Trams in Zürich, Switzerland (July 2020)

Trams make an important contribution to public transport in the city of Zürich in Switzerland. The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city. The city’s trams are operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), which also manages the tramway infrastructure within the city. The trams on the network run on 1,000 mm gauge track. As of 2020 there are 15 tram routes. The network comprises a total of 72.9 kilometres of route, and 170.9 kilometres of track. Trams have been a consistent part of Zürich’s streetscape since the 1880s. Electrified from the 1890s, they have seen off challenges including proposals to replace them by trolleybuses and by a metro or U-Bahn. With a relatively static city network from the 1930s to the late 1970s, the city’s trams have been expanding again since then. Recent expansions have taken the network into the suburbs beyond the city boundary, covering areas it retreated from in the first part of