The Basel tramway network () is a network of

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

ways forming part of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

system in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and its

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- it also reaches into adjacent suburbs in Germany and France. The only two other tramway networks to cross an international border are Geneva's and Strasbourg's tramways. The Basel tram system consists of 12 lines. Due to its longevity (the network is now more than a century old), it is part of Basel's heritage and, alongside the Basel Minster, is one of the symbols of the city. The trams on the network are operated by two transport providers: Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (Basel Transport Service) (BVB) and Baselland Transport (BLT). Both operators are part of the integrated fare network Tarifverbund Nordwestschweiz (TNW), which in itself is part of the three countries-integrated fare network triregio. BVB is owned by the Canton of Basel-Stadt. Its green trams operate mostly in the city, although termini of its lines 3, 6, 8 and 14 are across the cantonal or country border. BLT is owned by the Canton of Basel-Land and has yellow and red livery. It owns the tram infrastructure in Basel-Land und runs the lines 10, 11 and 17 who are passing through Basel on BVB-tracks. At the same time, BVB line 14 runs partially on BLT-tracks. BLT line 10 at one point passes through the territory of France.

History

Blonay-Chamby Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe - 182 - 01

The first line of the Basel tramway network was opened on 6 May 1895. It followed the route Centralbahnhof–Marktplatz–Mittlere Brücke–Aeschenplatz– Badischer Bahnhof. The network grew quickly. In 1897, six new sections were put in service, with one linking Basel and

Birsfelden Birsfelden (Swiss German: ''Birsfälde'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Birsfelden is first mentioned in 1274 as ''minor Rinvelden''. Around 1500 it was first mentioned a ...

. In 1900, the Basel tramway network acquired an international dimension, when a new cross-border line was opened to Sankt-Ludwig (now

Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin Saint-Louis (; ; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The inhabitants are called ''Ludoviciens''. History Following the conquest of the Sundgau and other parts of the Alsace by France in the course ...

), in the then

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. The line operated till 1950. In 1910, a second international line was opened to Hüningen (now Huningue also Haut Rhin), which was used until 1961. The line to

Lörrach Lörrach () is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the district seat of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, inclu ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, was opened in 1919 and worked till 1967. Since 1887, the tram from Basel to Rodersdorf, now part of Baselland Transport line n° 10, passed (and passes) through the village of Leymen in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. But that Birsigthalbahn ( Birsig Valley Railway) would be joined to the general tram network of Basel as late as in 1984. From 1900 until 1936, at least one section of the network was modified each year. In 1934, upon the opening of a new section of line from Margarethenstr. to Binningen, the network reached its greatest length of . During the two World Wars, services were suspended on the parts of the line extending beyond Switzerland's borders. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, several lines were closed. In 1958, the total length of the network's routes was . In 1974, the several companies that had been operating the suburban lines were merged to form the new company bearing the name ''Baselland Transport AG'' (BLT).

Lines

the Basel tram network comprises 12 lines. Nine are operated by BVB and three by BLT. The combined

line length In typography, line length is the width of a block of typeset text, usually measured in units of length like inches or points or in characters per line (in which case it is a measure). A block of text or paragraph has a maximum line length tha ...

of the 12 lines is .

Cross-border routes

The Basel tram network is unusual in crossing international borders. Line 10 to Rodersdorf runs via Leymen in France. For customs purposes the trams operate through France as privileged transit traffic. Passengers remaining on the tram are not subject to customs rules. Passengers may get on or off the tram in Leymen only if they are carrying goods within the customs limits. In 2014, line 8 was extended across the border to

Weil am Rhein Weil am Rhein (, ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Wiil am Rhii'') is a German town and commune. It is on the east bank of the River Rhine, and extends to the tripoint of Switzerland, France, and Germany. It is the most southwesterly tow ...

station, in Germany. Construction started in 2015 to extend Line 3 from its then-terminus at Bourgfelden Grenze to Saint-Louis station in France. The extension opened in 2017. Late-night services on the cross-border line were suspended in 2019 due to a series of attacks in which

laser pointer A laser pointer or laser pen is a (typically battery-powered) handheld device that uses a laser diode to emit a narrow low-power visible laser beam (i.e. Coherence (physics), coherent light) to highlight something of interest with a small brigh ...

s were used to obstruct the vision of tram operators.

Network Map

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * *

600 V DC railway electrification

Cross-border rapid transit