Trams in Athens
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Trams in Athens | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Locale | Athens, Greece | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Closed (first generation) Operational (modern system) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Trams in Athens have existed in two separate generations, the first from 1882 to 1960, and the second since 2004. There were no trams at all in Athens between 1960 and 2004, though the separate Piraeus-Perama light railway remained in operation between nearby Perama and Piraeus until 1977.
Athens' first-generation
Trams returned in 2004 with the opening of a
History
Horse trams
Trams made their first appearance on the streets of Athens in 1882.
The first tramlines connected the center of Athens with the suburbs (as they were at that time) such as Patissia, Ampelokipi and Kolokinthou. Other lines connected Omonoia Square with Syntagma, Gkazi, Keramiko Dipilo. By 1902, tramlines served Ippokratous, Mitropoleos and Acharnon streets as well.[1]
Steam tram
The steam-powered tram of Faliro started its operation in 1887. Having its starting point in front of the Academy of Athens it traversed Panepistimiou street, Amalias and Thisseos avenues, traveling to Tzitzifies and from there along the coastal road to end up at Faliro, which at that time was the location of seaside resorts and sea baths.[1] This line was converted to electricity when the rest of the tram network was.
Electrified trams
On 30 October 1908, the operation of the first
With electrification, the tram system expanded until the network consisted of 21 lines.
In 1939, a large number of the Belgian-built tramcars that had been in operation on the Athens tramway since its electrification were sold, while the remaining tram vehicles in use were renovated and their livery was changed to dark green. In the following year, Athens received 60 large, modern tram vehicles which were included in a supplementary contract that had been signed by the Greek government in 1937. The new vehicles were constructed by the Italian consortium ΟΜ/CGE/Breda of Milan, and had a yellow livery, and the same aerodynamic design as the tram model used on the tramways of Milan.[1]
Decline of Athens tramway
On 28 October 1940, the tramways of Athens participated in recruitment for the war. After the Occupation started, the decline of Athens' tramway began, as some tramlines were abolished. However, the real decline of the network took place when the crews of Ministry of Public Works dramatically dismantled the tracks at the Haftia node during the first morning hours of 16 November 1953, resulting in the decommissioning of the lines Patisia–Ampelokipi and Kipseli–Pagrati.[1]
The last jingle from a bell of an Athens tram was heard outside of the depot at Aghia Triada Keramikou, at midnight of 15/16 October 1960. Trams, green or yellow, which during their 52 years of operation had transported around 3 billion passengers, would not travel again on the streets of Athens.[1]
Piraeus-Perama light railway
However, one tram-like railway, the
Modern Athens Tram
In 2004, 44 years after the last tram operated in Athens proper, trams returned to the streets of the capital, in the form of modern and technologically advanced tram vehicles running on a
See also
References
Further reading
- Ελληνικοί Ηλεκτρικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι 1869-1969 (Hellenic Electric Railways 1869-1969) (in Greek) (2nd ed.). Athens, Greece: Hellenic Electric Railways. 2005 [1970]. ISBN 960-86477-1-1.
- I. Zartaloudis, D. Karatolos, D. Koutelidis, G. Nathenas, S. Fasoulas, A. Filippoupolitis, A. (1997). Οι Ελληνικοί Σιδηρόδρομοι (Hellenic Railways) (in Greek). Μίλητος (Militos). ISBN 960-8460-07-7.)
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External links
Media related to Trams in Athens at Wikimedia Commons