Trams in Frankfurt am Main

Frankfurt am Main tramway network

Frankfurt am Main type R tram no. 021 at Ernst-May-Platz, Bornheim, 2007.
Operation
Locale	Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany
Horse tram era: 1872 (1872)–1904 (1904) Operator(s) Frankfurter Trambahn-Gesellschaft () (1872–1897) Frankfurter Lokalbahn () (1888) City of Frankfurt (1898–1904) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Horses
Steam tram era: 1888 (1888)–1929 (1929) Operator(s) Frankfurter Lokalbahn (1888–1901) Frankfurter Waldbahn () (1889-1898) City of Frankfurt (1899–1929) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Steam trams
Electric tram era: since 1884 (1884) Status Operational Routes 10 & 1 heritage streetcar line Operator(s) Frankfurt-Offenbacher Trambahn-Gesellschaft () (1884–1905) City of Frankfurt (1898–2009) Stadtwerke Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main () (since 2009) Track gauge 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) (1884–1905/06) 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) (since 1905/06) Propulsion system(s) Electricity Electrification 600 V DC Stock 103 trams 9 heritage trams 8 sidecars Route length 67.3 km (41.8 mi) Stops 136 Passengers (2012) 49.9 million Frankfurt am Main tramway network, 2011. Website VerkehrsGesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (English)

The Frankfurt am Main tramway network is a network of tramways forming a major part of the public transport system in Frankfurt am Main, a city in the federal state of Hesse, Germany.

As of 2012^[update], there were 10 tram lines, along with two special lines and one heritage tourist tramline. The network was also heavily integrated into the Frankfurt U-Bahn, with the systems sharing both street running and reserved track. In 2012, the network had 136 stations, and a total route length of 67.25 kilometres (41.79 mi). In the same year, the network carried 49.9 million passengers, about 30% of total public transport ridership in Frankfurt.

The network is the oldest light rail system in the city, the first horse tram lines having started operations in 1872. It includes one of the first electric tramways in the world, with the first electrified tram line starting in 1884.

For many decades in the mid-20th century, it was the firm policy that Frankfurt's trams would eventually be phased out and replaced by buses and extensions of the U-Bahn.

With the start of construction of the Frankfurt U-Bahn closures began in 1963 on the tram. Underground and S-Bahn should replace the trams in the medium completely. The first metro line was opened in 1968, the second in 1974, the central S-Bahn tunnel 1978. Any progress in the rail network led to the closure of tram lines in order to avoid inefficient parallel traffic. With the opening of the third metro line in 1986, the "rail-free city" should be created: The tram should - to a predominant part replacement - completely disappear from the city center, the previous track surfaces for "appreciation" of the streets and places are used. This led to increasing criticism of this concept, culminating in public protests. Within a year, nearly 60,000 people signed for the preservation of the tram lines. Newspapers, radio and television devoted to the conflict. Even personalities like Professor Bernhard Grzimek and the subsequent DGB regional chairman Dieter Hooge expressed public criticism of the concept. As a result of citizen protests, the Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt rejected on 27 May 1986, the decommissioning of the old town stretch from. The Frankfurt Mayor Wolfram Brück criticized this decision and threatened with the withdrawal of Frankfurt from the Frankfurter Verkehrsverbund (FVV). Two days before the scheduled opening of the new subway route shifted bridge the opening of the underground indefinitely and banned all opening ceremonies. Only a few weeks later signaled the CDU's willingness to get the old town route bus No. 11. In turn, the provincial government Hartmut Wierscher renounced the maintenance of three additional lines. The preservation of the old town route finally ushered in a turning point in urban transport policy.