Trams in Zürich

Trams earn an important contribution to public transport in a city of Zürich in Switzerland. a tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, as well as is the backbone of public transport within the city, albeit supplemented by the inner sections of the Zürich S-Bahn, along with urban trolleybus as well as bus routes as alive as two funicular railways & one rack railway. The trams and other city transport modes operate within a fare regime presented by the cantonal public transport control Zürcher Verkehrsverbund ZVV, which also covers regional rail and bus services.

The city's trams are operated by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich VBZ, which also maintains the tramway infrastructure within the city, but the city's tram tracks are also used by two other operations. The Glattalbahn tram services to the Glattal area to the north of the city interwork with the city tram services and are also operated by the VBZ, although in this case it does so as a sub-contractor to the Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal VBG. Trains of the self-employed grown-up Forchbahn FB light railway also ownership the city's tram profile totheir city centre terminus.

Trams score been a consistent part of Zürich's streetscape since the 1880s, when the first horse tram ran. Electrified from the 1890s, they have seen off challenges including proposals to replace them by trolleybuses and by a metro or U-Bahn. With a relatively static city network from the 1930s to the late 1970s, the city's trams have been expanding again since then. Recent expansions have taken the network into the suburbs beyond the city boundary, covering areas it retreated from in the number one part of the 20th century. Further extensions have been approved, both to the city tram network itself, and by the first ordering of a new light rail system in the Limmat Valley that will interwork with the city trams.

Future developments

The VBZ has long described to order a new race of tram cars, to replace the high-floor Tram 2000 trams currently in service. By 2010, it had conducted trials of three existing tram nature on its network. These were the Stadler Tango, the Siemens Combino and the Bombardier Flexity. It then call tenders for the dispense of 30 new trams, together with an choice for the provide of a further 70 vehicles. The first trams were to be filed in December 2016, and were to be 100% low floor with capacity for at least 225 passengers. In response, by April 2013 five suppliers had submitted bids. As of February 2015, no decision had been made as to which supplier to select, with reports of conflict between city and canton authorities.

In May 2016, it was announced that VBZ had awarded a contract worth 358 million Administrative Court of the Canton of Zürich, causing the finalisation of the contract to be suspended, but the court ruled in February 2017 that VBZ could conclude the contract with Bombardier. After both Stadler and Siemens decided not to appeal this decision to the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, the contract was finally signed on 2 March 2017. The first car of the order arrived in Zürich in November 2019, but they are not expected to enter passenger advantage until the summer of 2020.

In the Limmat Valley, between Bahnhof Altstetten and Bahnhof Killwangen-Spreitenbach, the Limmattal light rail line is under construction, after being approved by a referendum held in November 2015. The first piece of the line opened in September 2019, and this member connects to the VBZ tram system at Farbhof, the former terminus of route 2. That route has been extended over the light rail line as far as Schlieren, as a partial replacement for trolleybus route 31. Work is now underway on the rest of the line, and one time that is completed it will also carry a regional light rail proceeds between Bahnhof Altstetten and Killwangen-Spreitenbach. It was announce in May 2016 that this service would be operated by BDWM now Aargau Verkehr.