A tram is a train that runs on tramway track on public urban streets; some include segments of segregated right-of-way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars as public transport are called tramways or simply tram/streetcar. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being preferred in the eastern US and streetcar in Canada and the western US. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
The Naples Metro is the rapid transit system serving the city of Naples, Italy. The system comprises three underground rapid transit lines.
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, elétrico in Portugal and fast trams in some other countries.
The earliest trams in Australia operated in the latter decades of the 19th century, hauled by horses or "steam tram motors". At the turn of the 20th century, propulsion almost universally turned to electrification, although cable trams lingered in Melbourne. In cities and towns that had trams, they were a major part of public transport assets.
Although tram 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.
Trams in France date from 1837 when a 15 km steam tram line connected Montrond-les-Bains and Montbrison in the Loire. With the development of electric trams at the end of the 19th century, networks proliferated in French cities over a period of 15 years. Although nearly all of the country's tram systems were replaced by bus services in the 1930s or shortly after the Second World War, France is now in the forefront of the revival of tramways and light rail systems around the globe. Only tram lines in Lille and Saint-Étienne have operated continuously since the 19th century; the Marseille tramway system ran continuously until 2004 and only closed then for 3 years for extensive refurbishment into a modern tram network. Since the opening of the Nantes tramway in 1985, more than twenty towns and cities across France have built new tram lines. As of 2020, there are 29 operational tram networks in France, with 3 more planned. France is also home to Alstom, a leading tram manufacturer.
The Naples tramway network is located within the city and comune of Naples, in the region of Campania, southern Italy. In operation since 1875, the network has waxed and waned in size and vitality over the years, and is now growing once again. It is now 11.8 km (7.3 mi) long, and comprises three routes, known as lines 1, 2 and 4.
The Milan tramway network is part of the public transport network of Milan, Italy, operated by Azienda Trasporti Milanesi (ATM).
The Turin tramway network is an important part, along with the Turin Metro, of the public transport network of the city and comune of Turin, in the Piedmont region, northwest Italy.
The Florence tramway network is an important part of the public transport network of Florence, Italy. It consists of two operational light rail lines.
The Aarhus Letbane is a light rail system in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. It is operated by the company Midttrafik. The first line opened in December 2017, but the system is under continuous development and expansion. Service on the intercity section Odder to Lisbjergskolen opened on August 25, 2018. A third intercity line to Grenå opened on 30 April 2019. More lines are being planned.
Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi (TPL) is a public transport operator in and around the Swiss city of Lugano. Previously known as the Società luganese dei tramway elettrici, Tranvie elettriche comunali, Azienda comunale del traffico (ACT) and Azienda comunale dei trasporti della Città di Lugano (ACTL), the organisation was founded in 1884 and adopted its current name in 2000.
The Lugano tramway network was part of the public transport network of Lugano, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, for over half a century. Opened in 1896, the network was progressively replaced by the Lugano trolleybus system by 1959, with one independent line surviving until 1964.
The Venice Tramway is a rubber-tired tramway system forming part of the public transport system in Venice, Favaro Veneto, Mestre and Marghera, three boroughs of the city and comune of Venice, northeast Italy.
The Cagliari light rail system, commercially known as Metrocagliari, is a two-line light rail system that serves the town of Cagliari and part of its metropolitan area, in Sardinia, Italy. The system was inaugurated in 2008 and has subsequently been expanded to two lines.
Kraków Fast Tram is a light rail network being developed in Kraków.
The Rosario Tramway was a planned mass transit tramway network in Rosario, Argentina. Nevertheless, the project never surpassed the bidding process stages. The project was assessed by Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana and was largely inspired by the network the company runs in Valencia, though at one point a metro system was envisioned. The municipal and provincial governments undertaken discussions with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for financing the project, as well as Siemens to provide the rolling stock. Once the project was completed, it would be the first time trams have run in the city on a mass scale since the closure of the city's tramway network in 1963, which had reached a maximum extension of 192 km.
The Bologna tramway network was an important part of the public transport network of Bologna, Italy. It was established in 1880 and discontinued in 1963.
