Zurich tram

Zurich tram
Tram 2000 composition on line 3, Kalkbreite, 2005
Basic information
Country	Switzerland
city	Zurich
opening	1882
operator	Zurich Transport Authority (VBZ)
Transport network	Zurich Transport Association (ZVV)
Infrastructure
Route length	84 kilometers
Gauge	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system	600 volts direct current , overhead line
Tunnel stations	three
Depots	five
business
Lines	17th
Line length	122.7 kilometers
statistics
Reference year	2018
Passengers	202.6 million annually
Line network from December 15, 2019

The Zurich tram , now mostly called the tram in German-speaking Switzerland , is the tram system of the Swiss city ​​of Zurich . It was opened as a standard-gauge horse - drawn tramway in 1882 and gauged a few years later. The now meter-gauge network is now served by 16 lines . The responsible transport companies are the Zürich Transport Authority (VBZ) integrated into the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV ). They also operate the Zurich trolleybus and city bus services .

The cumulative length of the tram lines in 2018 was 122.7 kilometers, and the total track length with operating tracks was 168 kilometers. Every year 202.6 million passengers are carried, 383.9 million passenger kilometers are performed and 17.675 million car kilometers are driven.

The Forchbahn is operationally closely linked to the tram . This is a meter- gauge narrow - gauge railway that belongs to the Forchbahn AG ( FB ) of the same name, connects to the tram network at the city limits and is operated by the Zurich Transport Authority on behalf of FB. The Forchbahn trains are integrated into the Zurich S-Bahn as S 18 and run continuously on the tram tracks to Stadelhofen.

The Glattalbahn is also part of the tram network . This tram route leads in the north of the city across the city limits to Zurich Airport . It belongs to the Glattal public transport company (VBG), but is also offered by the Zurich public transport company.

The network will be expanded by the construction of the Limmattalbahn by 2022 .

Lines

There are currently fifteen tram lines in Zurich, thirteen of which are served by the Zurich transport company and two by the Glattal transport company. In addition, today the existing S-Bahn network belonging Forchbahn which is performed in the urban area as a tram, and a line of Museum Tram Museum Zurich :

operator	line	route	Stations	Travel time 1 in minutes	Art
VBZ	2	Tiefenbrunnen railway station - Schlieren , Geissweid	31	40/40	Diameter line
VBZ	3	Albisrieden - Klusplatz	21st	31/30	Diameter line
VBZ	4th	Tiefenbrunnen station - Altstetten Nord station	26th	33/33	Diameter line
VBZ	5	Laubegg - Enge train station - Fluntern Church (- Zoo )	14 + 4	22/22	Diameter line
VBZ	6th	Werdhölzli - Zoo	16	36/36	Diameter line
VBZ	7th	Wollishoferplatz - Stettbach train station	31	41/40	Diameter line
VBZ	8th	Klusplatz - Hardturm	24	34/30	Diameter line
VBZ	9	Hirzenbach - Heuried (- Triemli )	34	47/47	Diameter line
VBZ, VBG	10	( Albisgütli ) - Enge train station - Main train station - Zurich Airport	32 + 8	44/45	Radial line
VBZ	11	Rehalp - Auzelg	34	47/46	Diameter line
VBZ, VBG	12	Stettbach train station - Zurich Airport	18th	26/27	Tangential line
VBZ	13	Albisgütli - Frankental	30th	41/39	Diameter line
VBZ	14th	Triemli - Seebach	27	39/38	Diameter line
VBZ	15th	Bucheggplatz - Stadelhofen train station	13	16/16	Diameter line
VBZ	17th	(Werdhölzli - Central Station - Albisgütli) 2	(17 + 12)	(39/43)	(Radial line / diameter line)
Forchbahn	S18	Stadelhofen - Rehalp - Esslingen 4	20th	35/35	Radial line
TMZ	21st	(Rehalp -) Burgwies - Hauptbahnhof / Usteristrasse - Burgwies (- Rehalp) 3	13 + 3	19/21	Museum line

¹ The travel times from the courses (extension) in brackets are not taken into account in the travel time. The travel times for the specified travel direction and the opposite direction are shown separately.

² Line 17 was discontinued with the reduction in services on November 25, 2019 (see below), which is why it cannot be found in the 2020 annual timetable. However, this should be a temporary measure.

³ The museum line runs in the direction of the main train station via Limmatquai and in the direction of Burgwies via Bahnhofstrasse. It runs on the last weekend of the month (except December).

⁴ The Rehalp - Esslingen route is not part of the VBZ network.

Each line is assigned an individual color code with which it is identified in the route plan as well as on the line boards at stops and vehicles, which is intended to facilitate orientation. Lines 2, 15 and S18 are all three red, lines 3 and 11 are both dark green and lines 4 and 9 are both purple, but they do not serve common platforms. As a special feature, the S18 line runs through the Signaustrasse, Hedwigsteig, Wetlistrasse, Burgwies and Enzenbühl cemetery stops without stopping.

According to a concept from 1910, the regular tram lines were originally assigned the number range 1–20, the numbers 21–30 were reserved for the operational lines . In 1971 the last operational lines were canceled, which means that this number range has remained unused since then (except for the museum line). However, this concept was not always followed consistently.

The number 1 is reserved for a possible reintroduction of the old line 1, which, according to the network planning study, can only be realized after 2025.

Internally at the VBZ it is common to use unassigned tram line numbers (16 to 20) to identify tramway projects, but this has nothing to do with the later effective assignment of line numbers. In the 1970s and 1980s, the line numbers 16 and 17 were used to identify the so-called "Schwamendinger lines". However, since the opening in 1986, the new routes have been used by the modified lines 7 and 9. Line 16 was even provided for in the line planning (Farbhof - Hauptbahnhof - Milchbuck - Stettbach station); However, line 7 was then led to Stettbach station (instead of to Oerlikon as before), line 10 was extended from Milchbuck to Oerlikon, which meant there was no need for a new line. In the line network study 2025 from 2006, lines that run over the planned tram route via Rosengartenstrasse - Hardbrücke were referred to as lines 16 and 17. In the 1990s, line number 18 was used to mark the Tram Zurich West project . However, this caused confusion among the public, whereupon the project was referred to as the Zurich West tram. The route is now used by line 4.

When the Tram Museum Zurich (TMZ) moved into the Burgwies depot on Whitsun 2007, museum line 21 was introduced; its color code is yellow with black lettering, as with line 13. Except in December, it connects the city center with the museum on the last weekend of each month. Historical trams are used, but they can be used with regular ZVV tickets. Before that, line number 21 was used by operational lines that operated sporadically until 1971.

As of November 25, 2019, various changes were made due to a vehicle shortage. These are temporary, but apply for the entire 2020 timetable year. When the Flexity trams go into operation, these changes will probably be reversed. Line 6 now runs on the route Zoo - ETH / Universitätsspital - Central - Bahnhofquai / HB - Escher-Wyss-Platz - Werdhölzli. Line 10 runs on the route Flughafen Güter - Flughafen - Glattbrugg, Bhf - Bhf Oerlikon Ost - Milchbuck - ETH / Universitätsspital - Central - Bahnhofstrasse / HB - Paradeplatz - Bhf Enge and on to Albisgütli during rush hour. In late service and on Sundays, line 10 (similar to the previous timetable for line 6) continues to turn at the main station, but starts at the Bahnhofstrasse / HB stop. Line 17 has been discontinued. The cycle sequence of line 15 has been stretched from the usual 7.5 to 15 minutes. On Sunday, driving continues every 10 minutes.

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  Schematic network representation (2012)

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  Color coding of the tram lines

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  A Forchbahn train (S18) at the Kreuzplatz tram stop

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  A Cobra in VBG livery on line 12

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  Museum line 21 is used with vintage cars

history

Early years (1882-1896)

Rösslitrams on Paradeplatz , the intersection of the first two Zurich tram lines, around 1888

Tramcar 4 crosses Bahnhofplatz on the way to Tiefenbrunnen, after 1882

On March 25, 1882, the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft ( ZStG ) was founded. In the same year, on September 3, 1882, the then private company put the first two Rösslitram lines Tiefenbrunnen - Bellevue - Bahnhofplatz - Paradeplatz - Stockgasse and Helmhaus - Paradeplatz - Sihlfeld cemetery (today Zypressenstrasse) into operation. They were standard gauge. Depot facilities and stables were built in Riesbach on the Seefeldstrasse 175 site, opposite the Fröhlichstrasse confluence.

In 1894 the first electrically operated tram lines of the also private company Elektro Strassenbahn Zürich ( EStZ ), which had been founded the year before, went into operation. These were the already meter-gauge routes Bellevue - Kreuzplatz - Burgwies and Bellevue - Kunsthaus - Römerhof - Kreuzplatz. The initiative for this came from the committees of the then still independent municipalities of Hirslanden and Hottingen . The construction costs of the largely single-lane EStZ network were around 167,200 francs per rail kilometer. Original plans to implement the routes as a steam or horse-drawn tram were discarded. The traction current required for operation was generated on the area of ​​the Burgwies depot in a specially built power plant.

Municipalization (1896-1900)

The last Rösslitram in Zurich on August 5th, 1900 in front of the Friedensburg restaurant in Seefeld

In 1896, the city bought the EStZ and founded the municipal company, Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich , or StStZ for short . At the beginning of 1897, the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft was also taken over by the city and integrated into the StStZ. Operationally, the two lines of the former ZStG remained separate from the two ESZ lines and the new StStZ lines until 1900; This was remedied with the conversion of the Rösslitram to meter gauge and the associated electrification between mid-June and early October 1900.

During the four years of dual tram operation, routes were created that were initially only compatible with the old ESZ network. At the end of 1898 the isolated line from the main train station to Wiedikon was opened and at the beginning of 1899 the former ESZ lines from Kreuzplatz to Leonhardsplatz and from Bellevue to Enge and Paradeplatz were expanded , using the tracks in the Quaibrücke, which opened in 1884, for the first time . In October 1900, the rebuilding of the Rösslitram routes was used to extend it further into the narrow area and to Wollishofen . In December 1900, the route from the Kalkbreite depot to the city limits to the then still independent community of Altstetten near Letzigraben was finally opened; the route was taken at the Letzigraben by the simultaneously opened Limmattal tram (LSB) to Schlieren and Dietikon.

A Limmattal tram railcar at the level crossing in Schlieren, before 1924

To the displeasure of the city and the StStZ, other private tram companies did not remain inactive. The Zurich Mountain Railway (ZZB) started operating the line from Bellevue via Pfauen and Platte to Fluntemer Vorderberg in February 1895 , followed by the branch from Platte to Oberstrass in November . The ZZB was taken over by the StStZ in early 1906.

The Zurich – Oerlikon – Seebach (ZOS) tram was able to open its identical route in October 1897; As the most profitable of the private tram companies, it was only taken over by the StStZ at the beginning of May 1931 due to the upcoming second incorporation of Zurich, for political reasons (together with the LSB).

The industrial quarter tram from the main station through the industrial quarter to today's Escher-Wyss-Platz was opened in April 1898. The tram operation, which was slowly developing into a "workers' tram", became interesting for the city, which took it over in early 1903, with the rapid development of the industrial quarter.

The tram in the industrial quarter also served as a feeder to the “ Hönggertram ”, the Zurich – Höngg tram that opened in August 1898 . From the financially unattractive Hönggertram, all of the rolling stock and the urban route to the boundary stone between Zurich Wipkingen and the municipality of Höngg were taken over at the beginning of 1913 . The remainder of the route between Grenzstein and Wartau was not taken over until early 1924.

The penultimate private tram operation, the Limmattal tram (LSB), opened in December 1900 , which ran from the city limits at Letzigraben - as a continuation of the local StStZ route - through Altstetten to Schlieren and Dietikon . In April 1901 a branch line followed from Schlieren to Unterengstringen and Weiningen . The LSB was also financially unattractive and the lack of route maintenance led to a switch to bus operation. The upcoming second incorporation in Zurich therefore led, politically motivated, to the takeover of LSB (together with ZOS) at the beginning of May 1931.

In April 1901, the Rigiviertel cable car was opened, which later also became part of the VBZ. To make the funicular railway accessible, the ZZB extended its Oberstrasse route by a few dozen meters from Rigiplatz to the valley station.

Completion of the basic network (1900–1910)

The tram network around 1899

Proposal for geometric line signals for urban lines, 1898, was never used

Tram traffic on Kreuzplatz , 1905

At the StStZ, which after the purchase of the Industriequartier tramway in 1903 and the central Zürichbergbahn in 1906, already opened up large parts of the city itself, they worked very carefully on route extensions. Passenger traffic between Paradeplatz and Helmhaus, via Münsterhof and Münsterbrücke was stopped as early as May 1901, as people had been driving across the Quaibrücke for over half a year.

The colored line tables used since 1900 were supplemented in 1905 with a numbering that was used from 1906; the corresponding line tables for the trams were manufactured by the Seefeld workshop and retrofitted to all vehicles in an illuminated version by 1907.

The innovations of 1906 also included the introduction of the five-minute cycle during rush hour and the purchase of an automobile tower car . The route network also grew at the beginning of October when the route between Leonhardsplatz and Universitätsstrasse was opened - at the ZZB, which was bought at the beginning of the year - and had a hairpin bend at Haldenegg due to the incline. The ZOS did not remain idle either and opened a branch line from Sternen Oerlikon to Gasthaus Hirschen in Schwamendingen at the end of May 1906 .

Further small adjustments were made: in 1907, the Zurich-Höngg tram took over the maintenance-intensive Limmat crossing via its own tramway between the present-day Escher-Wyss-Platz and Wipkingerplatz stops . The city allowed the "Hönggertram" to use its route - the former industrial district tram - to the main station; in order to avoid conflicting crossings, the city expanded its own route to the Wipkinger Nordbrücke. This extension was opened in August 1908, while the SBB station in Wipkingen on the north bridge did not open until 1932.

At the end of June 1907, the route from the Utobrücke (Enge) via the same to Wiedikon was opened, to the intersection with the Sihltalbahn , at what is now the Saalsporthalle. The line was built as a connecting piece to the Albisgütlibahn (AGB), which was opened at the same time , was the last private tram operation in the city and led from the Sihl valley railway crossing to the Albisgüetli . The AGB was specially built for the Federal Shooting Festival from July 7th to 18th, 1907, which also remained the high point in the history of AGB. As early as November 1908 the AGB had to stop the ruinous business in the proverbial “nowhere”; The StStZ then mostly used the underemployed vehicles on its own network. In the summer half of the year, the StStZ ran a greatly reduced operation as an excursion tram on the AGB, which from 1913 was limited to weekend afternoons and from 1915 even only to Sunday afternoons. The AGB survived this time until the 1920s as a pure infrastructure company. When the development of the Wiediker “ Friesenberg ” began, the StStZ acquired the AGB in early July 1925.

The Oerliker ZOS was a thorn in the side of the StStZ and while the successful private company extended its route from Seebach to Glattbrugg at the end of August 1908 , the city was working on a direct competing route; At the beginning of May 1909, the StStZ opened its line in Weinbergstrasse from the Haldenegg hairpin to just before Schaffhauserplatz - without a rail connection to the ZOS. The move turned out to be non-existential for the ZOS, but during rush hour the previous three-minute cycle on the double lane between Leonhardsplatz and Rötelstrasse was no longer profitable; it was therefore again limited to the usual six-minute intervals.

A novelty on the Zurich rail network was the commissioning of Zurich's first turning loop in June 1909 at Tiefenbrunnen station . While the first was way vehicles introduced until three decades later, however, the loop facilitated the operation processing with followers, as the motor car will no longer be implemented at the end of lines had.

At the beginning of 1910, the second Aussersihl route, Militärstrasse - Feldstrasse - Stauffacherstrasse to Werdstrasse, was opened and at the beginning of May it was continued over the Stauffacher Bridge and through the Stockerstrasse to Bleicherweg. With the latter part of the route, the route over the Münsterbrücke between Paradeplatz and Helmhaus was also reactivated. The sections of the route were used by the new line 8, which until 1924 ran mainly between the main station and the Helmhaus; When line 8 was relocated from the Münster to the Quaibrücke in July 1924, the Paradeplatz - Helmhaus route was finally shut down and broken off.

Network additions and World War I (1910–1918)

The year 1910 represented a major turning point, because from now on only the StStZ built new tram routes, whereby the basic network was already largely completed. Two more route extensions are being built towards the city limits, and at the beginning of June 1911 the former ESZ route from Römerhof to Klusplatz was extended. The tram route in Forchstrasse, from Burgwies - depot location and end point of the former ESZ - to the city limits at Rehalp, was opened at the end of May 1912 and was also the forerunner of the Forchbahn (FB), which opened at the end of November 1912 . Since its opening, the independent Forchbahn has been closely connected to the StStZ and today's VBZ through the joint management and runs within the city, between Stadelhoferplatz and Rehalp, on the tracks of the city tram.

Up to 1914, mainly minor operational improvements followed: in October 1911 the enlarged Hard depot was put into operation and in 1913 the construction of the first stage of the Elisabethenstrasse depot began. The latter was opened in 1915 as an extension of the Kalkbreite site, which was already being used by the “Rösslitram” in 1882. A service track was laid through Elisabethenstrasse in October 1912, which connected the depot and the line in Badenerstrasse with the line in Birmensdorferstrasse. At the end of June 1914, the above-mentioned routes were also newly connected at the fork in the two streets, which meant that the track system on the Wiediker route opened in 1898 in Werdstrasse could be removed.

As the fourth large Limmat bridge from the mouth of the lake, the Urania bridge was built on the site of the Upper Mühlesteg and opened to traffic in 1913. From May 1914, the built-in tracks connected Bahnhofstrasse with Limmatquai as part of the Uraniastrasse connecting route and allowed the bypassing of the station bridge , which was ultimately rarely used , into the east end of which - at the narrow Leonhardsplatz - four lines flowed. the bridge was renamed the Rudolf-Brun-Brücke in 1951.

The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 did not leave the StStZ unaffected. Since the mobilization of the war meant that a large part of the exclusively male staff - at that time a matter of course - had to go to the field service, a "war timetable" came into effect at short notice with massive restrictions on the supply. After about two weeks it was possible to switch to a reduced “civil timetable”; Since the volume of traffic rose unexpectedly in the war years, the timetable reductions had to be canceled and the range of services was ultimately even expanded. This was made more difficult by inflation, which made cars and rails considerably more expensive. Only in 1915 was it possible to replace the hairpin at Haldenegg with a curve that could be driven directly, with the hairpin track being left as a connecting track between Universitätsstrasse and Schaffhauserplatz.

Renewal push after World War I (from 1919)

Tram operation on Paradeplatz, around 1925

After the end of the First World War, operations normalized; however, the five-minute cycle that was common from 1906 to 1914 was not resumed, but was thinned to the six-minute cycle that was common before 1906. By August 1919, the StStZ had its license extended by a further eight routes, of which only five were built by 1926, while the other three were implemented as bus routes much later.

The construction of the line from Bahnhofquai to Stampfenbachplatz went particularly quickly and was opened in just under a month in mid-October 1919. This was only possible because the Walche bridge - the sixth large Limmat bridge from the mouth of the lake - like the Urania bridge, including the tracks, was completed in 1913 and the track system on the Bahnhofquai was also adapted for this purpose. At that time, however, parts of the former Escher-Wyss Neumühle factory were still in the way of the connection to Stampfenbachstrasse . The municipal slaughterhouse located there was dismantled in 1915, making space for Walchestrasse, where tracks were laid in 1919. Although it was a StStZ route, it was only used by the ZOS until 1931 due to the license; There was a separate contract for the use of the route, which the city had only very reluctantly concluded with the ZOS.

Zurich City Transport Authority (from 1949)

A Swiss standard car on the way to the zoo in 1979 on Krähbühlstrasse

A “Karpfen” with a sidecar on line 10 turns from Schaffhauserstrasse into Irchelstrasse, 1990

In 1927 the first urban bus line operated by the tram company of the Zurich urban tram . The first trolleybuses were used from 1939. In March 1949, the tram and motor vehicle operations were finally merged, from which the Zurich City Transport Authority ( VBZ ) emerged. After a referendum in 1944, tram line 1 was initially replaced by buses in 1954 and then a few years later by trolleybus line 31. In 1964, tram line 12 disappeared when the tram route to the north bridge was canceled and line 4 took over the route of line 12.

Since 1968 advertising space has been sold on the roofs of the trams. In the following year, self-service was introduced when ticket machines replaced the last of the conductors. In 1976, line 4 was extended from the Hardturm sports field to Werdhölzli, and in 1998, line 11 was finally extended to the Hallenstadion .

A peculiarity of the Zurich tram operation until the 2000s were red clip-on boards with white inscription " Forch hell" on the front of the motor vehicles on line 11 and " Uetliberg hell" on those of lines 8, 13 and 14. It was one Special weather information from the transport company: The displays gave the residents of the often foggy city ​​of Zurich binding information as to whether the sun was shining on the two mountain ranges near the city and whether a trip there could be worthwhile. With the introduction of the Cobra trams, this service was abolished because there was no longer any space left for the angular mounting of the signs on their front, which was designed to be collision-friendly for pedestrians. The trains of the Uetlibergbahn also displayed the information, but there it was integrated into the scrolling display on the side .

On December 10, 2006, line 11 was extended to Auzelg and formed the first stage of the Glattalbahn, the last section belongs to the Glattal transport company. For the first time since 1931, a section of the tram network does not belong to the StStZ or the VBZ.

On March 22, 2007, line 5 was extraordinarily extended to Laubegg using existing routes . The operating hours are based on the opening times of the Sihlcity shopping center and the operating costs - until the offer was included in the service agreement with the ZVV in December 2008 - were entirely borne by the owners of the Sihlcity development.

Since December 12, 2010, the then newly introduced VBG line 12 has also been running on the airport – Glattpark – Auzelg – Stettbach route; this is the third stage of the Glattalbahn.

In 2007, the voters of the City of Zurich submitted the Tram Zurich West project to a vote on the financing and clearly accepted with 51,802 votes in favor against 22,941 against. In November 2007, the Canton of Zurich approved the bill. Commissioning took place on December 11, 2011, the new route will be used from line 4 to the new terminus at Altstetten Nord station . Since then, the newly introduced line 17 has been in use between the main train station and Werdhölzli.

With the timetable change on December 10, 2017, the line over the Hardbrücke was put into operation and line 8 was extended from Hardplatz via Escher-Wyss-Platz to Hardturm. This extension was approved by the voters of the Canton of Zurich on November 30, 2014 with 66.03 percent. In addition, the route from Bellevue in the direction of Klusplatz was adapted and the lines were routed via Stadelhofen - Kreuzplatz to Klusplatz. Line 15 is now turning at Stadelhofen station. The reason was the use of longer vehicles on the newly run Line 8 and the resulting lack of space on the turning loops at Klusplatz.

vehicles

Today's motor vehicles

image	Type	Numbers	designation	number	Years of construction	Remarks
	Be 4/6	1674-1675	Mirage	02	1968	after decommissioning in 2010, the two museum vehicles have been in regular use again since November 2019 due to a lack of vehicles
	Be 4/6	2001-2059 2061-2098	Tram 2000	97	1976-1987	originally 98 cars, number 2060, broken off after an accident
	Be 4/6	2301-2315	Tram 2000 blind cow	15th	1978	guided carts
	Be 2/4	2401-2435	Tram 2000 pony	35	1985-1992	guided carts
	Be 4/8	2099-2121	Tram 2000 sedan chair	23	1991-1992	with subsequently built-in low-floor center section, created from Be 4/6 in 2001–2005
	Be 5/6	3001-3088	Cobra	88	2001-2010	consistently low-floor, the 18 cars 3062 to 3079 bear the branding of VBG
	Be 6/8	4001-4070	Flexity Zurich	70	2019-2024	In regular service from autumn 2020, 70 more as an option

On November 15, 2012, VBZ started a tender for 70 new low-floor trams . The six companies Bombardier , Siemens , Stadler , Alstom , Škoda and Vossloh Kiepe were in the running . A maximum of 43 meters long - i.e. seven meters longer than before - and a minimum of 225 passengers are required. It should therefore be able to carry around 30 people more than the Cobras of the Be 5/6 series. The number of seats should remain the same at 90. The transport companies are reckoning with around 4.5 million francs per tram. The new cars are intended to replace a large part of the Tram 2000 that was purchased from 1976 . Between spring 2009 and summer 2010, three demonstration vehicles from various applicants were tested in Zurich over a period of several weeks.

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  A Stadler Tango from Baselland Transport AG will cross the Zurich Paradeplatz on April 15, 2009 in a test run on VBZ line 7 .

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  In spring 2010, Siemens Combino number 659 from Bernmobil came to Zurich for test drives. The picture shows an identical car in use in Bern.

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  The last test was the Bombardier Flexity Outlook number 882 of the Augsburger Verkehrsgesellschaft in May 2010 , here on line 11 at Bellevue .

After long legal disputes between VBZ and ZVV, the choice finally fell on the Flexity 2 model from Bombardier in May 2016 . The first vehicle is expected to be delivered in November 2019, and in scheduled traffic they are expected from summer 2020.

Former motor vehicles (selection)

image	Type	Numbers	designation	number	Years of construction	Remarks
	Ce 4/4	301-350	elephant	50	1929-1931	in use until 1971
	Be 2/3	1031-1032	Billy goat	02	1939	in use until 1971
	Be 4/4	1351-1415	Crank	65	1940-1954	Swiss standard cars in use until 1994
	Be 4/4	1501-1552	Pedal	52	1941-1952	Swiss standard cars in use until 1987
	Be 4/4	1416-1430	carp	15th	1959-1960	in use until December 2006, 13-car trains were the Vinnytsia Tramway passed
	Be 6/6	1801-1802	Prototypes	2	1960-1961	1801 retired and canceled in 1999, converted into a gastrotram in 1802 in 1993 (see picture), retired in 2015 and canceled.
	Be 4/6	1601-1690	Mirage	90	1966-1968	in use until end of June 2010, 78 cars were on the Vinnytsia Tramway passed
	Be 4/6	1691-1726	Blindman's Buff	36	1968-1969	guided cars, in use until the beginning of May 2009, the three cars 1715, 1717 and 1718 were passed on to the Vinnytsia tram

Some historic vehicles are kept operational by the Zurich Tram Museum Association and can be viewed in the Burgwies Museum.

Former trailer vehicles (selection)

Type	Numbers	number	Years of construction	Remarks
B4	711-770, 787-801	75	1945–1973	Swiss standard car, in use behind cranks , pedals and converted Mirage , in use until mid-2008
B4	771-786	16	1959-1960	in use behind Karpfen and Be 6/6 1802, retired in December 2006

Special trams

Energy tram 2042 on line 15

Schweizermacher Tram 2005 on line 15

Märlitram at Paradeplatz

A contract for the redesign of a tram can be concluded with the VBZ for special occasions, topics or projects. The VBZ selects the projects very carefully, as these special trams should remain something special. The costs are around 500,000 - 1,000,000 francs. Usually a special tram is on the way for two years, sometimes longer. Some special trams have also been redesigned with self-promotion or specially chosen topics.

Year - designation (vehicle number)

Year - designation (vehicle number)

1984 - SBB - InterCity -Tram (2028 + 2305) 1985 - Alpaufzug -Tram (1521) 1985 - Zoo -Tram (1400 + B 4 753) 1986 - Radio 24 -Tram (2024) 1986 - China -Tram (1651) 1987 - Art tram (1651) 1987 - India tram (1389 + B 4 738) 1988 - Pro Juventute tram (1651) 1989 - Kino tram (1601 + B 4 716) 1990 - Concrete art tram (2093 + 2413 ) 1991 - Heureka tram (1601 + 1691) 1991 - Urschweiz tram (2093) 1992 - Industrial tram (2093) 1993 - Sushi tram (1802 + B 4 1971) 1993 - Schauspielhaus tram (2052 + 2403) 1994 - Women's tram (2061) 1995 - Röntgen tram (2056) 1995 - Canton tram (2065 + 2093) 1995 - Chuchichästli tram (1802 + B 4 1971) 1995 - Sport tram (1640 + 1692) 1996 - Rainbow -Tram (1690 + 1691) 1997 - Aida -Tram (2061) 1998 - Pipilotti -Tram (2074)

1998 - Elfi tram (2096 + 2315) 1998 - Titanic tram (2001) 1998 - Riverdance tram (2021) 1999 - Addiction prevention tram (2051) 2000 - Paradies tram (2039) 2001 - ewz - energy tram ( 2042) 2004 - FIFA tram (2086 + 2418) 2006 - Health tram (2091) 2007 - Credit Suisse football tram (1683 + 1717) 2007 - Anniversary tram (2005) 2007 - Carlsberg - Euro 08 tram ( 2087 + 2428) 2007 - Coca-Cola - Euro 08 -Tram (1687 + 1712) 2008 - Swiss - Euro 08 -Tram (2051 + 2425) 2008 - 175 years University of Zurich -Tram (3027) 2008 - UEFA Euro 2008 Host- City tram (1689) 2008 - Ewigi Liebi tram (2005) 2009 - Ingenieur tram (3056) 2010 - Schweizermacher tram (2005) 2010 - Ballet tram (1676) 2011 - ZVV tram (2051 + 2315) 2012 - 100 years of the Forchbahn tram (3048) 2015 - 25 years of the ZVV tram (2068)

The Märlitram runs annually during the Christmas season . The VBZ also have a tram known as a restaurant tram, which is equipped with a kitchen and serves as a rolling restaurant. It can be rented, but is also available to individual guests, including as a fondue tram in winter .

Advertising trams

Outdoor advertising space in the area of ​​the roof edge on 2034

A large part of the VBZ trams is advertised. In order not to disturb the characteristic design of the transport company, the possible area for outdoor advertising is limited to side stickers in the area of ​​the roof edge. A full redesign was previously reserved for special trams only.

Cobra 3056 with full advertising for Sunrise

In order to test the acceptance of fully advertising vehicles, the City Council of Zurich approved the use of up to five trams with full-surface advertising in June 2011. While the test run met with great interest on the advertising market, the people of Zurich initially received the full advertising tram in an extremely controversial manner. Above all, it was criticized that the amount of forced advertising is increasing significantly. Others saw the appearance of the transport company and the cityscape in danger, especially in the event that the use of full advertising trams were to be expanded after the test phase. Proponents, however, saw the colorful tracks as a welcome change in the uniformly colored vehicle fleet of the VBZ.

In 2014, the test operation was ended and the concept was taken over into regular operation. The transport companies advocate the use of advertising vehicles, since necessary investments in the future could be financially cushioned by the additional proceeds and therefore would not have to be passed on to customers in the form of fare increases . In addition, the target agreement with the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) stipulated that the transport companies would generate at least 2.5 million francs more income from ancillary business by 2016. The fully painted trams make a significant contribution to this.

A maximum of five Cobra vehicles can be used as advertising trams. In addition to the exterior decals, advertisers can also design all advertising spaces in the interior. Windows and doors should be kept clear; stickers may only be used if the passenger's field of vision is not restricted to the outside. Displays and company numbers must remain recognizable and general vehicle safety must be guaranteed. A fully advertised vehicle can be rented for at least three months (2019 prices: from 170,000 francs for three months to 480,000 francs for a whole year). For operational reasons, the vehicles run on different lines.

Remodeled vehicles

Vehicle no.	Advertised brand	from	to
3014	Lenovo	Aug 2017	July 2020
3014	Oppo (mobile phone)	July 2020
3019	Saxo Bank	March 2012	Sep 2013
3019	local.ch	March 2014	Sep 2014
3019	Huawei	Dec. 2014	May 2016
3019	Swissmilk	May 2016	March 2017
3019	Scion	March 2017	Dec 2017
3019	Joie	02nd Mar 2018	Sep 2019
3019	Hardturm Stadium	13 Sep 2019	Jan. 17, 2020
3019	Energy 360 °	June 29, 2020
3027	M&G Investments	Oct. 2015	Oct. 2016
3030	Algebris Investments	04th May 2018	Sep 2018
3030	Finance Scout 24	13 Mar 2020
3031	M&G Investments	0April 7, 2018	Aug 2018
3031	Allianz insurance	Aug 2018	Apr. 2019
3031	40 years of radio 24	April 12, 2019
3032	Vals mineral water	23 Aug 2019
3033	Jelmoli	Aug 2013	Aug. 2014
3033	Michael Kors	May 2017	July 2017
3033	triumph	May 21, 2018	March 2019
3033	Google Cloud	0March 8 2019	approx. Apr. 15, 2019
3033	Emirates (airline)	29 Aug 2019	Feb 2020
3033	Feature film "No time to die" (James Bond)	Feb 2020	May 2020
3033	Algebris Investments	June 2020
3035	Breitling	Aug 2020
3036	Tonhallen Orchestra Zurich	Nov. 2014	May 2015
3036	Opera house	July 2015	July 2016
3036	TGV Lyria	30 Aug 2018
3040	Swiss furniture	July 2012	2013
3044	Zurich Zoo	May 2014	Sep 2015
3044	IP Suisse	Oct. 2015	Oct. 2016
3044	Michael Kors	Nov 2016	May 2017
3051	Vontobel	March 2012	March 2013
3051	Zurich University of the Arts	Nov 2013	Dec. 2013
3054	Zurich Zoo	03rd Mar 2020
3056	Sunrise	Feb. 2012	Feb. 2013
3056	Swisscom	May 2013	May 2015
3056	Bitcoin Suisse	Oct 18, 2019
3078	Spoom.ch [office rent]	06 Dec 2019
3084	Sympany insurance	Sep 2013	Apr. 2018
3084	Tommy Hilfiger	21 Sep 2018
3087	Swissquote	Feb. 2012	Feb. 2013
3087	Edelweiss Air	Apr. 2013	Apr. 2014
3087	Emirates	May 2014	Nov. 2014
3087	SIXT	July 2015	Apr. 2016
3087	Zurich museums	Apr. 2016	May 2017
3087	Algebris Investments	May 2019	Aug 2020
3087	Zürimobil	Aug 2020

Depots

With every takeover of the eight predecessor companies, depot facilities were added in addition to the rail network. Over the years, many of these small depots have been expanded or replaced by new large depots. From a total of a dozen tram depots, the five depot locations Hard, Irchel, Kalkbreite, Oerlikon and Wollishofen have been in daily operation since 1997; the Hard (since the end of 2008) and Wollishofen (since May 1998) depots are operated as so-called “sleeping depots”, in which vehicle maintenance is no longer carried out. The heavy maintenance of the tram vehicles is carried out by the Altstetten central workshop .

With the construction of the Glattalbahn, additional depot capacities were required, so the Oerlikon tram depot was rebuilt by 2010 and expanded by four sidings. The former Wartau tram depot was used as the Zurich Tram Museum (TMZ) until autumn 2006 . The Burgwies Tram Museum opened on May 24, 2007 in the Burgwies depot, which was closed in 1997. The Wartau depot will be retained by the association as a workshop for classic cars.

• 

  Depot Hard

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  Kalkbreite depot

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  Wollishofen depot

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  Tram Museum Zurich in the Burgwies depot

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  TMZ workshop in the Wartau depot

Milkbuck – Schwamendingen tunnel

→ Main article : Tram tunnel Milchbuck – Schwamendingen

A special feature of the Zurich tram network is the underground route between the Milchbuck and Schwamendingerplatz stops. On this the trams drive in left-hand traffic , as the total of three tunnel stations Tierspital, Waldgarten and Schörlistrasse are equipped with central locks, but the Zurich trams, as classic one-way vehicles, only have doors on the right. To make it possible to change the track, there is an x-shaped track crossing immediately behind Schwamendingerplatz . The corresponding crossing at the Milchbuck is designed as a level-free underground overpass and is therefore not visible from the outside. The tunnel was built in 1971 together with the Schöneich road tunnel above it for the then planned Zurich underground . After the voters rejected this in 1973, the tunnel was opened as a tram route in 1986. In 2011 and 2012 the entire tram tunnel was completely rebuilt. The tracks were renewed, the lighting replaced and the platforms raised.

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  Track crossing in Schwamendingen

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  Entrance to the Waldgarten stop

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  Tram line 9 in the Waldgarten station

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  Tierspital stop after renovation

Expansion projects

Hard bridge

Tram on the Hardbrücke

Tram line 8 has been running over the Hardbrücke since December 2017 . The tram network north and south of the main station is growing together through this 700 meter long tram connection over the SBB track field . On the one hand, this will create new direct connections and relieve the station square, on the other hand, the new line will open up the Hardbrücke station , which with 45,000 passengers per day is one of the most frequented stations in Switzerland and whose passenger volume is forecast to double in the long term.

Limmat Valley

The Limmattal is a particularly fast-growing region in which there will be a lot of additional traffic in the future, which is why a tram is being built like in the Glattal .

The Limmattalbahn will connect Altstetten station in the west of Zurich with the suburbs of Schlieren , Urdorf and Dietikon , as well as Killwangen and Spreitenbach in the canton of Aargau . The planned route comprises 27 stops over a length of 13.4 kilometers. The Farbhof – Schlieren Geissweid section went into operation on September 2, 2019 as an extension of tram line 2, and in 2022 the Limmattalbahn will run on the entire route. Following the decision of the Zurich Cantonal Council on March 30, 2015, the "Limmattalbahn Committee - NO!" taken the referendum. The project was finally approved in the referendum on November 22, 2015, despite a majority rejection in the Dietikon district with around 64% yes votes. Another option is the extension from Spreitenbach via Wettingen to Baden .

Further extensions

The following expansions are also planned in the transport company's network development strategy:

• The Affoltern tram (2023, Bucheggplatz – Holzerhurd)
• The north tram tangent (2028, Holzerhurd – Oerlikon station – Schwamendingerplatz)
• The «Line 1» / Tram Hohlstrasse (after 2030, Hauptbahnhof – Hardplatz – Altstetten station)
• The rose garden tram (Milchbuck – Bucheggplatz – Escher-Wyss-Platz – Hardplatz – Albisriederplatz)
• The south tram tangent (Kalkbreite – Wiedikon station – Manesseplatz – Laubegg)

Glattalbahn

As the next step in the expansion of the Glattalbahn , the airport – Kloten Industrie line is to be built (after 2019).

Later additions to Bassersdorf , Dübendorf ( airfield area ), Dietlikon and Wangen-Brüttisellen will follow.

Others

• The VBZ refer to their tram drivers as trampilots.

literature

• Out and about with Alberto Venzago. 125 years of Zurich's public transport company. Wörterseh, Zurich 2007, ISBN 978-3-9523213-6-2 .
• Peter Kamm: Zurich Transport 1882–1996. From the horse tram to the Züri-Linie. Self-published (via “Aktion Pro Sächsitram” association), Zurich 1996.
• Peter Willen: Trams in Switzerland. Railcar. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1978, ISBN 3-280-00998-7 .
• Hans Bodmer: The tram in Zurich 1928 to 1962: traveling on rails. Sutton, Erfurt 2011, ISBN 978-3-86680-929-1 .

Web links

Commons : Strassenbahn Zürich  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the Zurich Transport Authority
• Tram-Museum Zürich and the supporting association Tram-Museum Zürich
• Association "Aktion Pro Sächsitram"
• The Zurich tram in pictures

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} lines. Retrieved August 22, 2019 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b number of} passengers. Retrieved August 22, 2019 . 
3. ↑ Driving performance. Retrieved August 22, 2019 . 
4. ↑ Quality of life across the board: The VBZ network 2025. (PDF; 4.8 MB) Zurich public transport company, July 2006, accessed on March 18, 2010 . 
5. ^ Verein Tram-Museum Zürich .: Tram and bus routes in Zurich: history since 1882, routing, colors, numbers . Tram Museum Zurich Association, Zurich 2012, ISBN 978-3-909062-07-2 .
6. ↑ Timetable for museum line 21 at www.tram-museum.ch ( Memento from April 26, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 637 kB)
7. ↑ https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/vbz/de/index/aktuelles/veraenderungen-auf-dem-tramnetz.html
8. ↑ Rösslitram stable and coach house - Seefeldstrasse 175 , Dürst picture archive, Zurich. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
9. ↑ Zurich electric tram . ViaStoria - Center for Traffic History . Retrieved September 27, 2013.
10. ↑ Forch hell on photo.tramscape.com, accessed January 2, 2019
11. ^ Adrian Krebs: Üetliberg bright? Üetliberg gray! In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. February 1, 2011, accessed January 3, 2020 . 
12. ↑ Plan of the new Züri West tram lines (PDF; 5.6 MB).
13. ↑ "Facts about the route over the Hardbrücke"
14. ↑ "New route after the opening of Hardbrücke"
15. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger, November 19, 2012, p. 15.
16. ^ Maria Rodriguez: VBZ-Tramcasting: Combino follows Flexity. In: Tagesanzeiger. April 12, 2010.
17. ↑ This is what the new Züri-Tram looks like. In: Tagesanzeiger. 17th May 2016.
18. ↑ The new Züri-Tram is not expected to roll through Zurich until mid-2020. Retrieved on December 22, 2018 (Swiss Standard German). 
19. ↑ Guidelines for special trams and special buses (PDF)
20. ↑ Overview of all previous special trams of the VBZ ( Memento from January 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
21. ^ Ingenieurtram ( Memento from May 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), an image campaign by the USIC regional group in Zurich
22. ^ Fondue tram ( Memento from March 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) of the VBZ
23. ↑ ^{a b} The five fully covered advertising trams of the VBZ are on the way on bahnonline.ch.
24. ↑ When it comes to advertising, many see red on tagesanzeiger.ch.
25. ↑ ^{a b} City Council: Trams still fully painted. Press release. In: City of Zurich. April 16, 2014, accessed March 10, 2019 . 
26. ↑ Full paintwork on the tram. In: VBZ. Retrieved March 10, 2019 . 
27. ↑ Where the tram is on the wrong track. In: Tagesanzeiger. November 25, 2008.
28. ↑ Adi Kälin: This 700 meter long tram route changes almost everything at the VBZ In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . December 6, 2017.
29. ↑ Tram connection Hardbrücke , zvv.ch.
30. ↑ kantonsrat.zh.ch
31. ↑ The Limmattal gets a train against its will , tagesanzeiger.ch.
32. ↑ Limmattalbahn: And how do you continue to Baden? , aargauerzeitung.ch.
33. ↑ The Zurich tram network in 20 years tagsanzeiger.ch.
34. ↑ A tram line for Affoltern , nzz.ch.
35. ↑ Glattalbahn: Canton wants to extend from 2019 limmattalerzeitung.ch.
36. ↑ GlattalbahnPLUS - an outlook on smoothalbahn.ch.
37. ↑ tagesanzeiger.ch