This is a list of African cities and towns that have, or once had, town tramway (urban tramway, or streetcar) systems as part of their public transport system.
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
el-Jazair ولاية الجزائر /Algiers | Steam | 12 Sep 1894 | 1935 | ||
Electric | 14 Apr 1898 | 3 Sep 1959 | |||
Algiers tramway | Electric | 8 May 2011 | |||
Annaba عنّابة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Qacentina قسنطينة /Constantine | Constantine tramway | Electric | 4 July 2013 | ||
Biskra بسكرة | Horse | ? | ? | ||
Sidi Bel Abbès سيدي بلعباس | Sidi Bel Abbès tramway | Electric | 26 Jul 2017 | ||
Blida البليدة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Miliana مليانة | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Mestghanem مستغانم /Mostaganem | Mostaganem tramway | Electric | 18 Feb 2023 | ||
Wahrān وهران /Oran | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Electric | 1898 | 1950 | |||
Oran tramway | Electric | 1 May 2013 | |||
Ouargla ورقلة | Horse | 1911 | 1941 | Narrow gauge. From Ksar to Bordj Lutaud, around 1500 metres. | |
Ouargla tramway | Electric | 20 Mar 2018 | |||
Sétif سطيف | Horse | ? | ? | ||
Sétif tramway | Electric | 8 May 2018 | |||
Touggourt تقرت | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boma | Steam | 4 Mar 1890 | ca. 1900 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
el-Iskandariya الإسكندرية /Alexandria – Urban system | Alexandria Tram | Horse | 1860 | 1902? | |
Electric | 1902 | ||||
♦ Ramleh (suburban) system | Alexandria Tram | Horse | 1869 | ? | |
Steam | ? | ? | |||
Electric | Dec 1903 | ||||
el-Qāhirah القاهرة /Cairo | Trams in Greater Cairo | Electric | 12 Aug 1896 | ca. 2015 | In autumn 2015 the operation very short path length of about 3 km, which was supposed to close at the end of that year. It was finally closed in 2019. Metre gauge See Transport in Cairo |
♦ Miṣr el-ǧidīdah مصر الجديدة /Heliopolis | Trams in Greater Cairo | Electric | 9 May 1908 | July 2018 [1] | Cairo system extended to serve Heliopolis in 1908. Express tramway between Cairo main station and Heliopolis opened 11 Jul 1910. |
Hulwan /Helwan | Electric | 19 Feb 1981 | ca. 2011 | Metre gauge; Ceased operation in the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. By the end of 2015, trams were finally removed from the depot, located in Arab al-Fawarsa. | |
Būr Saʻīd بور سعيد /Port Said | Horse | 22 Sep 1900 | 1932 | Metre gauge |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Massawa | Steam | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Addis Ababa | Addis Ababa Light Rail | Electric | 20 September 2015 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Accra | Steam | 1906 | 1941 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mombasa | human | 1890s | 1921 | In Mombasa's Fort Jesus you can find a historic car |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banġāzī بنغازي /Benghazi | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antananarivo | (Steam) | Construction started after 1921, not completed. | |||
Toamasina | Horse | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Port-Louis | Metro Express | Electric | Dec 2019 [2] |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Casablanca | Casablanca tramway | Electric | 12 Dec 2012 | ||
Marrākiš مراكش /Marrakech | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Rabat | Steam | 1917 [3] | 1930 | ||
Rabat-Salé tramway | Electric | 23 May 2011 [4] |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Maputo | Electric | Feb 1904 | 30 Nov 1936 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lagos | Steam | 23 May 1902 | 31 Dec 1913 | ||
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Freetown | Steam | ? | ? |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cape Town – Urban | Trams in Cape Town. | Horse | 1 May 1863 | ? | |
Electric | 6 Aug 1896 | 28 Jan 1939 | |||
♦ Suburban tramway | Electric | Nov 1901 | 17 Feb 1930 | Sea Point – Camps Bay – Burnside Road See also Trams in Cape Town. | |
Durban | Trams in Durban | Horse | 1881 | ? | |
Electric | 1 May 1902 | 1 Aug 1949 | |||
♦ Isipingo | Horse | 1905 | 1910s | Closed during World War I. | |
East London | Electric | 25 Jan 1900 | 25 Oct 1935 | ||
Johannesburg | Trams in Johannesburg | Horse | 2 Feb 1891 | ? | |
Electric | 14 Feb 1906 | 18 Mar 1961 | |||
Kimberley | Trams in Kimberley, Northern Cape | Mule | 1887 | ? | |
Steam | 1900 | ? | |||
Electric | 1906 | 1947 | |||
Electric Heritage tram | 1985 | ||||
Pietermaritzburg | Trams in Pietermaritzburg | Electric | 2 Nov 1904 | Dec 1936 | |
Port Elizabeth | Trams in Port Elizabeth | Horse | 1881 | ? | |
Electric | 16 Jun 1897 | 16 Dec 1948 | |||
Pretoria | Horse | 1897 | ? | ||
Electric | 1910 | 19 Aug 1939 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
al-Ḫarṭūm الخرطوم /Khartoum | Steam | 1904 | ? | ||
Electric | 16 Jan 1928 | Feb 1962 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zanzibar | Animal | 1907 | ? | Domesticated zebras used at opening. See also History of rail transport in Zanzibar. | |
Steam | 1911 | 1928 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manzil Bourgueeba منزل بورقيبة /Menzel Bourguiba | Steam | ? | ? | ||
Tūnis تونس /Tunis | Horse | 1885 | ? | ||
Electric | 1900 | 20 Apr 1960 | |||
Métro léger de Tunis | Electric | 15 Sep 1985 |
Location | Name of System | Traction Type | Date (From) | Date (To) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mutare | Horse | 22 Aug 1901 | by 1920 |
A tram is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being the preferred term in the eastern US and streetcar in the western US. Streetcar or tramway are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.
The West Midlands Metro is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. The network has 31 stops with a total of 14 miles (23 km) track; it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton via the towns of Bilston, West Bromwich and Wednesbury, on a mixture of former railway lines and urban on-street running. The system is owned by the public body Transport for West Midlands, and operated through Midland Metro Ltd, a company wholly owned by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The RATP Group, also known as the RATP or Régie autonome des transports parisiens, is a state-owned public transport operator and maintainer headquartered in Paris, France. Formed in 1949, it has its origins as the city's public transport operator. Its logo represents, in a stylised version, the Seine's meandering through the Paris area as the face of a person looking up.
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that meets the standards of a light rail system, but which also meets national mainline standards permitting operation alongside mainline trains. This allows services that can utilise both existing urban light rail systems and mainline railway networks and stations. It combines the urban accessibility of a tram or light rail with a mainline train's greater speed in the suburbs.
Keolis is a multinational transportation company that operates public transport systems. The company manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus and funicular services.
The Rouen tramway is a tramway/light rail network in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France. Construction began in 1991 and the network opened for service on 17 December 1994.
The Strasbourg tramway, run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, and Kehl in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the few tram networks to cross an international border, along with the trams of Basel and Geneva. The first tramline in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn, opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built, including several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine.
SYSTRA is a multinational engineering and consulting group in the mobility sector, whose fields of activity include rail and public transport. In 2019, it employed a staff of about 7,300 people, and is a limited company which shareholders include French national railway company SNCF, RATP, and various banks.
Reims tramway is a tram system in the French city of Reims, which opened in April 2011. It travels north to south, through the city, along 11.2 kilometres (7.0 mi) of route.
Although tram systems date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many old systems were closed during the mid-20th century because of the advent of automobile travel. This was especially the case in North America, but postwar reductions and shutdowns also occurred on British, French and other Western European urban rail networks. However, traditional tramway systems survived, and eventually even began to thrive from the late 20th century onward, some eventually operating as much as when they were first built over a century ago. Their numbers have been augmented by modern tramway or light rail systems in cities which had discarded this form of transport.
Trams in France date from 1837 when a 15 km steam tram line connected Montrond-les-Bains and Montbrison in the Loire. With the development of electric trams at the end of the 19th century, networks proliferated in French cities over a period of 15 years. Although nearly all of the country's tram systems were replaced by bus services in the 1930s or shortly after the Second World War, France is now in the forefront of the revival of tramways and light rail systems around the globe. Only tram lines in Lille and Saint-Étienne have operated continuously since the 19th century; the Marseille tramway system ran continuously until 2004 and only closed then for 3 years for extensive refurbishment into a modern tram network. Since the opening of the Nantes tramway in 1985, more than twenty towns and cities across France have built new tram lines. As of 2020, there are 29 operational tram networks in France, with 3 more planned. France is also home to Alstom, a leading tram manufacturer.
The Casablanca Tramway is a low-floor tram system in Casablanca, Morocco. As of 2019, it consists of two lines - T1 from Sidi Moumen to Lissasfa, and T2 from Sidi Bernoussi to Aïn Diab—which intersect at 2 points and form a 47 km (29 mi) network with 71 stations. Two additional lines, T3 and T4, are scheduled to open in 2024.
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Metrovalencia, with the delivery of 16 trams until 1999. This was a variant of a Siemens design and some components were delivered by Siemens, including bogies and traction motors. This design was also sold to Lisbon Trams in 1995; CAF then decided to design and build the Urbos in-house.
The Algiers Tramway is a tram system which commenced service on 8 May 2011 in the Algerian capital, Algiers. By June 2012, the opened sections had a length of 16.2 kilometres (10.1 mi) and 28 stops and were operated by ETUSA, the public transport operator for the Algiers metropolitan area, using Alstom Citadis trams. Two extensions, to take the tramway to a total length of 23.2 kilometres (14.4 mi), opened on 16 April 2014 and 14 June 2015 respectively.
The Rabat–Salé tramway is a tram system in the Moroccan agglomeration of Rabat and Salé cities which opened on 23 May 2011.
The Vélez-Málaga Tram was operating between October 2006 and June 2012 connecting the Spanish town Vélez-Málaga with the coastal town Torre del Mar. It is the first modern low-floor tramway system service that has been taken out of service.
Urban rail transit in Africa has emerged as a growing form of transit due to rapid urbanization that has occurred in recent decades across the continent. Some of these transit systems are older and more developed, such as the metro in Cairo which opened in 1987. Others such as the light-rail system in Addis Ababa are much more recent, which opened 2015. A variety of technologies are being used ranging from light-rail, bus rapid-transit, and commuter-rail etc. Africa for several decades saw minimal investment in rail infrastructure, but in recent years due to urban population growth and improved financing options, investment in rail networks has increased.