Gothenburg tram
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A tram running at Brunnsparken in central Gothenburg.
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| Overview | |||
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| Owner | Gothenburg Municipality | ||
| Locale |
Gothenburg Mölndal, Sweden |
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| Transit type | Tram | ||
| Number of lines | 15 | ||
| Number of stations | 131 | ||
| Daily ridership | 285,112 | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 1879 | ||
| Operator(s) | Göteborgs Spårvägar | ||
| Host railroads | Västtrafik | ||
| Number of vehicles | 200 | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 95 km (59.0 mi) of double track | ||
| Track gauge |
1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) |
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| Average speed | 22.7 km/h (14.1 mph) | ||
| Top speed | 60 km/h (37 mph) allowed (max 80 km/h (50 mph)) |
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The Gothenburg tram network (Swedish: Göteborgs spårvägar) is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The system's approximately 160 kilometres (99 mi) of single track — making it the largest tram network in Sweden — is used by around 200 trams as of 2006[update], which serve twelve day-time and five night-time lines with a combined line length of 190 km. These figures are expected to increase when the second stage of Kringen (short for Kollektivringen, the public transport ring) is finished. The trams perform about 2,000 trips and cover 30,000 km per day. In 2007, 100.5 million journeys were made (with changes counting as a new journey).
The first tram line in Gothenburg was started in 1879 by the English company Gothenburg Tramway Ltd. This was a horse-drawn tramway, which stretched from Brunnsparken to Stigbergsliden. The city of Gothenburg bought the tramway in 1900, and introduced electrically powered trams only two years later, when Sigfrid Edström led the electrification of the trams. During the next 40 years, the tram system was heavily expanded, reaching outside the city borders by 1907, and Hisingen in 1940.
In the 1960s, plans for converting the tram system to an underground rapid transit system were created, and the new tram sections to the Tynnered, Angered, Bergsjön and Länsmansgården suburbs were built free from level crossings and partly in tunnels to make a future conversion to underground standards easier. However, after further investigation, it was concluded that it would be too expensive to dig the necessary tunnels under the city centre, as the foundation of the city is partially made up of clay.
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