List of town tramway systems in Europe

Last updated

This is a list of cities and towns in Europe that have (or once had) town tramway (e.g. urban tramway) systems as part of their public transport system. Cities with currently operating systems, and those systems themselves, are indicated in bold and blue background colored rows. The use of the diamond (♦) symbol indicates where there were (or are) two or more independent tram systems operating concurrently within a single metropolitan area. Those tram systems that operated on other than standard gauge track (where known) are indicated in the 'Notes' column.

Contents

Separate lists have been created for the following European countries to improve user-friendliness and to reduce this list article's size:

Albania

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Vlorë  Horse ? ?A photograph of a horse-drawn tramcar, dated 1963 (Peschkes, Part Three, 1987, Page 19), establishes that Albania did have a town tramway service.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Sarajevo Trams in Sarajevo 760 mm (2 ft 5+1516 in) Bosnian gauge Horsecar 1 Jan 18851 May 1895
760 mm -> 1435 mmElectric1 May 1895 In 1960 regauging from 760 mm to 1435 mm

Bulgaria

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Sofia Trams in Sofia Horsecar "late 19th century" [1]  ?
1000
1435
Electric1 Jan 1901 [1] Mix of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge and 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge . [1]

Estonia

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Tallinn Trams in Tallinn 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) [2] Horse24 Aug 188824 Sep 1919
1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) [2] Electric28 Oct 1925 Note: Tallinn also operates a trolleybus network.
♦ Tallinn – Kopli  Steam26 Jan 1916 ? [2]
Petrol26 Jan 1916Nov 1953 [2]
Electric6 Nov 1951[5 Nov 1953]Connected with main Tallinn tram system, 05 Nov 1953.

Isle of Man

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Douglas Douglas Bay Horse Tramway 914 mm (3 ft)Horse7 Aug 1876  [3] [4]
Winter service withdrawn from November 1927, current operating season early May – late September. Operation suspended 30 September 1939 – 22 May 1946 because of war.
Upper Douglas Cable Tramway 914 mm (3 ft)Cable15 Aug 189619 Aug 1929 [5] Winter service withdrawn from 1927.
DouglasKeristalPort Soderick Douglas Southern Electric Tramway (Marine Drive Tramway)1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)Electric189615 Sep 1939Opened to Keristal 7 August 1896, completed 1897. Operation suspended c.1914 – c.1918 because of war.
Douglas (Derby Castle) – LaxeyRamsey Manx Electric Railway 914 mm (3 ft)Electric7 Sep 1893  [6] [7] Operates seasonally, from March to November.
Note for Manx Electric Railway: Opened to Groudle Glen, 7 September 1893. Extended to Laxey, 27 July 1894. Extended to Ramsey (Ballure), 5 August 1898. Completed to Ramsey (Plaza), 24 July 1899.
Operation suspended LaxeyRamsey, 30 September 1975, restored 25 June 1977.
LaxeySnaefell Summit Snaefell Mountain Railway 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)Electric21 Aug 1895 Operates only during summer season.
Operation suspended 20 September 1939 – 1 June 1946 because of war. Used a third rail for a Fell brake

Latvia

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Daugavpils Daugavpils Tramway Horse ? ? 
1524Electric5 Nov 1946  [8]
Jūrmala (Kemeri) 1000Electric16 Jun 19121935(?) [8]
Liepāja Liepājas tramvajs 1000Electric26 Sep 1899  [8]
Riga Rīgas Satiksme 1524Horse4 Sep 1882

23 Aug 1903

1901

1909

[8]
1524Electric23 Jul 1901  [8] Note: Riga also operates a trolleybus network.

Lithuania

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Kaunas  Horse5 Jun 189215 Apr 1929 [9]
Steam19141936 [9]
Klaipėda (Memel) 1000Electric18 Aug 1904

1950

Oct 1934

1967

[9]
Palanga  Horse ? ? [9]
Vilnius  Horse15 Jun 18931915 [9]
Petrol19141926 [9]
Electric ? ?Gauge: unknown. [9]
Excepting microstates, Podgorica, Reykjavík and Tirana, and possibly Vilnius, are the only European capitals where electric town tramways have not (yet) been built.
Note: Vilnius operates a trolleybus network.

Luxembourg

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Esch-sur-Alzette canton  Electric29 May 192722 Sep 1956 
Luxembourg City  
Horse22 Feb 1875 ?
Electric8 Aug 19085 Sep 1964 
1435Electric10 Dec 2017

Malta

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Malta  Electric23 Feb 190515 Dec 1929

Moldova

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Chişinău  1000Horse29 Oct 18881914 
1000Electric25 Jan 191413 May 1961 

Monaco

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Monte Carlo  1000Electric18981932

Slovakia

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Bratislava Trams in Bratislava 1000Electric27 Aug 1895 DPB also operates buses and trolleybuses
Košice Trams in Košice Horse18 Nov 189128 Feb 1914 
Steam7 Jul 189328 Feb 1914 
1435Electric28 Feb 1914 DPMK also operates buses and trolleybuses
Trenčianske Teplice  760Electric27 Jul 1909  

Slovenia

LocationName of SystemGauge
mm
Traction
Type
Date
(From)
Date
(To)
Notes
Ljubljana Trams in Ljubljana 1000Electric6 Sep 190120 Dec 1958Reintroduction planned
Piran Trams in Piran 760Electric20 Jul 191231 Aug 1953 

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tram</span> Street-running light railcar

A tram is a type of urban rail transit. It consists of a rail vehicle, either alone or coupled in a multiple train unit, traveling on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles</span> Aims to preserve historic rail vehicles

Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Bay Horse Tramway</span> Passenger tramway on the Isle of Man

The Douglas Bay Horse Tramway on the Isle of Man runs along the seafront promenade for approximately 1 mile (1.6 km), from the southern terminus at the Villa Marina, to Derby Castle station, the southern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway, where the workshops and sheds are located. It is a distinctive tourist attraction. However works have been underway to relay all of the track in 2019 and at present only a third is usable, with no published completion date for the works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manx Electric Railway</span> Tramway between Isle of Man towns

The Manx Electric Railway is an electric interurban tramway connecting Douglas, Laxey and Ramsey in the Isle of Man. It connects with the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway at its southern terminus at Derby Castle at the northern end of the promenade in Douglas, and with the Snaefell Mountain Railway at Laxey. Many visitors take an excursion on the trams. It is the oldest electric tram line in the world whose original rolling stock is still in service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snaefell Mountain Railway</span> Mountain railway on the isle of Man

The Snaefell Mountain Railway is an electric mountain railway on the Isle of Man in Europe. It joins the village of Laxey with the summit of Snaefell, at 2,036 feet (621 m) above sea level the highest point on the island. It connects with the Manx Electric Railway (MER) in Laxey. The line is 5 miles (8 km) long, is built to 3 ft 6 in gauge and uses a Fell Incline Railway System centre rail for braking on the steep gradients. It is electrified using overhead wires at 550 volts direct current, with bow collectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djurgårdslinjen</span>

Djurgårdslinjen is a heritage tram line with the route number 7N, running between Norrmalmstorg and Waldemarsudde in Stockholm, Sweden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Europe</span>

Europe has an extensive number of tramway networks. Some of these networks have been upgraded to light rail standards, called Stadtbahn in Germany, premetros in Belgium, sneltram in the Netherlands, trem ligeiro in Portugal and fast trams in some other countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laxey railway station</span> Railway station in Isle of Man, the UK

Laxey Railway Station is an interchange station in the village of Laxey on the east coast of the Isle of Man. It is the principal intermediate station on the Manx Electric Railway as well as being the lower terminus of the Snaefell Mountain Railway. It is thus the island's only dual-gauge station, albeit with completely separate tracks. Some MER services from/to Douglas terminate here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in the Isle of Man</span>

The Isle of Man has a rich transport heritage and boasts the largest narrow-gauge railway network in the British Isles with several historic railways and tramways still in operation. These operate largely to what is known as "Manx Standard Gauge" and together they comprise about 65 miles (105 km) of Victorian railways and tramways. The Isle of Man Railway Museum in Port Erin allows people to find out more about the history of the Manx railways, and was until 1998 accompanied by a similar museum in Ramsey, which was dedicated to the history of the electric line, but this was closed and converted into a youth club. The steam railway to the south of the island, electric to the north and mountain line to the summit of Snaefell, the island's only mountain, are all government-owned, and operated under the title Isle of Man Railways, as a division of the island's Department of Infrastructure. The lines at Groudle Glen and Curraghs Wildlife Park are both privately owned but open to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsey railway station (Manx Electric Railway)</span>

Ramsey Station serves the town of Ramsey in the Isle of Man; it is the northern terminus of the Manx Electric Railway. It was formerly known as Ramsey (Plaza) Station after the nearby Plaza cinema, now demolished and turned into a car park. Today it is often also known as Ramsey Tram Station and signage to this effect adorns the station, despite the line being described as a railway. It should not be confused with Ramsey's former station on the Isle of Man Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Douglas Cable Tramway</span>

The Upper Douglas Cable Tramway was a tram line serving all points between the southern end of the promenade and the upper part of the town of Douglas in the Isle of Man. It opened on 15 August 1896 and closed on 19 August 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trams in Nordhausen</span>

The Nordhausen tramway network is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Nordhausen, a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany.

References

Inline citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Urban transport – History of Sofia Trams". Sofia Urban Mobility Center. 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Atlas Estonia (ee)". Svenska Spårvägssällskapet [Swedish Tramway Society]. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  3. "Douglas Borough Council Online - Tel: 01624 696300". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2006.
  4. "Douglashorsetramway.net". Archived from the original on 13 December 2003. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  5. "Index page – Upper Douglas Cable Car". www.isle-of-man.com.
  6. Society, Manx Electric Railway. "Manx Electric Railway Society, registered charity (IoM) No 276". www.mers.org.im.
  7. "Isle of Man Government – Heritage Railways". www.gov.im.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Atlas Latvia (lv)". Svenska Spårvägssällskapet [Swedish Tramway Society]. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Atlas Lithuania (lt)". Svenska Spårvägssällskapet [Swedish Tramway Society]. Retrieved 29 December 2014.

Bibliography

Sources, references and external links: