Mainz tram

Mainz tram
Railcar 203 of the type GT6M at Mainz main station
Route length:	29.7 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	750 volts  =
Maximum slope :	95.49  ‰
Dual track :	all routes except: - Zahlbach – Bahnstraße - Jägerhaus – Am Schinnergraben
Legend Hindemithstrasse   51 53 ZDF VRM Marienborn train station Alzey – Mainz railway line Meadow road In the Borner Grund Mainzer Ring (A60) Wilhelm-Quetsch-Strasse Südring Hans-Böckler-Strasse / The Johanniter Ludwig-Nauth-Strasse Hildegard-von-Bingen-Strasse Mainz University of Applied Sciences 59 Jakob Heinz Street / Arena Kisselberg / Coface Germany Friedrich-von-Pfeiffer-Weg university Roman Spring 50 Jupiter way Poststrasse 51 Königsborn Mainzer Ring District boundary Viermorgenweg Kapellenstrasse health center Nerotalstrasse Wilhelm-Raabe-Straße Becker driving school Elbestrasse Hugo-Eckener-Strasse At the break point Gonsbach Gardens Turmstrasse Railway Station Waggonfabrik Zwerchallee Hall 45 Schott AG Customs port Inge-Reitz-Strasse 59 Tram and bus depot Tram office / MVG Bismarckplatz Goethestrasse Lessingstrasse Bahnstrasse 52 Lindenmühle nature show garden Zahlbach Roman stones ( former Hildegardis hospital ) Main cemetery blind center Employment Agency Catholic University of Applied Sciences Mainz West Taubertsbergbad Central Station Central Station Munsterplatz Schillerplatz At the Gautor At the Philippsschanze Paris gate Berlin street Kurmainz-Kaserne Academy of Sciences Mainzer Ring Hunter's House Büdinger Strasse Am Schinnergraben 52 Birkenstrasse Carl-Zeiss-Strasse Mill triangle Dornsheimer way Town House 50 53

The Mainz tram is a meter-gauge tram system in the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital Mainz . It was opened as a horse-drawn tram in 1884 and electrified from 1904, and steam trams operated at times . The responsible transport company is the Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG).

Today's line network

line	route	Stops	business
50	Finthen , Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim , community center	31	Furnishing operation
51	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Lerchenberg , Hindemithstrasse	35	Furnishing operation
52	Bretzenheim , Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben	18th	Bidirectional operation
53	Lerchenberg, Hindemithstraße ↔ Hechtsheim, community center	32	Furnishing operation
59	Bretzenheim , University of Applied Sciences Mainz ↔ Neustadt , Zollhafen Inge Reitz Strasse	12	Furnishing operation

Details about the clock

line	Monday - Friday (HVZ)	Monday - Friday (during the day)	Monday - Friday (summer and winter holidays) Saturdays 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.	Sunday Late traffic (daily from 8:30 p.m.)	night	Remarks
50	10	15th	20th	30th	60
51	10	15th	20th	30th	60
52	15th	15th	20th	30th	60
53	10	15th	20th	30th	no operation
59	30th	30th	30th	No operation	No operation

The joint operation of the branches Finthen-Hauptbahnhof on lines 50 and 51, Hechtsheim-Hauptbahnhof on lines 50 and 53 and Lerchenberg-Hauptbahnhof on lines 51 and 53 results in a 7/8 minute cycle or a 5-minute cycle on these branches. Minute intervals in rush hour traffic. During the summer and winter holidays, the branches of the route are only used every 10 minutes. Line 52 additionally strengthens the section Hauptbahnhof-Hechtsheim (to Jägerhaus).

In late-night traffic and on Sundays, there is a 15-minute cycle on the branches Finthen-Hauptbahnhof and Lerchenberg-Hauptbahnhof. The route section Hechtsheim-Hauptbahnhof is used with lines 50, 52 and 53 every 10 minutes.

history

Horse-drawn tram (1883 to 1904)

Horse tram at the Leichhof

In the course of the city ​​expansion of Mainz and in view of the Wiesbaden model from 1875, the desire for a public horse-drawn tram arose in Mainz. However, this project was delayed due to the negative attitude of the city architect Eduard Kreyssig until 1883. Planning and construction took place this year by the Berlin company Marcks & Balke ; the network was opened on September 26th. The operation was carried out privately: initially by Mainzer Straßenbahn AG , and from 1895 (together with the steam train ) by the Darmstadt-based Süddeutsche Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft (SEG). In the course of electrification , the city of Mainz acquired the tram.

From the beginning, the route network used the one meter gauge that is still used today . Over the years it was expanded and partly dismantled (in the area of ​​the Große Bleiche to make way for the steam train).

Most of the time there were three lines:

• Weisenau ↔ Neutor station ↔ Augustinerstraße ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bonifaziusplatz (today Hindenburgplatz) ↔ Boulevard ↔ Centralbahnhof
• Centralbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Fischtor ↔ Road Bridge ↔ Kastel
• Bonifaziusplatz ↔ Zollhafen ↔ Schlachthof (near today's Bismarckplatz )

When crossing the Rhine bridge, an increased bridge toll of five pfennigs was due, which was added to the fare.

The wagons were pulled by one horse, or two horses, depending on the route and load. There were closed carriages with side benches and a central aisle that offered up to 14 seats and 14 standing places, as well as open carriages with up to 40 seats in transverse rows of seats without a central aisle.

Since there was no workers' rush hour traffic, the trips could take place at a mostly even 9-minute interval between about 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. The Sunday schedule didn't differ much from that on weekdays, except that in the evenings the traffic for the returning day trippers was a bit denser and longer.

Steam tram (1891 to 1923)

Steam tram in Gonsenheim (Kaiserstraße, today Breite Straße) in 1903

Course of the steam tram on a historical city map

The interest of the communities close to the city of Bretzenheim , Hechtsheim and Finthen in a local transport connection led to the construction of a steam tram , opened on April 19, 1890 , which was operated by a consortium around Herrmann Bachstein , from 1895 by the SEG. There were two lines that ran a common route in the city center:

• Fischtor ↔ Große Bleiche ↔ Centralbahnhof ↔ Kirchhöfe train station (near today's employment office) ↔ Zahlbach ↔ Lindenmühle ↔ branch line to Bretzenheim and back ↔ via today's steam train route ↔ Jägerhaus ↔ Hechtsheim
• Fischtor ↔ Große Bleiche ↔ Centralbahnhof ↔ Kirchhöfe ↔ Finther Berg (in today's residential area Münchfeld ) ↔ Gonsenheim War Memorial ↔ Gonsenheim Kaiserstraße (today Breite Straße) ↔ Gonsenheim Leniaberg (today Kapellenstraße) ↔ Finthen

To the south-east of Gonsenheim, the steam tram crossed the Alzey – Mainz line in an underpass that still exists today. In the joint section of the two lines in front of the Große Bleiche, the tracks were used jointly by the horse and steam trams.

The trains usually had three to four cars, occasionally five or six (pulled by two locomotives). There were open and closed passenger cars as well as freight cars. The passenger cars usually offered seating and standing space for up to 64 people per car.

The route was mostly single-track, so that on weekdays about ten to a maximum of fifteen pairs of trains could run on the lines. There were fewer trains on Sundays; but there were special trains to the curb in Bretzenheim or Hechtsheim or other special occasions. The travel time of the routes was around 45 minutes.

During its operation, the steam train was unpopular with the Mainz people. Residents tried to shorten or completely remove the inner city part because of the nuisance, traffic obstructions and hazards they caused, but this did not take place initially. As early as 1906, the SEG planned to electrify the steam train and connect it to the Wiesbaden network; negotiations with the city were tough. The First World War delayed such efforts.

During the war, the steam train was increasingly used for military purposes. Due to a lack of staff, the route was shortened (the inner-city part to the main train station was now omitted). After the end of the war, the steam train went over to the city. The run-down material and the price increases that occurred in the course of the devaluation led to declining passenger numbers and unprofitable operations. Finally, the Finther and Hechtsheimer route sections were electrified and connected to the existing electric tram network, and the steam train service ended on June 9, 1923.

Electrification (1904)

A stone monument for the electrification of the Mainz “urban tram” from 1904 in Kaiser-Karl-Ring in Mainz-Neustadt

On July 15, 1904, the first “Städtische Straßenbahn” cars drove electrically through Mainz, replacing the horse-drawn tram that had been in operation since 1883. The first line went from Gutenbergplatz via Schillerplatz - Hauptbahnhof - Kaiserstraße - Boppstraße and Bismarckplatz to Mombach . The "Ringbahn" was added on September 1st, which circumnavigated the city center from the main train station via Kaisertor - Fischtor - Höfchen and Schillerplatz. On the same day, the Mombach wagons ran across Neubrunnenstrasse to Neubrunnenplatz. Further routes were added in quick succession: from the tram office to the Kaisertor and from Hindenburgplatz through Bauhofstrasse and Schusterstrasse to Höfchen (from October 20), then to Neutor (from December 1) and finally on to Weisenau (from December 21) . On January 1, 1905, the first wagons reached the Kastel train station and displaced the last horse-drawn trams. This ended the first expansion stage and 40 railcars provided service on the three lines.

Extension of the track (1906)

In 1906 the tram office - Ingelheimer Aue line was opened, followed by the Kastel - Kostheim and Waggonfabrik - Gonsenheim lines the following year . The first electric tram across the Große Bleiche started in 1916. After the end of the First World War, the Mainz tram took over the SEG steam trains in 1919. The network was significantly expanded and converted to electrical operation in the 1920s with the electrification of the Gonsenheim - Finthen and Münsterplatz - Alicenplatz - Bretzenheim steam railway lines . In addition, the Schillerplatz - Gaustraße - Hechtsheim line was opened in 1923 using the former steam train line from Jägerhaus. The line to the municipal hospital opened a year later, although it was closed again in 1927 after three years of operation. In the same year the Mainz tram network reached its greatest expansion with the commissioning of the line to Kostheim / Siedlung with 38.4 km. In 1931 the Boppstrasse line was shut down, and in 1943 the SEG lines 6 and 9 were taken over by the Mainz and Wiesbaden municipal utilities. Two years later, shortly before the end of the war, the war-related shutdown of the business from February 27th to July 28th with the final cessation of operations on the Große Bleiche and from Hindenburgplatz via Bauhofstrasse and Schusterstrasse to the Höfchen.

Post-war until today

Tram depot on Kaiser-Karl-Ring

In 1946 the new line to the university was opened, after the restoration of the Rhine bridge, continuous tram traffic to Kostheim, Wiesbaden and Wiesbaden-Schierstein took place again from 1950 . Lines 6 and 9 to Wiesbaden and WI-Schierstein were converted to bus operation in 1955, and the university line was also replaced by buses a year later. Two years later the last trams ran over the Rhine bridge to Kostheim.

In 1963, the Schillerplatz - Höfchen - Weisenau, Waggonfabrik - Mombach, on Kaiserstraße and between Höfchen and Liebfrauenplatz routes were discontinued. Two years later, with the cessation of operations from the tram office via Kaisertor to Liebfrauenplatz, the low point in Mainz tram history was reached.

Several modifications of the network followed with the opening of the district boundary - Finthen / Römerquelle in 1977, the Jägerhaus - Hechtsheim / Dornsheimer Weg route in 1989 and the opening of the Hechtsheim / Dornsheimer Weg - Bürgerhaus route in 1997 with the simultaneous closure of the tram office - Ingelheimer Aue route. As part of the renovation of the forecourt at Mainz main station, a track connection was also created that enables traffic from Bretzenheim to Hechtsheim. When the timetable was changed, the route was changed accordingly, so that the section from Bismarckplatz to the tram office was only used as an operating route ; the "Straßenbahnamt" stop has only been served by line 59 again since October 16, 2017. In 2000, the remaining tram lines in Mainz were given new numbers: 8 became 52, 10 and 11 became 50 and 51.

In 2007, a new double-track route was opened between the district boundary and Finthen, Poststrasse. The bottleneck in Gaustraße was also removed by expanding it to two tracks.

Names of the lines

In the first two decades of the existence of the tram, line numbers were not common in Mainz. The lines were designated with colors (red for Weisenau, green for Mombach, blue for the ring or circular railway and yellow for Gonsenheim). The steam tram was unofficially called the “black line” based on this system. In addition to the rotating directional sign on the roof, the railcars each had a signal lamp on the left and right that showed colored light in the dark according to the respective line.

Since the colors were not enough, these were also combined: to Finthen they drove red with yellow, to Hechtsheim white with blue etc. This system, which is also widespread elsewhere, was difficult to understand for strangers, so that from 1919 on, numbers were also available in Mainz introduced. They finally ranged from 1 to 13, but 6 and 9 were left out because the two SEG lines from Wiesbaden to Mainz had these numbers earlier.

From 1929 letters were also used: now there was line E (for " emergency vehicle ") and lines 4a and 4b also circulated for a while. The letters gave information about the direction of travel of the circular line.

Most of the line numbers remained permanently assigned to their route for many years or even decades: from 1919 to 1963, the "1" was the number of the route to Weisenau and then until 2000 the corresponding bus route number. The "7" was connected with Mombach from 1920 to 1963. The line to Bretzenheim had the number "8" from 1923 to 2000. The "10" was assigned to Finthen from 1922 to 2000.

There was a change, however, with the number "11": from 1923 to 1945 it connected Hechtsheim with the city center. Line number "5" was then assigned before the old state was restored in 1958, which lasted until 2000.

The line "6" from Wiesbaden retained its name for the longest. The year it was created seems to have been 1906 or 1909. Since then, it has connected Wiesbaden with Mainz, even if the endpoints in both cities have changed. When the line network was reformed in 2000, it and line “9” retained the previous number. The remaining Mainz inland lines received numbers between 50 and 99 after consultation with Wiesbaden.

The line network had grown over time. This offered the opportunity to adapt the routes to the new infrastructures and customer requirements. The new line numbers were created for two reasons:

• The Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund RMV and the Rhein-Nahe-Nahverkehrsverbund RNN jointly assigned the Verkehrsverbund Mainz-Wiesbaden VMW with the standardization of the names of the lines with the fundamental change of the line network on May 28, 2000 the line numbers 1-99.
• The ESWE Verkehrsgesellschaft retained its network of routes, so that the VMW assigned the number range 1–49 to ESWE under pressure from RMV and RNN. The transport companies at that time decided to use route numbers 50–99.

For this reason, the trams received new line numbers starting with 50. Since a larger network expansion and the introduction of further lines were not expected, the omission of a number (53) between the highest assigned line number for trams (52) and the lowest line number for pure bus routes (54) seemed sufficient.

The tram across the Rhine

There have been transport links between Mainz on the left bank of the Rhine, the Kastel district on the right bank of the Rhine and other places on the right bank of the Rhine . Initially ship bridges or local boats were used for traffic, but the fixed Rhine bridge opened in 1885 improved the connection considerably.

In 1886, the horse-drawn tram between Mainz Central Station and the then important station in Kastel began operation, but electric trams could also use the bridge.

Already three months before the Mainz trams, SEG trams from Wiesbaden were the first to cross the bridge electrically.

Until 1912, a " bridge fee" had to be paid for crossing the bridge . The Hessian state had leased the collection, but the money flowed into it. For the tram passengers, the bridge fee was included in the fare and was paid annually at a flat rate. All caponiers (including the two on the Kastel side) disappeared when the bridge was widened in 1933/34.

However, since the tracks and overhead lines were owned by the city of Mainz, the SEG had to pay a usage fee for their journeys and also pay for the required traction current from the Mainz electrical works. This condition remained until the handover of lines 6 and 9 to the two municipal utilities in the war year 1943.

The tram as advertising space

The horse-drawn tram, steam train, and electric tram were not well funded. The private owners, but also later the tram office, sought possible additional income. As a rule, this could only be achieved by leasing advertising space. At the beginning of the 1920s, the "platform advertising" appeared: Large sheet metal panels were installed on the front and back of the trams, and a little later, advertising spaces were also set up on the roof.

After the Second World War, they went one step further and turned the tram itself into a traveling advertisement: one of the oldest still existing wagons was given a “plywood cover” and was now used as a traveling advertising space.

vehicles

Development of the rolling stock

In 1904 and 1905, 40 railcars were delivered as the initial equipment. The platforms, which were initially open, were gradually partially closed from 1909. Some vehicles of this series were in use for up to 50 years, some of them were converted into sidecars over the years . In 1907 another six, slightly modified cars were delivered.

In 1907 ten of these cars were put into service for the Gonsenheim Line. The platforms were completely closed, so that the vehicles were soon popularly called "glass wagons". The last copies went "out of service" after 51 years. Between 1915 and 1917 the Waggonfabrik Gebr. Gastell in Mainz-Mombach supplied vehicles for the Mainz tram for the first time . In the first twenty years of the tram's existence, passengers had to be content with wooden benches or seats. Longitudinal benches were the rule at first, but soon there were also transverse seats, the backrests of which could be partially folded down according to the direction of travel. Since there was no heating, people made do with cushions on the benches and frieze curtains on the windows in winter.

From 1927 the newly delivered railcars appeared with upholstered seats covered with leather, and heaters now also made driving pleasant in cool weather. Now all vehicles newly put into service had mostly transverse seats and only a few longitudinal benches and these mostly near the door. Following the trend of time and costs, artificial leather replaced the natural raw material after the Second World War. Fabric upholstery - mostly plush covers - is now standard in all vehicles.

After acquisitions in 1925, 1929, 1950 and 1952, seven six-axle Westwaggon articulated wagons (No. 121–127, later 221–227) were acquired from the end of 1958 , which initially ran exclusively between Hechtsheim and Finthen. With a series of six-axle vehicles comprising eight cars from 1965, now built by Düwag (No. 128–135, later 228–235), the last prewar cars could be retired. To replace the remaining two- and three-axle vehicles, additional Düwag vehicles were purchased used. The four-axle open seating cars no. 206-211 came from 1957 and were previously in service with the closed tram companies in Mönchengladbach and Aachen . You came to Mainz in 1973. From 1973 to 1975 ten used six-axle articulated wagons built in 1960 and 1961 from Heidelberg (car no. 236–245) were also acquired, which could no longer be used there due to the closure of routes with reversible loops. With these vehicles came first mover carriage to Mainz. The vehicles from Düwag and Westwaggon shaped the image of the Mainz tram for a long time. In order to replace vehicles that had been canceled due to accident damage, three Düwag one-way vehicles from Essen were on loan under the numbers 250-252 in Mainz in the early 1980s .

From 1984 onwards, six new eight-axle vehicles of the M light rail vehicle with chopper control (M8C, road numbers 271-276), which had already proven themselves in other transport companies , were acquired. From 1988 these were supplemented by four more light rail vehicles M built in 1975, which were acquired used from Bielefeld (No. 277-280). In contrast to the Mainz new wagons, these were equipped with a switchgear control (type M8S). With the Stadtbahnwagen M, on the one hand the increased volume of traffic could be taken into account, but on the other hand the rental cars from Essen could be dispensed with and the four-axle open-plan cars decommissioned.

M8C and GT6M-ZR at the main station

From the mid-1990s, the MVG relied on low-floor wagons . The first 16 continuously low-floor articulated railcars of the type GT6M-ZR have been in service since the end of 1996 (car no. 201-216). Before that, it had taken more than 20 years for the first “traffic island” to emerge, so boarding at the stops was a little easier. From the 1980s onwards, the installation of low platforms was consistently started on the routes on a special track , so that boarding could be barrier-free .

Variobahn with Mainzelbahn advertising in the Wendeschleife Hechtsheim Bürgerhaus

In June 2009 MVG ordered nine Variobahn vehicles from the manufacturer Stadler Rail (car 217–225). The new vehicles are 30 meters long and offer space for 174 passengers (66 seats). MVG ordered the vehicles together with the Grazer Verkehrsbetriebe . These take 45 trains, which resulted in a price advantage for MVG. The investment volume is around 20 million euros. MVG is thus dispensing with the initially planned low-floor conversion of the high-floor M8C cars. The first Variobahn with the number 217 was delivered to Mainz on September 9, 2011. The technical acceptance took place in the tram workshop and on the MVG route network. The first Variobahn has been in regular service since December 19, 2011. The remaining vehicles in the first order were delivered from the beginning of 2012. In a second order, ten additional Variobahns were purchased between 2015 and 2016 (No. 227–236). However, the Variobahns cannot be used on line 52, as the route ends in Bretzenheim without a turning loop.

Current vehicle fleet (line vehicles)

Type M8 high-floor car 276

Manufacturer	Type	number	Numbers	Years of construction	low-floor	Art	Remarks
Duewag / Siemens	M8S	01	277	1975	No	Bidirectional vehicle	1987/89 used taken over by the Bielefeld tram . The original 4 vehicles were shut down on November 27, 2013. Vehicles 278-280 were scrapped in 2016.
Duewag / Siemens	M8C	06th	271-276	1984	No	Bidirectional vehicle	Between October 2015 and the beginning of 2017 for 6 months each for modernization in Prague
Adtrance	GT6M-ZR	16	201-216	1996	Yes	Bidirectional vehicle
Stadler Rail	Variobahn	09	217-225	2011/12	Yes	One-way vehicle
Stadler Rail	Variobahn	10	227-236	2015/16	Yes	One-way vehicle

depot

To park and maintain the trams, car sheds, workshops and an administration for the municipal tram were built in 1904 on a plot of land in the Neustadt corner of Rheinallee / Kaiser-Karl-Ring - at that time on the outskirts of the city. Up to 60 wagons could be parked on eight tracks at night. As early as 1908, the hall, which was the "depot" for the Mainz-based company, had to be extended in order to be able to accommodate the wagons of the Gonsenheim line. After the steam train lines to Bretzenheim, Hechtsheim and Finthen were changed, it was no longer sufficient and a second wagon hall was built in 1927 along the Kaiser-Karl-Ring with seven tracks. It stood there for only 17 years before air raids in 1944 totally destroyed it, including the fleet of cars housed there. The old carriage hall built in 1904/08 was also significantly damaged in the process and in the final weeks of the Second World War.

In 1949 the destroyed hall was put back into operation. Over the years, halls and workshops no longer met modern requirements. The newly added cars could no longer be overhauled in the paint shop because it was only designed for short vehicles. It was similar in the cramped main workshop, which left no space to repair the articulated trolleys, not to mention the difficult working conditions for the workshop staff. That is why it was decided in the early 1970s to demolish the old buildings and to build a new building on the existing site. From 1975 the first construction phases could be handed over to operation. Storage hall, workshops, control center, parts of the administration and social rooms including the driving school are now united under one roof and offer trams and buses a long-term place to stay.

Current situation

Since the unanimous fundamental decision of the Mainz city council in 2003 to maintain the tram, investments have been made in the existing tram network.

The single-track section in Bretzenheim was renovated in autumn 2003 after 75 years. In the summer of 2004, Gaustraße, which was the bottleneck in the network in Mainz with 32 trams at the top every hour and over 15,000 passengers a day, was expanded to double tracks.

The new transfer station at Hechtsheimer Mühldreieck improves the interaction between bus and tram in the interest of customer-oriented and economical public transport in Mainz. Bus lines 67 and 660 continue to run parallel to the tram in the direction of the city center, as they continue beyond the Mühldreieck stop.

The line to Finther Poststrasse was expanded to two tracks in 2007.

On the night of March 24-25, 2018, tram traffic was stopped in order to increase the voltage from 600 to 750 volts after extensive preparatory work on the substations in 2016 and 2017.

Network expansion

"Mainzelbahn"

Construction site of the “Mainzelbahn” near the Opel-Arena on December 23, 2014.

In December 2009, the city council coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP committed itself to the further expansion of the Mainz tram in its coalition agreement. Before that, the SPD, Greens, ÖDP, FDP and CDU had decided in November 2009 in the city council to examine the expansion of the tram network to Lerchenberg. On March 2, 2010, Stadtwerke Mainz AG, the parent company of Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft, announced its plans for the expansion under the name “Mainzelbahn”. The plan approval procedure was initiated on January 30, 2012, and was concluded on September 4, 2013 with the issuing of the plan approval decision. For the route, corridors were kept free in zoning plans from the 1980s, which made planning easier.

From May 2014, the 9.2 kilometer long, double-track new line with 16 stops from the West Central Station via the University , Opel-Arena , (Fach) Hochschule , Bretzenheim and Marienborn to Lerchenberg was built .

Variobahn on the Lerchenberg, April 2017

On November 24, 2014, the first tracks were laid near Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz . The tracks were already in place on around four of the nine-kilometer route in October 2015, and some of the new bridges were close to being completed on October 12, 2015. A first test drive took place on November 28, 2016. With the timetable change on December 11, 2016, the MVG started regular service.

The total costs could not be quantified in August 2019 and in 2016 were already over 90 million euros and thus 20 million euros above the originally planned amount, 53 million euros are to be borne by the federal and state governments. With an additional dividend payment from the Mainz-Wiesbaden power plants , which is possible due to the failure of the planned coal-fired power plant , the municipal utilities can invest an additional 20 million euros. 11 million euros are to come from the Stadtwerke's own assets. The calculations assume up to one million additional passengers annually. In 2017, this number was exceeded after just three months, according to the Mainzer Stadtwerke.

line	route	Stops	business
50	Finthen , Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim , community center	31	Furnishing operation
51	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Lerchenberg, Hindemithstrasse	35	Furnishing operation
52	Bretzenheim , Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben	18th	Bidirectional operation
53	Hechtsheim, Bürgerhaus ↔ Lerchenberg, Hindemithstrasse	32	Furnishing operation
59	Neustadt, Zollhafen ↔ Bretzenheim, Mainz University of Applied Sciences	12	Furnishing operation

Connection to the Zollhafen city quarter

Tram line 59 on the route completed in 2017 towards Zollhafen

To connect the new city quarter on the site of the former customs port , the route leading today from Bismarckplatz via Kaiser-Karl-Ring to the depot was extended by around 500 meters. It crosses Rheinallee and then follows to the north “roughly the lines of the street Am Zoll- und Binnenhafen” and ends in a loop around an apartment block. The customs port is the terminus of line 59, which has been running from there to the university of applied sciences since October 16, 2017.

CityBahn Bad Schwalbach-Taunusstein-Wiesbaden-Mainz

→ Main article : Wiesbaden tram

At the end of September 2016, new plans for an almost 40-kilometer tram system called CityBahn for the Bad Schwalbach - Taunusstein - Wiesbaden - Mainz route were announced. The plans provide for a connection to the Mainz tram network, with a route in Wiesbaden from the RheinMain University via Wiesbaden Central Station, through Biebrich, Mainz-Amöneburg, Mainz-Kastel and further over the Theodor-Heuss Bridge to Mainz Central Station (West) . The maintenance of the wagons and the staff would be the responsibility of the Mainz transport company. In February 2018, the Mainz city council decided to start the planning phase for the construction of the new route. Mainzer Stadtwerke AG holds around 32.45% of the CityBahn GmbH.

Further expansion

In June 2020, the Mainz city council passed a fundamental resolution for the further expansion of the tram network. This includes the construction of a connecting bar between Alicenplatz and Münsterplatz in order to relieve the station forecourt as a public transport hub. In addition, this section is to be part of the city railway line in Mainz. The connection of the new residential quarter Heiligkreuzviertel in the districts of Oberstadt and Weisenau is also planned. First of all, a feasibility study should be carried out on the attractiveness of this connection. A third focus is the construction of an inner city ring from Bismarckplatz via Neustadt and the old town (including Höfchen) to Schillerplatz.

In addition to the three measures mentioned, the long-term further development of the tram network - especially with possible connections to the Rhine-Hessian region - is to be worked out with a study taking into account the changed GVFG funding.

Line network chronicle

From July 16, 1904

line	Line route
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Kaiserstr. ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen
9	Biebrich ↔ Amöneburg ↔ Brückenplatz

Line 9 started running on April 30, 1904. Line 7 was the first electric tram line in Mainz.

From January 1, 1905

line	Line route
1	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor ↔ Weisenau
3	Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Central Station
4th	Kastel → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kastel
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Neubrunnenplatz
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein

Line 3 began operating on September 1, 1904, followed by line 1 on October 20, 1904. Line 4 was opened on January 1, 1905.

From May 31, 1906

line	Line route
1	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor ↔ Weisenau
2	Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor
3	Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Central Station
4th	Central station ↔ Höfchen ↔ bridgehead ↔ Kastel
6th	Wiesbaden / Unter den Eichen ↔ Biebrich Ost ↔ Gabelung ↔ Kastel ↔ Brückenkopf ↔ Mainz / Brückenplatz
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Neubrunnenplatz
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein

Line 2 started operating on June 1, 1906. The course of Line 4 was changed on June 1, 1905.

From June 15, 1907

line	Line route
1	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor ↔ Weisenau
2	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor
3	Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Central Station
4th	Central station ↔ Höfchen ↔ bridgehead ↔ Kastel
5	Bismarckplatz ↔ Gonsenheim / school
6th	Wiesbaden / Wilhelmstrasse; Kurhaus ↔ Biebrich Ost ↔ fork ↔ Kastel ↔ bridgehead ↔ Mainz / Brückenplatz
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Neubrunnenplatz
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein

Line 2 was extended to Bismarckplatz. Line 5 went into operation.

From November 1, 1912

line	Line route
1	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor ↔ Weisenau
2	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Stadtpark / Steig
3	Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Central Station
4th	Central station ↔ Höfchen ↔ bridgehead ↔ Kastel
5	Bismarckplatz ↔ Gonsenheim / Lennebergplatz
6th	Wiesbaden / Wilhelmstrasse; Kurhaus ↔ Biebrich Ost ↔ fork ↔ Kastel ↔ bridgehead ↔ Mainz / Brückenplatz
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Neubrunnenplatz
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein

Line 2 ran from November 1, 1911 to Stadtpark / Steig. Line 5 was extended to Gonsenheim / Lennebergplatz on May 1, 1908. From November 15, 1911 to October 31, 1912 was Wiesbaden - Hauptbahnhof, the terminus of line 6.

From February 6, 1916

line	Line route
1	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Neutor ↔ Weisenau
2	Bismarckplatz ↔ Rheintor ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Bauhofstr. ↔ Höfchen ↔ Stadtpark / Steig
3	Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Central Station
4th	Central station ↔ Höfchen ↔ bridgehead ↔ Kastel
5	Kostheim / Main Bridge ↔ Kastel ↔ Bridgehead ↔ Große Bleiche ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Gonsenheim / Lennebergplatz
6th	Wiesbaden / Wilhelmstrasse; Kurhaus ↔ Biebrich Ost ↔ fork ↔ Kastel ↔ bridgehead ↔ Mainz / Brückenplatz
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Boppstr. ↔ Neubrunnenplatz
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein

Line 5 started traffic to Kostheim / Mainbrücke.

From July 29, 1945

line	Line route
10	Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

The section between Bismarckplatz and Finthen was the first to be put back into operation after the end of the war.

From December 23, 1945

line	Line route
1	Central station ↔ Höfchen
7th	Central station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Mombach
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Schillerplatz ↔ Gautor ↔ Hechtsheim
9	Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

Line 1 resumed operations on the Hauptbahnhof - Höfchen line as the first section. Line 7 ran between the main train station and Mombach on August 23, 1945. Line 8 ran from September 19, 1945 between Bretzenheim and the main train station, from October 27 between Bretzenheim and Schillerplatz and from November 11, 1945 between Bretzenheim and Gautor. Line 9 ran again for the first time on the right bank of the Rhine on August 2, 1945. From August 5, 1945, line 10 ran between the main station and Finthen.

From February 21, 1946

line	Line route
1	Tram Office ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Stadtpark ↔ Weisenau
7th	Central station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Mombach
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Schillerplatz ↔ Gautor ↔ Hechtsheim
9	Amöneburg / Chemical Works ↔ Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

Line 1 ran from January 27, 1946 between the main train station and the city park. From April 1, line 1 was extended from the tram office to Ingelheimer Aue. Line 9 was extended to Amöneburg on February 6, 1946.

From May 1, 1946

line	Line route
1	Tram Office ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Stadtpark ↔ Weisenau
3	Central station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ tram office ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
6th	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Wiesbaden main post office
7th	Central station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Mombach
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Schillerplatz ↔ Gautor ↔ Hechtsheim
9	Amöneburg / Chemical Works ↔ Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

The section Ingelheimer Aue - tram office of line 1 was taken over by line 3. Line 6 first ran again on March 21, 1946 between Kastel / Gabelung and Wiesbaden Hauptpost and was extended to Kastel / Wiesbadener Strasse on April 4, 1946.

From May 16, 1946

line	Line route
1	Tram Office ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Stadtpark ↔ Weisenau
2	University ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Südbahnhof ↔ City Park / Steig
3	Central station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ tram office ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
4th	Central station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ bridgehead ↔ Höfchen ↔ central station
6th	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Wiesbaden main post office
7th	Central station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Mombach
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Schillerplatz ↔ Gautor ↔ Hechtsheim
9	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

On May 16, 1946, the new line to the university was opened. Line 4 ran in both directions from July 17, 1946 and opened up the city center as the "small round railway". Line 9 ran to Amöneburg / Chemische Werke until August 4, 1946 and Amöneburg / Ausweiche from August 5, 1946. On December 1, 1946, line 9 was extended to Kastel / Wiesbadener Strasse.

From June 22, 1947

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tramway Office ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	University ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Südbahnhof
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Tram Office
6th	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Wiesbaden main post office
7th	Mombach → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Mombach
8th	Bretzenheim → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Bretzenheim
9	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen
11	Kastel / Wiesbadener Straße ↔ Kostheim Place

Lines 3 and 4 were closed on June 22, 1947. Line 11 ran from November 30, 1947.

From April 16, 1950

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz / Kaisertor ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	University ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kastel Bahnhof
3	Steig ↔ Höfchen
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Kaisertor / Bismarckplatz ↔ Tram Office
6th	Mainz Central Station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Wiesbaden Main Post Office
7th	Mombach ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim Ort
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim settlement
9	Mainz Central Station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Biebrich ↔ Schierstein
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

After the road bridge was rebuilt, tram traffic to the suburbs on the right bank of the Rhine and to Wiesbaden was resumed.

Lines 6 and 9 were shared with Wiesbaden. Lines 1 and 5 ran in opposite directions between the main train station and the tram office via Kaisertor and Bismarckplatz, so that the 5 could end without using a track loop or turning system.

Except for lines 6 and 9, all lines ran every 20 minutes; 6 and 9 every 15 minutes; Sunday mornings and evenings every 30 minutes

Line 3 was not operated in the evenings and on Sunday mornings.

From May 1, 1955

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz / Kaisertor ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	University ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kastel Bahnhof
3	Steig ↔ Höfchen
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Kaisertor / Bismarckplatz ↔ Tram Office
7th	Mombach ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim Ort
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim settlement
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen

Lines 6 and 9 were shut down on May 1, 1955. The city of Wiesbaden used this opportunity to part with their last inner-city line 8 (Hauptpost – Biebrich).

From September 1, 1955

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz / Kaisertor ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	University ↔ Hauptbahnhof ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kastel Bahnhof
3	Hauptbahnhof → Kaisertor → Bridgehead → Höfchen → Hauptbahnhof
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Kaisertor / Bismarckplatz ↔ Tram Office
7th	Mombach ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim settlement
8th	Bretzenheim → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Bretzenheim
10	Kostheim City ↔ Kastel ↔ Brückenkopf ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen
11	Gonsenheim ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station

After the closure of lines 6 and 9, some line adjustments were made. Line 10 connected Finthen with Kostheim, line 7 was relocated to Kostheim Siedlung and line 8 was converted into a circular railway line through the city. Line 11 ran only to a limited extent from Monday to Saturday and from 1 p.m. on Sundays.

From June 15, 1956

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	Central station → Höfchen → Kastel station → Kostheim place → Kastel station → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof
3	Hauptbahnhof → Kaisertor → Bridgehead → Höfchen → Hauptbahnhof
4th	Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Tram Office
7th	Mombach ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim settlement
10	Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen
11	Kostheim City ↔ Kastel ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Kapellenstrasse (↔ Finthen)

3 and 4 form a ring line moving in opposite directions. Lines 1 and 5 kept the same route as in 1950. The newly built route to the university was closed for the expansion of Saarstrasse (which was not implemented until 1964). Line 8 was replaced by buses between Bretzenheim and the main train station. The reason for this was the new construction of the station bridge due to work on electrification by the Deutsche Bundesbahn. The section of line 8 through the city center was temporarily replaced by line 4.

From May 12, 1957

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz / Kaisertor ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	Central station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kastel train station
3	Hauptbahnhof → Kaisertor → Bridgehead → Höfchen → Hauptbahnhof
5	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Kaisertor / Bismarckplatz ↔ Tram Office
7th	Mombach ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kostheim settlement
8th	Bretzenheim → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Bretzenheim
10	Kostheim City ↔ Kastel ↔ Brückenkopf ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Gonsenheim ↔ Finthen
11	Gonsenheim ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station

Line 4 was closed on May 12, 1957, and line 8 resumed operations. The route network thus essentially corresponded to the status of September 1, 1955.

From September 1, 1958

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
2	Central station ↔ Kaisertor ↔ tram office (only Mon-Fri during peak hours)
3	Hauptbahnhof → Kaisertor → Bridgehead → Höfchen → Hauptbahnhof
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tram Office (↔ Ingelheimer Aue only Monday-Friday during peak hours)
8th	Bretzenheim → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Bretzenheim
10	Hauptbahnhof ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim (↔ Finthen)
11	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Kapellenstrasse (↔ Finthen)

In the course of the closure of the last stretches on the right bank of the Rhine, line 5 was also closed. The section Hechtsheim ↔ Hauptbahnhof was taken over by line 11.

From June 7, 1960

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tram Office (↔ Ingelheimer Aue only Monday-Friday during peak hours)
8th	Bretzenheim → Hauptbahnhof → Höfchen → Bridgehead → Kaisertor → Hauptbahnhof → Bretzenheim
10	Hauptbahnhof ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim (↔ Finthen)
11	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Kapellenstrasse (↔ Finthen)

Lines 2 and 3 were shut down due to their now dangerous route in Kaiserstraße to prevent one-way traffic.

From May 24, 1961

line	Line route
1	Weisenau ↔ Höfchen ↔ Central Station ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
7th	Mombach ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tram Office (↔ Ingelheimer Aue only Monday-Friday during peak hours)
8th	Bretzenheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Höfchen ↔ Rhine Bridge (Schlosstor)
10	Hauptbahnhof ↔ Bismarckplatz ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Gonsenheim (↔ Finthen)
11	Hechtsheim ↔ Central Station ↔ Waggonfabrik ↔ Kapellenstrasse (↔ Finthen)

After the closure of the lines on the right bank of the Rhine, a new single-track line was built on the Rheinstrasse between Brückenplatz and Schlosstor. The tracks on the ramps of the Rhine bridge could thus be shut down. Line 8 now ended at the "Rheinbrücke" stop in the Schlosstor / Große Bleiche area.

From October 28, 1963

line	Line route
7th	Brückenplatz ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tram Office ↔ (Ingelheimer Aue)
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Gonsenheim, Kapellenstrasse ↔ Central Station - Schillerplatz
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

On October 28, 1963, the sections from Höfchen to Weisenau, from Schillerplatz to Brückenplatz and from Mombach to the wagon factory were closed. Line 7 only ran during peak hours to Ingelheimer Aue. The days of service on line 10 were Monday to Friday only during peak hours.

From December 18, 1963

line	Line route
7th	Liebfrauenplatz ↔ Brückenplatz ↔ Kaisertor ↔ Tram Office ↔ (Ingelheimer Aue)
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Gonsenheim, Kapellenstrasse ↔ Central Station - Schillerplatz
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

From December 18, 1963, line 7 was again extended to Liebfrauenplatz. Line 7 only ran during peak hours to Ingelheimer Aue. The days of service on line 10 were Monday to Friday only during peak hours.

From November 1, 1965

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Gonsenheim, Kapellenstrasse ↔ Kurmainz-Kaserne ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

From November 2 to December 12, 1965, line 10 ran between Kurmainz barracks and Gonsenheim Kapellenstrasse. On December 13, 1965, line 10 was extended to Hechtsheim Am Schinnergraben. The days of service on line 10 were Monday to Friday only during peak hours.

From August 20, 1970

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Gonsenheim, Viermorgenweg ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

Line 10 was extended to Gonsenheim Viermorgenweg, but only ran Monday to Friday during peak hours. From September 28, 1974, line 10 also ran on Saturdays (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

From July 1, 1977

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

On July 1, 1977, the approx. 1 km long new line to the Römerquelle was inaugurated almost 3 years after the start of construction.

From August 9, 1989

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Ingelheimer Aue
10	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, Dornsheimer Weg
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

On August 9, 1989, the new line via Rheinhessenstrasse to the Hechtsheim, Dornsheimer Weg stop was completed.

From November 7, 1997

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstraße ↔ Central Station ↔ (Bismarckplatz)
10	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

On November 7, 1997, line 8 to Ingelheimer Aue was discontinued; instead, Bismarckplatz became the new terminus. In late-night traffic and on Sundays, line 8 only ran to the main train station. Line 10 was extended to Hechtsheim Bürgerhaus.

From October 18, 1999

line	Line route
8th	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Am Gautor
10	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
11	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

By converting the tracks at the main train station into a triangle , it was now possible to run line 8 in the direction of Schillerplatz and on to Gautor.

From May 28, 2000 to August 27, 2006

line	Line route
50	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
51	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
52	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

In 2000, the lines in Wiesbaden and Mainz were numbered jointly. The Mainz lines were given numbers from 50. The line from Bretzenheim (now line 52) was extended from Gautor to Hechtsheim. Between July 19 and August 29, 2004, the tracks in the lower part of Gaustraße, between Breidenbacherstraße and Acker street, were expanded to two-track. During this time there was a replacement rail service between the main station and Hechtsheim.

From August 28, 2006 to October 19, 2008

line	Line route
50	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
51	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
52	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, community center

The section between Jägerhaus and Am Schinnergraben was temporarily closed as a result of the expansion of the A 60 (motorway tunnel). Line 52 ran to Bürgerhaus, the branch between Jägerhaus and Am Schinnergraben was served by a shuttle bus. In the period from July 9, 2007 to October 19, 2007, the line between the district boundary and Finthen Poststrasse was expanded to include two tracks. During this time there was a replacement rail service between Viermorgenweg and Finthen Poststraße.

From October 20, 2008 to December 10, 2016

line	Line route
50	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
51	Finthen, Poststrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
52	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben

From December 11, 2016 to October 15, 2017

line	Line route
50	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
51	Lerchenberg, Hindemithstrasse ↔ Finthen, Poststrasse
52	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben
53	Lerchenberg, Hindemithstraße ↔ Hechtsheim, community center

With the opening of the Mainzelbahn, the new line 53 from Lerchenberg to Hechtsheim was created. Furthermore, since then the line 51, coming from Finthen, has been running from the main station via the new route to the Lerchenberg, instead of the usual to Hechtsheim.

From March 1, 2017 to September 29, Bahnhofstrasse was rebuilt. The tram network was adjusted accordingly due to the construction work: Line 50 only ran on the Finthen / Römerquelle - Hauptbahnhof section and from there as line 51 in the direction of Lerchenberg or line 52 in the direction of Bretzenheim and vice versa. Line 51 remained unchanged in terms of the route, but was reinforced accordingly on the Lerchenberg - Hauptbahnhof section by the discontinued line 53. Line 52 ran in two parts on the sections Hechtsheim / Am Schinnergraben - Am Gautor and Hauptbahnhof - Bretzenheim / Bahnstraße. Line 53 only ran on the Hechtsheim / Bürgerhaus - Am Gautor section. A replacement bus service has been set up between the Am Gautor and Hauptbahnhof West stops.

Due to the ongoing construction process, island tram traffic between Hechtsheim and the Am Gautor stop was suspended on May 24, 2017. The eight trams stationed in Hechtsheim Bürgerhaus were brought back to the depot. From May 25, 2017 to September 29, 2017, a bus replacement service was set up between Hechtsheim and the West Central Station.

Since October 16, 2017

line	Line route
50	Finthen, Römerquelle ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
51	Lerchenberg, Hindemithstrasse ↔ Finthen, Poststrasse
52	Bretzenheim, Bahnstrasse ↔ Hechtsheim, Am Schinnergraben
53	Lerchenberg, Hindemithstraße ↔ Hechtsheim, community center
59	Zollhafen ↔ Mainz University of Applied Sciences

In October 2017, the new line 59 started operating. This leads from the customs port via Neustadt and Hauptbahnhof in the direction of the university.

In a car accident on November 14, 2017, the power supply and a concrete mast of the overhead line were so badly damaged that the route from the Jägerhaus to the Schinnergraben could not be driven. The trams on line 52 ran until November 30, 2017 to the Dornsheimer Weg stop, and from December 1, 2017 to the Kurmainz-Kaserne stop. A rail replacement service was set up between Kurmainz barracks and Am Schinnergraben. The repair work was completed in April 2018. Since April 8, 2018, line 52 has been running again to the final stop Am Schinnergraben.

particularities

Gaustraße with a 9.549 percent gradient

Since the expansion in 2004, the incline in Gaustraße, at 9.549 percent, is the steepest route for a tram without a climbing aid (e.g. cogwheel railway or cable car ) in Germany. Before that, the Würzburg tram had the steepest route. The two cities of Remscheid (10.8 percent) and Neunkirchen (Saar) (eleven percent), as well as Augsburg (Perlachberg) , also claimed the “title” of the steepest tram in Germany .

Tram friends Mainz e. V.

Railcar 93 from 1929

Railcar 97

The tram friends Mainz e. V. have been organizing city ​​tours in vintage trams under the title TRAMaturgie since 2007 in cooperation with Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH . The focus is alternating on the history of the city and traffic (route, vehicles). The entire route network is used. In addition to the explanations, historical photographs and plans are also shown. Three vehicles are used for this:

• Railcar 93: built in 1929 by Westwaggon Werk Gebr. Gastell in Mainz-Mombach and restored in 1996 by the transport company of the city of Łódź in Poland. The vehicle has 22 seats.
• Railcar 97: built as a so-called body car in 1950 by Westwaggon in Cologne-Deutz. This vehicle also has 22 seats.
• Articulated railcar 226: the last tram car manufactured by Westwaggon in the Gastell Gebr. Plant in Mainz-Mombach with 38 seats today.

The first trip took place on Sunday, April 22nd, 2007 and went from Mainz Central Station to Mainz-Bretzenheim.

In 2008, the guided tours were dedicated to the celebration of "125 years of local public transport in Mainz" and a line vehicle, articulated multiple unit 276, built in 1984, was also used.

In the Mainz district of Hechtsheim there is a footpath called “Zur Elektrisch”. It leads from “Alte Mainzer Straße” to the turning stop “Am Schinnergraben”.

literature

• Anniversary brochure: When the spark leaps over! Publication date: July 3, 2004, publisher: Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft mbH, editors: Harald Neise (MVG), Dirk Weismüller (MVG).
• Wilhelm Huber: The Mainz Lexicon. Verlag Hermann Schmidt, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-87439-600-2 .
• Harald Neise: Mainz and its tram 1883–1983. Kohlhammer 1983.
• Harald Neise: 111 years of Mainz public transport 1883–1994. 1994.
• Günther Herbst: 125 years of the Mainz tram 1883–2008: The last 14 years 1994–2008. 2008.
• D. Höltge: German trams and light rail vehicles. Volume 4 Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland. Verlag Zeunert, Gifhorn 1981, ISBN 3-921237-60-2 , pp. 134-177.
• M. Kochems, D. Höltge: Trams and light rail vehicles in Germany , Volume 12 Rhineland-Palatinate / Saarland , EK-Verlag, Freiburg (2011), pp. 138-191, ISBN 978-3-88255-393-2 .
• Martin Pächer: Tram & Port Railway . From the Ingelheimer Aue to the customs port. Editor of Tram Friends Mainz e. V., Mainz 2018, ISBN 978-3-947007-03-5 .

Web links

Commons : Mainzer Straßenbahn  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Contemporary description of the steam train and "electric" on the way to Gonsenheim (1907)
• Tram friends Mainz
• Mainz transport company
• Mainzelbahn
• Opening ride of the Mainzelbahn on December 10, 2016
• CityBahn

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Mainz line network from 2017 ( Memento from December 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ ^{a b c} tram line 59
3. ↑ Tonia Hufen: 125 years of local public transport in Mainz ( Memento from February 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ New trams offer more comfort ( Memento of June 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), Allgemeine Zeitung
5. ↑ MVG press release
6. ↑ List of tram vehicles. Website of the Tram Friends Mainz, accessed on January 4, 2017 . 
7. ↑ Last stop in Trier
8. ↑ Buses replace trams: MVG is renewing ailing tracks in Mainz during the Easter holidays. Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz , March 20, 2018, accessed on April 11, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Archived Kopieainz.de/liniennetz2017.html ( Memento from January 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
10. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung : 27 filled files: MVG starts planning approval procedure for Mainzelbahn ( memento of February 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), author: Jennifer Back, published on January 31, 2012
11. ↑ http://www.mvg-mainzelbahn.de/
12. ↑ Michael Erfurth: Mainz: First tracks of the new "Mainzelbahn" laid. Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main , November 24, 2014, accessed on November 25, 2014 . 
13. ↑ Michael Erfurth: Mainz: Four kilometers of tracks for the Mainzelbahn in Mainz are already in place - more than half of the construction time is over. Verlagsgruppe Rhein Main , October 12, 2015, accessed on October 19, 2015 . 
14. ↑ Michael Bermeitinger: Mainz, 3.49 a.m .: The first Mainzelbahn reaches the Lerchenberg. November 28, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016 . 
15. ↑ City Council Mainz: Answer to Question No. 1078/2019 of the CDU City Council Group on the Mainzel Railway costs. August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 28, 2019 . 
16. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung: Rhineland-Palatinate: From Hahn to Trier - Taxpayers' Association denounces waste Symbol photo: dpa Symbol photo: dpa. October 6, 2016, accessed October 2, 2017 . 
17. ↑ "Mainzelbahn" should run at the end of 2016 . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
18. ↑ Mainzelbahn: Already 1.5 million passengers  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
19. ^ Response of the city administration to a request from the CDU parliamentary group on January 7, 2013
20. ↑ First tram goes to the customs port: MVG is testing new tracks in the Mainzer Neustadt , article in the Allgemeine Zeitung , June 20, 2017
21. ^ Instead of three, there will soon be five tram lines in Mainz
22. ↑ Ewald Hetrodt: Mainz and Wiesbaden: Plans for “City-Bahn” are making progress . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . October 4, 2016, ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed October 10, 2016]).
23. ↑ City-Bahn: Planning for Mainz begins. Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, February 3, 2018, accessed on February 13, 2018 . 
24. ^ CityBahn GmbH. Retrieved August 24, 2019 . 
25. ^ City of Mainz: City council tram expansion decision. In: bi.mainz.de. City of Mainz, July 18, 2020, accessed on July 18, 2020 . 
26. ↑ Timetable 2000plus ( Memento from December 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
27. ↑  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
28. ↑ Mainz mobility: Mainz mobility: buses and trams have to give way. Retrieved September 20, 2018 . 
29. ↑ Mobility in Mainz: Mobility in Mainz: buses instead of trams from May 25th. Retrieved September 20, 2018 . 
30. ↑ POL PPMZ: Fatal traffic accident in the Geschwister-Scholl-Straße . In: presseportal.de . ( presseportal.de [accessed September 25, 2018]).
31. ↑ Mainz Mobility: Mainz Mobility: All trams run again after the holidays. Retrieved September 25, 2018 . 
32. ↑ Frankfurter Rundschau of March 24, 2007
33. ↑ Allgemeine Zeitung Mainz, April 24, 2007
34. ↑ Mainzer Rhein-Zeitung of August 7, 2008
35. ↑ Mainzer Wochenblatt of August 2, 2007
36. ^ Bretzenheimer Kurier ( Memento from January 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) from September 2008

Coordinates: 50 ° 0 ′ 58 ″  N , 8 ° 15 ′ 5.6 ″  E