to Lissasfa, T2 from Sidi Bernoussi to Aïn Diab, T3 from Casa Port Station to Hay El Wahda, and T4 from Arab League Park to Mohammed Erradi—which intersect at nine points
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Spanish manufacturer CAF previously made locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metrovalencia, with the delivery of 16 trams until 1999. This was a variant of a Siemens design and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. This design was also sold to Lisbon Trams in 1995; CAF then decided to design and build the Urbos in-house.
The Algiers Tramway is a tram system which commenced service on 8 May 2011 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. By June 2012, the opened sections had a length of 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) and 28 stops and were operated by ETUSA, the public transport operator for the Algiers metropolitan area, using Alstom Citadis trams. Two extensions, to take the tramway to a total length of 23.2 kilometres (14.4 mi), opened on 16 April 2014 and 14 June 2015 respectively.
The Rabat–Salé tramway is a tram system in the Moroccan agglomeration of Rabat and Salé cities which opened on 23 May 2011.
The Vélez-Málaga Tram was operating between October 2006 and June 2012 connecting the Spanish town Vélez-Málaga with the coastal town Torre del Mar. It is the first modern low-floor tramway system service that has been taken out of service.