Trams in Istanbul
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| Locale | İstanbul, Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Closed (first generation) Operational (modern system) |
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The former capital of the Ottoman Empire was once served, on both its Asian and European sides, by a large network of trams in Istanbul. Its first-generation tram network first operated as a horse tram system, and was eventually converted to electric trams in the early twentieth century. The original tram network finally closed in 1966.
Trams returned in 1990, and a second generation of modern tram service began service in 1992. In this modern era, Istanbul is served by three separate tramway systems. The Asian side has a heritage tramline, whereas the European side has both a heritage tramline and a modern tram system.
Istanbul inaugurated horse trams in 1872 and these served the people of Istanbul until 1912. Following this date, electric trams were put in place and they were the main means for urban public transport until 1966. Many additional tramlines were added over time, and the system reached its greatest extent in 1956 with 108 million passengers carried by 270 tram-cars on 56 tram lines. But starting from the mid-1950s, automobile traffic congestion in Istanbul increased rapidly. Bus and taxi services grew rapidly over the same period of time. The number of private cars also increased greatly, and many narrow streets, which were ideal for trams, now started filling up with motor vehicles. Tramcars were not modernized for many decades, and some of the 1911 electric cars were still running in the 1960s. At that time, modern buses provided faster and smoother journeys, whereas the trams were slower, narrow single-coach cars and had many outdated features like bow collectors. Poor maintenance of tracks caused derailments and bumpy rides. Due to the city's rapid growth, reconstruction of Istanbul's infrastructure became urgent, and many streets were widened. The transport authority thought that slow tram transport sharing road space with fast bus transport would cause many problems in trying to guarantee smoother city transportation. In sum, the tramway had little comfort and was slow because it was caught in the traffic jam caused by the cars, and the tracks were also outdated, noisy and in the middle of the street. Cars had to pass the tramway on the right, causing danger for the pedestrians boarding and alighting the tramway. Comparatively, electric trolleybuses had proved to be a good alternative to trams in many countries. Due to all of these factors, the transport department decide to replace trams with trolleybuses in Istanbul.
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Wikipedia