We’re back from New Zealand and return to Europe for the next stop in our world tram as “Around the World in Trams” reaches the Swedish city of Gothenburg.
The tram system is described on Wikipedia as northern Europe’s largest with it featuring 99 miles of single track (160km). Trams run on 12 routes during the day and 5 at night with a fleet of approximately 200 trams. In 2018 there were 131 million journeys made on the network. The first trams had run in 1879 (horse) and the network was electrified from 1902, some two years after the city of Gothenburg had bought the tramway from the original private company (the English company Gothenburg Tramway Ltd). It runs on standard gauge.
In the below photo we see two trams passing when in service. The left hand tram is 354, built in 1990 and originally numbered 354, which is working route 3 to Kalltorp. The right hand tram is 423, a single ended AnsaldoBreda Sirio dating from 2008. This tram is on route 4.
Photograph by David Jones, 8th August 2011
Keep bringing on this kind of stuff, material that shows that tramways are alive and well in the 21st century!