Restaurant tram

Tram restaurant in Nordhausen

A restaurant tram is a tram vehicle where meals can be served in a way of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. Customers consume the meals while the tram is following a route over an existing network of a tramsystem. Old trams are often used with a rebuilt interior and upholstered seats and tables. Most restaurant trams are equipped with a small kitchen only used to serve meals, while a traditional kitchen in a stationary restaurant is used to do most preparations. A subtype is the pub restaurant, serving drinks and snacks. ^[1]

According to the book The Experience Economy by Pine & Gilmore, customers growingly expect to have a special experience. Additionally, unique experiences are popular in social media pots. Both have helped to make restaurant tram services more common in the twentieth century. ^[2]

Examples

Some of the cities that operate or have operated a restaurant tram are: Brussels, ^[3] Rotterdam, Nordhausen, Bern, Zurich, Timisoara, ^[4] Kolkota ^[5] and Christchurch.

Former "Bistrowagen" in Düsseldorf

• The U76/U70 tram line between the German cities of Düsseldorf and Krefeld used to offer a Bistrowagen ("dining car" in German), where passengers could order drinks and snacks. That practice dates back to 1924, when interurban trams conveyed a dining car. ^[6] With the introduction of modern tram units in 1981, four trams had a Bistrowagen ^[7] that operated every weekday until 2014.
• In 1976 the first full dining restaurant started running in Bern using a historic tramcar and trailer. ^[8]
• In 1983 the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant started running in Melbourne using three historic W-class trams, ^[9] but the service had to close in 2018 because the trams were seen as too unsafe to operate between other traffic. ^[10]
• Since 2005 in Milan, two historic tramcars -Class 1500- from 1928 are in use as a restaurant. ^{[11] [12]}
• In 2006, one restaurant tram entered a service in Turin, a second one followed in 2011. ^[13] The restaurant service was transferred to an external party early 2023. ^[14]
• The Hague's tram restaurant service started in 2014, ^[15] within ten years it made over 2500 trips through the city. The initiator got his inspiration from the Melbourne example. ^[2]

Pub and café trams

In Germany the pub trams is a common service, in about twenty cities and regions. ^[1]

• The first pub tram in Germany started opertions in Frankfurt am Main in 1977. Due to its success, the fleet consists of two motorised trams and four trailer cars. ^[1]
• Since 1995, Helsinki has a pub tram named SpåraKoff. ^[16]
• In 2025 a trial started in Changchun with a café in a hydrogen powered tram. A total of six tramcars are planned to be in service. ^[17]

Gallery

• 
  W-class tram in Melbourne
• 
  Class-1500 tram in Milan
• 
  Ce 4/4 type tram in Zurich
• 
  GTL-8 tram in The Hague
• 
  Tram 411 in Christchurch

See also

• Buffet car
• Dining car

References

1. "Feiernd durch die Stadt". Strassenbahn Magazin (in German). 2015 (11): 17–26.
2. "Bobby zag in Melbourne een tramrestaurant en wist gelijk: dit haal ik naar Den Haag". AD (in Dutch). DPG Media. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
3. "Fine dining in de Brusselse tram". National Geographic (in Dutch). 19 April 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
4. P., Mihaela (21 January 2018). "Dinner In A Tramway In Timisoara. The Only Tram-Restaurant In Romania" . Retrieved 11 January 2023.
5. Singh, Shiv Shahay (13 October 2018). "Dining in Kolkata in a tramcar named 'Victoria'". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
6. "Düsseldorf: Rheinbahn stellt Bistrowagen endgültig aufs Abstellgleis". Rheinische Post (in German). 21 September 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
7. van 't Hoogerhuijs, Herman (2016). Metrotrams (in Dutch). p. 117. ISBN   978-90-5961-175-7.
8. "Restaurant-Tram (1935)". website Stiftung BERNMOBIL historique (in German). Retrieved 11 January 2023.
9. Gemina, Cody (8 November 2017). "The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant review". Good Food. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
10. Webb, Carolyn (23 November 2021). "Dream of Melbourne restaurant trams still alive for business owner". The Age. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
11. "Atmosfera – dineren in een tot rijdend restaurant omgetoverde tram in Milaan". Ciao tutti (in Dutch). 27 January 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
12. Dacarro, Musante (2025). Trams: Bridging the Past and Future—Example Guidelines for Tram Redesign Illustrated by a Case Study from Korea . Retrieved 6 August 2025.
13. Gustotram 2823
14. Lunch or dinner in Turin... What if he were on a historic tram?
15. "Haags tramrestaurant gaat ook overdag rijden". www.missethoreca.nl (in Dutch). 9 February 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
16. "Weniger Straßen, mehr Bahn!". Strassenbahn Magazin (in German). 2019 (01): 20.
17. "Trial operation of hydrogen tourist tram begins in China". Rolling Stock World. 16 June 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.