The Graz 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 an important 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
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
, which is both the capital city of the
federal state
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the c ...
of
Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
, Austria, and the second largest city in Austria.
In operation since 1878, the network presently has six daytime lines, and five evening and Sunday lines. , the Graz tram network ran on an almost of route, and served 53.56 million passengers.
It is operated by the ''Graz Linien'' division of ''Holding Graz'', the city owned utility company who also operate the city's bus network and the
''Schlossbergbahn'' funicular railway. The trams form part of the styrian integrated fare system which covers all modes of public transport in Graz and Styria.
The
Tramway Museum Graz, at the terminus of line 1 in
Mariatrost, holds many exhibits relating to the system.
History
The first trams to run in Graz were
horse trams in private ownership, with service commencing in 1878. The lines were electrified from 1899. In 1939, the tram network was acquired by the city.
[
In 1941, the narrow gauge electric railway that had linked Graz with the suburb of Mariatrost since 1898, was converted to ]standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
and became part of the tram network. The resulting long outer section of tram route 1 still retains many light railway features, with its off-street routing and long stretches of single track.[
]
The Graz tram network reached a peak in 1950. Growing car ownership, and the growth of residential areas in outer reaches of the city not served by the trams, led to a fall in tram usage and eventually, after 1950, the closure of several tram routes. The city introduced trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es in 1941 to serve the outer areas of the city, but these were replaced by motor bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
es by 1967.[
In the 1990s, with the city's narrow central streets proving ill-suited to large quantities of private car traffic, the city adopted a policy of improving and expanding public transport, with modernisation and extension of the tramway. The area around ''Jakominiplatz'' was developed as the main tram and city bus interchange from 1995, whilst extensions to ''Puntigam'', ''Liebenau/Murpark'' and ''St Peter'' followed in 2006 and 2007.][
In 2001, Graz was the launch customer for the ]Bombardier Transportation
Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
's Cityrunner design, with the acquisition of 18 long five-section trams. These were the city's first 100% low-floor trams, although the concept was introduced in 1999 by the fitting of new low-floor centre sections to 12 existing trams.[
In 2007, Graz ordered 45 Stadler Variobahn trams for delivery between 2009 and 2015. These vehicles proved controversial, with complaints over noise and vibration levels. Initially confined to the north–south axis lines 4 and 5, the trams started operating on the east–west axis in 2013, after modifications and imposition of a speed limit.][
In 2012, new tram tunnels were built to serve the city's main railway station ( Graz Hauptbahnhof), which was previously the terminus of two tram lines and some distance from the main westbound tram route. Trams on the main line now stop in a new subsurface tram station in the station forecourt area. This allows the station to be served by four of the city's six lines.][
In 2016 a new extension of line 7 in order to serve the new medical campus of the ]University of Graz
The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...
in Stiftingtalstraße was constructed and opened to the public on 11 September 2016. The line was extended by one stop from the previous terminus at St. Leonhard.
Operation
Route network
The following services operate during the day on Mondays to Saturdays:
* Line 1: Eggenberg/ UKH – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – Mariatrost
* Line 3: Andritz – Jakominiplatz – Krenngasse
* Line 4: Reininghaus – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – Liebenau/ Murpark
* Line 5: Andritz – Jakominiplatz – Puntigam
* Line 6: Smart City – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – St. Peter
* Line 7: Wetzelsdorf – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – LKH Med Uni/Klinikum Nord
The following services operate in the evenings and on Sundays:[
* Lines 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7: as above
* Line 23: Krenngasse – Jakominiplatz
]
Infrastructure
Graz's tram network is built to standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
and is electrified using overhead line at 600 V DC. The network is largely double track, with some of single track on the northern, former light railway, section of line 1, and just over towards the southern terminus of line 5 (construction work to expand line 5 to double tracks will finish in November 2024). Most of the track is at grade, with the exception of the subsurface tram stop, with linking tunnels, at the main railway station, and a short tunnel just before the southern terminus of line 5.
With the exception of the short tunnelled sections, and the former light railway section of line 1, all of the system is street based, with varying degrees of segregation. As the trams are single-ended, with doors on only one side, all terminal locations are equipped with turning loop
A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop (Glossary of North American railway terms, North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to Shunting (rail), shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be u ...
s, and all tram stops are to the nearside of the tram.[
]
Tram fleet
, the Graz tramway network's fleet was:[Holding Graz Linien – Sekretariat Technische Services Straßenbahn.]
Tickets and fares
The Graz tramway network is entirely within zone 101 of the Verbund Linie, an integrated tariff for public transport throughout Styria
Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. Zone 101 tickets are valid on all trams, and all city buses with single or double digit route numbers. They are also valid on regional buses, which have three digit route numbers, and trains, but only within the boundary of the zone.
Tickets are available for different periods of validity, including one hour, 24 hours, a week, a month or a year, and allow unlimited changes of vehicle within the validity period. Tickets can be purchased from ticket machines on board the trams or at the major stops, from tobacconists, or from a central office. They are also available by SMS text message or via a smartphone app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...
.[
Aimed at visitors to the city, there is also a three-day ticket which allows unlimited travel within the city for three days, as well as giving reduced admission charges at selected attractions. The ticket is available at hotels and other accommodation, at the city tourist information office, at ticket sale counters at the Schloßbergbahn funicular, and at Graz Airport.
]
Future
With the introduction of the full set of Variobahn trams, many of Graz's older high-floor trams will be retired. It is also planned to lengthen the new Variobahn trams by adding 2 further sections to the trams.[
There are plans for a number of extensions to existing lines plus the building of 1 new line.
On February 5, 2018, the co-financing of a comprehensive expansion program was signed between the city of Graz and, for the first time, the province of Styria. By 2023, 117 million euros are to be allocated for the construction or expansion of six routes. Co-financing from the federal government is being sought.
* Downtown relief route via Belgiergasse, Vorbeckgasse to Annenstraße (approximately 1 km, 27 million euros, 2022–2025).
* Double-track expansion of Line 5 from the Central Cemetery to Brauquartier Puntigam (15.3 million euros, October 2022 – November 2024).
* Double-track expansion of Line 1 from Hilmteich to Mariagrün (6.3 million euros, by 2023).
* Partial double-track expansion of Line 1 between Mariagrün and Mariatrost (in several construction phases, 2.3 million euros, by 2023).
In mid-April 2021, the plans for the South-West Line (Line 8) were presented. It is scheduled to be built in 2024, with an estimated cost of around 127 million euro
* Line 8: Jakominiplatz – Citypark – Don Bosco – Reininghaus – Straßgang
]
Starting 2025 15 new vehicles of the type Flexity from the manufacturer Alstom
Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...
are supposed to enter service.
See also
*List of town tramway systems
This is a list of cities that have, or once had, town tramway (urban tramway, or streetcar) systems as part of their public transport system. Due to excessive size, the original list has been divided into separate articles, based on geographical l ...
References
External links
*
Holding Graz Linien web site
Track plan of the Graz tram system
gallery of Graz trams
{{Urban public transport in Austria
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
Transport in Graz
600 V DC railway electrification
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...