Trams in Europe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In many European cities, as in other parts of the world, tramway infrastructure was lost in the mid-20th century, though not always on the same scale as in other cities (in America, for example). Much of Eastern Europe lost less tramway infrastructure but some cities are now reconsidering their transport priorities, while some Western European cities are rehabilitating, upgrading and even reconstructing their old tramway lines.
Contents |
[edit] Regional variations
Europe, particularly Germany, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium, has an extensive number of tramway networks. Some of these networks have been upgraded to light rail standards, called Stadtbahn in Germany and Pre-metros in Belgium.
[edit] Western Europe
[edit] Germany, Austria, Switzerland
The German-speaking countries, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (where the word for tramway is "Straßenbahn", although "Tram" is also used) are notable for their large numbers of extensive tram systems, although even in these countries, many systems were closed after the Second World War, such as the Hamburg tramway, which last ran in 1978.
[edit] Netherlands
- For more details on Transportation in the Netherlands, see Transportation_in_the_Netherlands#Tram / light rail.
In the Netherlands many local railways were referred to as trams, even where the steam locomotives did not have enclosed motion. Today, extensive tram networks exist in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.
[edit] Belgium
In Belgium an extensive system of tram-like local railways called Vicinal or Buurtspoor lines had a greater route kilometre length than the main-line railway system. The only survivors of the Vicinal system are the Kusttram (which almost reaches France at one end and the Netherlands at the other - it's the longest line in the world) - and two lines near Charleroi. Urban tram networks exist in Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, and are gradually being extended.
[edit] France
Despite the closure of most of France's tram systems in previous decades, a rapidly growing number of France's major cities boast new tram or light rail networks, including Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, St Etienne, Strasbourg and Nantes (Nantes has the largest French network). Recently the tram has seen a huge revival with many experiments such as ground level power supply in Bordeaux (to avoid the need for overhead wires) or trolleybuses masquerading as trams in Nancy (to provide a quick fix for traffic congestion).
[edit] UK
In the UK, tram systems were widely dismantled in the 1950s, and after the closure of Glasgow's extensive network in 1962 only Blackpool's survived (see Blackpool tramway), although a funicular line continued to operate up the Great Orme in Llandudno. However in recent years new light rail lines have been opened in:
- Manchester (Metrolink),
- Sheffield (Supertram),
- The West Midlands (Midland Metro),
- Croydon (Tramlink)
- Nottingham (NET),
Several others under consideration (including the proposed three-line Edinburgh Tram Network) and extensions planned for many existing systems.
[edit] Sweden
The most extensive network in Northern Europe has Gothenburg in Sweden (190 km on a total track length of 80 km; see Gothenburg tram), followed by the Norwegian capital Oslo. Norrköping, also Sweden, has a rather small but growing network.
[edit] Republic of Ireland
In 2004, the Irish capital Dublin opened the first two lines of a new light-rail system known as Luas, the Irish word for "speed". It features on-street running in the city centre, but is considered a light-rail system because it runs along a dedicated right-of-way for much of its route. There are seven more Luas projects planned, all of which are to be complete by 2015. Two light-metro lines are also to be built by 2014 as well; which is a similar idea to light rail, though will be fully segregated from traffic.
Plans also exist for light-rail systems in the cities of Cork and Galway, both of which have strong support from the city councils and city residents alike. In January 2007, the Green Party promised that, if it formed part of the next government in 2007, they would have light rail systems built in these cities. [1]
In addition, there is also a smaller campaign for a light-rail system in Limerick. [2]
See also:
- Luas (Dublin's light-rail network).
- Dublin Metro (Future light-metro in Dublin).
- Corrib Light Rail (Galway's proposed light-rail network).
- Transport 21.
[edit] Norway
Tram lines in Norway;
[edit] Finland
In Finland, there have been three cities with trams: Helsinki, Turku and Viipuri. Only Helsinki still has retained a tram network. The system operates 11 routes constituting 71 kilometers of tramlines. Around 200,000 passengers use the tram network each weekday and within the inner city of Helsinki, trams have established a position as the main form of public transport.
[edit] Italy
In Italy electric trams have run from the last years of 19th century (the first horse-drawn line opened between Milan and Monza in the 1840s). The first electric line was opened in Milan in 1893. Today Milan has 21 tramlines totalling 286.8 km. Rome (7 lines), Turin (10 lines), Naples (2 lines), Messina (1 line), Florence (3 line), Trieste (1 line), and L'Aquila (1 line) also have tramways. Other cities are building new tramlines: Bergamo (1 line of 12.6 km), Cagliari (1 line of 7 km), Modena (2 lines of 16.5 km), Palermo (3 lines of 16.6 km), Sassari (1 line of 7 km) and Verona (1 line of 11.3 km).
[edit] Spain
- For more details on this topic, see Transport in Spain#Cities with metro/light rail systems.
In Spain modern tram networks have been opened in Barcelona (Trambaix and Trambesòs), Valencia, Bilbao, Alicante and Parla.
[edit] Portugal
In Portugal, Lisbon tram services have been supplied by the Companhia de Carris de Ferro de Lisboa (Carris), for over a century. In Porto a tram network, of which only a tourist line on the shores of the Douro remain, saw its construction begin in 12 September 1895, therefore being the first in the Iberian Peninsula.
[edit] Greece
- For more details on this topic, see Transport in Greece.
The Greek capital Athens opened a modern tramline in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics.
[edit] Central and Eastern Europe
All countries of the former Soviet Bloc, excluding Lithuania and Moldova, have extensive tram infrastructure. Industrial freight use of city tram lines was a widespread practice until 1960s but has since mostly disappeared. Another factor is an increasing replacement of trams with trolleybuses as cities face a rapid increase in traffic and such replacement often allows to increase road size. One of the exceptions is Warsaw, Poland, where the last trolleybus line was closed in the year 1995 due to high maintenance costs, and replaced with more efficient trams. Czech ČKD Tatra and the Hungarian Ganz factories were notable manufacturers of trams.
[edit] Hungary
The busiest traditional city tram line in the world is still route 4-6 in Budapest, Hungary, where 50-meter long trains run at 60 to 90 second intervals at peak time and are usually packed with people. A part of this route is the same as where electric trams made their world first run in 1887. Budapest has recently ordered 40 Siemens Combino Supra low floor trams. Trams began carrying the passengers on the 1 July 2006 but during the first weeks there were many technical difficulties. The extensive tram network of Budapest was gradually reduced during the second half of the 20th century but the trend reversed in the 1990s. Other Hungarian cities with operating tramway lines are Szeged, Debrecen and Miskolc. Streetcar traffic ceased to exist in Pécs in 1960, Nyíregyháza in 1969 and Szombathely in 1974.
[edit] Croatia
City of Zagreb has an extensive tram network, with 15 daily-lines, and 4 night-lines. ZET, the major transit authority in Zagreb has ordered 140 new 100% low-floor trams from Croatian consortium Crotram. As of March 16th 2007., 58 low-floor Crotram trams have been delivered.
Second city in Croatia with trams is Osijek.
[edit] Serbia
Belgrade has a large tram-network with 209 KT4YU trams and few other,. The are plans to modernise 15 KT4YU units.
[edit] Turkey
After almost 30 years without any trams, Turkey is experiencing a revival in trams. Established in 1992, the tram system of Istanbul earned the best large-scale tram management award in 2005. Another award winning tram network belongs to Eskişehir, a city with a new tram system opened in 2004. Several other cities are planning or constructing tram lines, usually with modern low-floow trams.
[edit] Estonia
In Tallinn, Estonia, there has been a growing tram network since 1888, when traffic was started by horse-powered trams. The first line was electrified on October, 28, 1925. The first ČKD Tatra arrived in 1973. There are now 56 KT4SU, 12 KTNF6 (rebuilt: 10 KT4SU, 2 KT4D from Gera and Erfurt) and 23 KT4D (12 from Gera, 6 from Cottbus, 1 from Frankfurt (Oder) and 5 from Erfurt). The first KT4SU arrived in Tallinn 1981 and went on tracks March 10, 1981. There have also been 59 T4SU (May 1973-September 2005), 49 Gotha G4 (January 1965-October 1988), 19 Lowa T54-B54 (February 1955-March 1977), 14 T2-62 and B2-62 (1962-1981) and many other tram types. The first electric trams were built by Dvigatel Ltd in Tallinn before World War II and for some years after that, the last one in 1954. Today there are four lines, 1 (Kopli - Kadriorg), 2 (Kopli - Ülemiste), 3 (Tondi - Kadriorg), 4 (Tondi - Ülemiste). There was also a line number 5 (Kopli - Vana-Lõuna), but there were not enough passengers and it was shut down on January 1, 2004. Plans have been in the works since the 1990s to open a light rail line from one of the suburbs, Lasnamäe, to the city center. According to current plans, the line is set to be opened in 2010 at the earliest.
[edit] Misc
In many cities of Russia and Ukraine, in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan tramways are facing difficulties. Tramways of Shakhty, Arkhangelsk, Grozny, Baku and Yerevan have been abandoned. Some tramway systems have suffered extensive closures of vital parts of network (Saint Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev) and some are facing threats of closures (Nizhniy Novgorod, Tver) or even total abandonment (Voronezh, Tbilisi). Nevertheless, Saint Petersburg's tramway network still is the largest in the world.
