Trams in Rotterdam

Rotterdam tramway network

A Citadis 302 tram outside Rotterdam CS, 2008.
Operation
Locale	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Horsecar era: 1879 (1879)–1924/1925 (1924/1925) Status Closed Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) Propulsion system(s) Horse
Electric tram era: since 1905 (1905) Status Open Lines 9 (+ 3 special lines) Operator(s) Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET) (since 1927) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Propulsion system(s) Electricity Electrification 600 V DC Catenary Stock 118 Track length (single) 194 km (121 mi) Stops 322 Website RET

The Rotterdam tramway network (Dutch: Rotterdams tramnet) is a key element of the overall public transport arrangements in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Opened in 1879, the network currently has nine regular tramlines, and three special or seasonal tramlines. It has been operated since 1927 by Rotterdamse Elektrische Tram (RET). The tram network is the city's more extensive public transport system, while the rapid transit Rotterdam Metro is the more utilized system.

The RET has had two predecessor tramway companies, the RTM and the RETM, respectively. The RTM (Rotterdamsche Tramweg Maatschappij) was founded in 1878 to operate the first horse-drawn tramway in Rotterdam, which opened in 1879. From then until 1904, the RTM ran both horse trams and steam trams in and around the city, which was then much smaller than today.

Apart from the RTM, there were two other, smaller, companies operating tramway networks in and around Rotterdam in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1882, the Schielandsche Tramweg-Maatschappij opened a horse tramway of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge from the Hofplein via Schiekade and Bergweg to Hillegersberg. Two decades later, in 1902, the Schiedamsche Tramweg-Maatschappij opened a horse-drawn tramway in Schiedam from the station via Koemarkt to the Hoofdplein. This tramway had a gauge of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in).

A new form of urban transport, the electric tram, arrived in Rotterdam in 1904, with the creation of the new RETM (Rotterdamsche Electrische Tramweg Maatschappij). On 18 September 1905, the RETM began operating the first electric tram line in Rotterdam, line 1 (Honingerdijk – Beurs – Park). The current to power the line was supplied from a temporary generator. On 15 October 1906, the municipality started to supply electricity from the new power station, and the 21-year operating concession began. By the end of that year, there were already five electric tram lines operating. In 1907 and 1908, more lines entered service, to bring the total to nine lines. The maximum extent of Rotterdam's tramway network was 25 lines, and this was reached in 1930.