In 1878, the Società Sicula Tramways Omnibus (SSTO) started to operate omnibuses and horsecars in Palermo. In May 1899, the SSTO opened its first electric tram line. By 1901, the SSTO had 9 tram lines in operation, In 1904, the SSTO changed its name to Società Sicula Imprese Elettriche (SSIE), and open a tenth tram line. By 1908, the SSIE had 10 tram lines in operation: [6]
- Piazza Bologni – Rocca: opened May 1899, extended to Monreale in 1900
- Piazza Marina – Romagnolo: opened later in 1899
- Piazza Indipendenza – Porta Reale: opened in 1899
- Piazza Marina – Acquasanta: opened in May 1900
- Piazza Marina – Noce: opened in June 1900
- Piazza Indipendenza – Ucciardone: opened July 1900
- Ucciardone – Falde: opened July 1900
- Ucciardone – San Lorenzo: opened September 1900, extended to Tommaso Natale and Sferracavallo in 1914
- Piazza Rivoluzione – Torrelunga: opened February 1901
- Piazza indipendenza – Porrazzi: opened in 1908
In 1906, a second tramway company, Società Italo Belga "Les Tramways de Palerme" (SIB), was formed. It opened four new tram lines in 1912: [6]
- Stazione Centrale – Leoni: opened June 1912
- Stazione Centrale – Politeama – Zisa: opened June 1912
- Stazione Centrale – Politeama – Ucciardone – Acquasanta: opened June 1912
- Montepellegrino – Mondello: opened November 1912, extended to Partanna in July 1916
During crises following World War I, the two tramway companies had difficulties. The Unione Trazione Elettrica e Trasporti della Sicilia (UTETS) took over the SSIE in 1925 and the SIB in December 1929. In February 1930, the Società Anonima Industria Autobus (SAIA) started operating 14 bus lines some in direct competition with the tram system of the UTETS. In June 1933, the UTETS changed its name to Tramvie di Palermo (TdP). In August 1939, TdP management decided to replace trams with trolley buses. in December 1940, the "Società Anonima Siciliana Trasporti" (SAST) took over the conversion from TdP. This conversion was slow during World War II due to wartime scarcities. The conversion was completed in August 1946 with the replacement of lines 14 via Mondello, 15 via Partanna e 16 via Valdesi, thus ending tram service in Palermo. [6]
Modern tramway
In 2000, the European Investment Bank provided approximately €88 million for the construction of three tram lines along Via Leonardo da Vinci, Corso Calatafimi, and Corso dei Mille. [7] In August 2001, the project was temporarily blocked by a commissioner of the city of Palermo, Guglielmo Serio, because parking spaces along the route needed to be defined and he disagreed with the routing on the Corso Calatafimi due to limited space. [8]
The project was finally approved by the city in May 2002. [9] In 2005, after two unsuccessful tenders, the construction work was awarded to a temporary consortium for €192 million. [10] The first test runs on line 1 were carried out in July 2014. [11] All four tram lines were opened on December 30, 2015. [12]
