Gothenburg tram

The Gothenburg tram network ( _sv. Göteborgs spårvägar) is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar AB, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city Gothenburg. The 80 km of track — making the Gothenburg tram the largest tram network in Scandinavia — is used by around 200 trams as of 2006, which serve twelve day-time and five night-time lines with a combined length of 190 km. These figures will 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.

History

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. 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 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.

When Sweden’s switch to right-hand traffic in 1967 made existing unidirectional trams obsolete, Gothenburg was one of only two cities in Sweden to maintain its city-centre tramway, the other such network to survive being the Norrköping tramway.

Today, the politicians of Gothenburg seem to enjoy having a tram system in the city, even though the average speed in the inner city is very slow, and a lot of money is spent on keeping the tramway up to standards. This is realized both with the expansion of the net itself through the "Kringen" project which will create a tramway ring around the city centre (which will also reintroduce tram line 2, of yellow colour) and with the delivery of the modern Italian-designed Sirio trams (in Gothenburg called M32), but also with the introduction of a new fully electronic payment system.

Lines

Most tram lines pass through Brunnsparken, which is effectively the central hub of public transport in Gothenburg. The exception is line 8, which runs from Angered to Frölunda. The Central Station is also a major stop, especially because it is the nearest stop not only for train passengers but also passengers coming from the neighbouring Nils Ericson Terminal, where coaches, airport buses to Landvetter Airport and City Airport and regional buses stop. Korsvägen is another major stop, where lines 6 and 8 meet lines going into the city centre and out to Mölndal. Most tram lines are on the south side of the river, but lines 5, 6 and 10 cross the Göta älv bridge to the north side.

Rolling stock

The types of tramcars currently running in Göteborg are:
* M28, ASJL 1965–1967, 701–711, 713–763, 766, 767
* M29, Hägglund 1969–1972, 801–838, 840–857, 859, 860
* M31 (previously M21 ASEA 1984–1992, rebuilt with low-floor middle articulation), ASEA/MGB 1998–2003, 300–379
* M32 Sirio, AnsaldoBreda 2005–, (as of December 2006) 401-411

Currently some of the M32s (which are numbered in the range of 400s, 401–411) are out of service due to minor technical problems and for educational purposes. The further M32s 407 to 411 have not yet been approved for travel.

References

* Engberg, Patrik (n.d.). [http://www.vagnhallen.com/ Vagnhallen.com] . Retrieved 19 Mar., 2006.
* Göteborgs Spårvägar (n.d.). [http://www.sparvagen.goteborg.se/ Göteborgs Spårvägar] . Retrieved 19 Mar., 2006

Notes

External links

* [http://www.sparvagen.goteborg.se/ Göteborgs Spårvägar] sv icon
* [http://www.vagnhallen.com/ Vagnhallen.com] sv icon
* [http://www.vasttrafik.se/ Västtrafik] sv icon
* [http://urbanrail.net/eu/got/goteborg.htm Urbanrail.net - with network map] en icon
* [http://trackmap.net/se/g-t Trackmap] en icon
* [http://www.urbantransport-technology.com/projects/gothenburg/ Urban Transport Technology - Göteborg] en icon
* [http://sporvognsrejser.dk/sverige/goeteborg/ Sporvognsrejser: Göteborgs Spårvägar]