Gothenburg tram network

A tram in Gothenburg

New M32 tram out for a test run

The Gothenburg tram network (Swedish: Göteborgs spårvägar) is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar AB, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The 161 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 are expected to 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. In 2007, 100.5 million journeys were made (with changes counting as a journey).

History

A vintage tram on line 12. These trams usually run in the summer, as a tourist attraction.

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, when Sigfrid Edström led the electrification of the trams. 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.

The expansion of the net through the Kringen project will create a tramway ring around the city centre and with the delivery of the Sirio trams (in Gothenburg called M32), but also with the introduction of a new fully electronic payment system.

Lines

Gothenburg tram lines 4 (left) and 14 (right) meet at Centralstationen tram station.

Line	Stretch	Length	Stops	Travel time	Average speed	Passengers/day
	Tynnered–Östra Sjukhuset	15.59 km	33	47/49 min	19.1 km/h	32 500
	Högsbotorp–Mölndal		27	40 min
	Marklandsgatan–Kålltorp	12.68 km	30	44/45 min	16.9 km/h	32 400
	Mölndal–Angered	19.26 km	21	41/40 min	28.2 km/h	27 400
	Torp–Länsmansgården	13.78 km	29	39/38 min	21.2 km/h	25 500
	Länsmansgården–Kortedala	24.55 km	46	71/71 min	20.7 km/h	43 400
	Tynnered–Bergsjön	21.05 km	35	54/55 min	23.0 km/h	35 900
	Frölunda–Angered	21.31 km	25	46/47 min	27.2 km/h	19 600
	Kungssten–Angered	18.98 km	21	43/43 min	26.5 km/h	25 600
	Guldheden–Eketrägatan/Biskopsgården	8.79 km	17/23	24/31 / 25/32 min	21.7 km/h	15 600
	Saltholmen–Bergsjön	21.83 km	38	58/58 min	22.6 km/h	38 000
	Planned tram line. Will have a stretch of "Norra älvstranden".
	Sahlgrenska–Brämaregården		13	23 min
	Disused tram line since 2006. Had the stretch "Centralstationen - Krokslätt" (Central Station - Krokslätt)
	"Liseberg Line" streetcar line operated by veteran trams. Has stretch Central Station - Liseberg - (Sankt Sigfrids plan)
	"Training and Event Line" streetcar line that operated at the current driver training (when not with passengers) and at special events. One example is the European Athletics Championships in August 2006 when the line sign was "Teams Tram" for the European Championship participant.

Most tram lines pass through Brunnsparken, which is effectively the central hub of public transport in Gothenburg. The exceptions are lines 8 and 13. 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, 10 and 13 cross the Göta älv bridge to the north side.

Rolling stock

The M31 trams have been re-built with a low-floor section.

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 January 2012) 401-449

In 2012, the first delivery of the next batch of M32s is scheduled. The new M32s will be numbered 450-465.

References

• Engberg, Patrik (n.d.). Vagnhallen.com. Retrieved 19 Mar., 2006.
• Göteborgs Spårvägar (n.d.). Göteborgs Spårvägar. Retrieved 19 Mar., 2006

External links

• Göteborgs Spårvägar - Transport company (Swedish)
• Västtrafik - Transport authority (Swedish)/(English)
• Official line map (Västtrafik) (Swedish)/(English)
• Vagnhallen.com (Swedish)
• Urbanrail.net - with network map (English)
• Trackmap (English)
• Urban Transport Technology - Göteborg (English)
• Sporvognsrejser: Göteborgs Spårvägar