Trams in Darmstadt

Darmstadt tramway network

Tram at Willy-Brandt-Platz
Operation
Locale	Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
Steam tram era: 1886 (1886)–1922 (1922) Status Converted to electric traction Operator(s) Herrmann Bachstein consortium (1886–1895) Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG) (1895–1912) Hessische Eisenbahn-Aktiengesellschaft (HEAG (1912–1922) Propulsion system(s) Steam
Electric tram era: since 1897 (1897) Status Operational Lines 9 Operator(s) Siemens & Halske (1897) City of Darmstadt (1898–1912) HEAG (since 1912) Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) Propulsion system(s) Electricity Stock 48 (including 38 low-floor trams) Track length (total) 94.6 km (58.8 mi) Route length 42 km (26 mi) Stops 162 Darmstadt tramway network (2010). Website HEAG mobilo

The Darmstadt tram network is a light rail transit network and the backbone of public transport within Darmstadt, a city in the federal state of Hesse, Germany. As of 2014 nine lines on four main routes (42 kilometres (26 mi)) are serving 162 stops, including 92 low-floor stops. It operates as an integral part of the RMV, the public transport system of the Rhein-Main-Area.

Trams have operated continuously in Darmstadt since 1886, with the opening of a steam tram line. The network has been operated since 1912 by Hessische Eisenbahn-Aktiengesellschaft (HEAG) either directly, or, more recently, through one of its subsidiaries. Since then the trams have become a distinctive part of Darmstadt's character and are widely used by people from all walks of life as a safe and fast way of transportation within Darmstadt and its suburbs. At the Hauptbahnhof station the tram system and the Frankfurt S-Bahn-System meet. While some older lines like the Oberwaldhaus-/Martinsviertel-/and Ostbahnhof lines were closed, new sections were built, following the development of new residential areas, e.g. the new lines to Kranichstein, Arheilgen north and Alsbach south. Since the 1990s the tram system has gradually been modernised. All lines (except for line 3) have since been less of a classical tram and more of a light rail transit system with a private right-of-way and separate stations with "same-level-platforms".

The central hub of the Darmstadt tram network is the "Luisenplatz", at which eight of Darmstadt's nine tram lines stop. On the main routes the hours of operation are usually from around 5:00 am until 1:00 am. The network is currently made up of the following lines:

All lines run – unless otherwise stated – at 15-minute intervals (at night and on Sunday mornings at 30-minute intervals). On the southern route between Eberstadt and Alsbach, service intervals are 15 minutes during peak hours and 30 minutes in the evenings. Since many stations are being served by more than one line, service intervals are 3 to 7 minutes at the central stations, especially in the city centre.