HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The tram system of
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
in Portugal is operated by the ''
Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto STCP (Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto, E.I.M., S.A., lit. ''Porto Public Transport Society'') is the public transport company that runs the bus and tram service in Greater Porto, Portugal. Created in 1946, it took over the Porto tr ...
'' (STCP) and currently has three regular
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...
routes with 30-minute headways. All are heritage tram routes, as they use vintage tramcars exclusively, and should not be confused with the modern
Porto Metro The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...
light rail system.


History

In 1872 the ''Companhia Carril Americano do Porto à Foz e Mattosinhos'' opened the first mule tram line in Porto, connecting Rua dos Inglezes (nowadays Infante) with Foz (Castelo) and
Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
.Guido de Monterey ''O Porto, origem, evolução e transportes'' (2a edição, 1972) Porto, published by the author Guido de MontereyManuel Castro Pereira (1995). ''Os Velhos Eléctricos do Porto'' published by José Carvalho Branco and Soc.Editorial Notícias da Beira Douro In the next year, a branch line from Massarelos to Cordoaria was opened. A second company, the ''Companhia Carris de Ferro do Porto'' (CCFP) (the Porto Tramways Company), was established in 1873, and it opened a line from Praça Carlos Alberto via Boavista to Foz (Cadouços) in 1874. More lines were added through the 1870s until the 1890s. In 1878 the CCFP line from Foz to Boavista was converted to steam traction. At Boavista was the change of traction between mules and steam engines. Four years later, the
interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 ...
line of the CCFP was extended from Foz (Cadouços) to Matosinhos. CCAPFM and CCFP merged on 13 January 1893, using the latter's name for the resulting company. Electric traction was introduced in 1895. The last mule-drawn car was retired in 1904, and electrification was complete with the elimination of urban steam engines in 1914. In 1946, the city purchased the tram system from CCFP and took over its operation, with a new municipal company, '' Serviço de Transportes Colectivos do Porto'' (STCP). By 1949, it reached its maximum length of 81 kilometers with 150 kilometers track length. The 1960s and the 1970s were marked by a continuous dismantling of tram tracks and a preference for cheaper bus transport. The system shrank from 81 kilometers with 192 cars in 1958, to 38 kilometers with 127 cars in 1968, to 21 kilometers with 84 cars in 1978, to just 14 kilometers with 16 cars in 1996. The last remaining line (18) was the start of the current heritage tram system. For many years, the system had more than 20 lines, but most were closed during the 1960s and 1970s. By July 1978, only four routes remained: 1, 3, 18 and 19. Route 3 (Boavista – Pereiró) closed on 30 April 1984. For almost 10 more years, the three remaining routes continued in operation without any closures, as routes 1 (Infante – Matosinhos), 18 (Carmo – Castelo do Queijo – Boavista) and 19 (Boavista – Matosinhos). The section from Castelo do Queijo to Matosinhos was closed on 11 September 1993 with the withdrawal of route 19 and of that section of route 1. The remainder of route 1, between Castelo do Queijo and Infante, was withdrawn on 10 September 1994. On 11 June 1996, the final route, 18, was downgraded from a full-service tram line to a heritage service with reduced frequency, but operating seven days a week. Buses took over most of the service on the route at that time, but with trams continuing to operate some trips, as a heritage service. The service used only three trams, operating on a 35-minute
headway Headway is the distance or duration between vehicles in a transit system measured in space or time. The ''minimum headway'' is the shortest such distance or time achievable by a system without a reduction in the speed of vehicles. The precise defi ...
.''
Light Rail and Modern Tramway ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthu ...
'', August 1996, p. 315.
Ian Allan Publishing Ian Allan Publishing was an English publisher, established in 1942, which specialised in transport books. It was founded by Ian Allan. In 1942 Ian Allan, then working in the public relations department for the Southern Railway at Waterloo st ...
/
Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...
.
Route 18's 4 km section along Avenida Boavista was later closed, but tram service was gradually re-introduced in the 2000s on other sections, in the form of additional heritage-tram services, lines 1 and 22, as well as the former Line T (the Porto Tram City Tour, which has since been discontinued).


Heritage system


Lines

Tram fares are paid with a customized ticket that can be bought on board of the vehicle, on the Museum and in some hotels. The fare for a single trip is
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
3.50. *Line 1: Passeio Alegre-Infante follows the northern bank of the
Douro River The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part o ...
from Infante, via Alfândega and
Massarelos Massarelos () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos. The population in 2011 was 6,789, in an area of 1.94 km².Foz do Douro Foz do Douro (; meaning "Mouth of the Douro") is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Aldoar, Foz do Douro e Nevogilde. The population in 2011 was 10,997, in an area of 1.88& ...
. This line is heavily used by tourists. *Line 18: Massarelos-Carmo: connects
Massarelos Massarelos () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos. The population in 2011 was 6,789, in an area of 1.94 km².University of Porto. *Line 22: Circular Carmo-Batalha: connects Carmo and Praça da Batalha with the Funicular dos Guindais, with convenient connections to three stations on the
Porto Metro The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...
.


Line 1 - Passeio Alegre–Infante


Line 18 - Massarelos–Carmo


Line 22 - Carmo–Batalha


Legend

* Metro do Porto * Bus * Train * Connect with boats * Connect with helicopter


Proposed expansions

Line 1 - line could in the future be extended from Foz to Castelo do Queijo or even
Matosinhos Matosinhos, Porto, Portugal () is a city and a municipality in the northern Porto district of Portugal, bordered in the south by the city of Porto (8 km from the city centre). The population in 2011 was 175,478, and covered an area of approx ...
and from Infante to the São Bento railway station via Rua Mouzinho da Silveira.


Tram museum

The Tram Museum is located in the old central power plant of the tram in
Massarelos Massarelos () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos. The population in 2011 was 6,789, in an area of 1.94 km².Massarelos Massarelos () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Porto, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Lordelo do Ouro e Massarelos. The population in 2011 was 6,789, in an area of 1.94 km².Passeio Alegre. The museum was reopened in November 2015 with an €8 entrance charge.


Rolling stock

* Brill-23 – Built by the
J. G. Brill Company The J.G. Brill Company manufactured streetcars,Young, Andrew D. (1997). ''Veteran & Vintage Transit'', p. 101. St. Louis: Archway Publishing. interurban coaches, motor buses, trolleybuses and railroad cars in the United States for almost ...
of Philadelphia in 1909–1910 (30 cars over 2 orders), eventually numbered 120–146 after disposal of some cars and renumbering. All retired and none remaining in Porto. One of the surviving cars, 1909-built No. 122, is now used by McKinney Avenue Transit Authority on the M-Line in Dallas, Texas. * Brill-28 ( CCFP/STCP designation; not an indication of car's builder) – Originally 20 (Nos. 150–169) built by Brill in 1912, but all but about three were later replaced by same-numbered new cars built in CCFP's own workshops in the same general style; 30 more (Nos. 170–199) new cars built by CCFP workshops 1925–1938 in same general style as the true Brill cars. Also, some class Brill-23 cars were rebuilt by CCFP as class Brill-28. In the 1990s, some of the CCFP-built examples were sold by an American dealer in secondhand trams to the transit authority in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...
, for operation on the
MATA Trolley The MATA Trolley is a heritage streetcar transit system operating in Memphis, Tennessee. It began operating on April 29, 1993. Service was suspended in June 2014, following fires on two cars. After nearly four years and repeated postponements, t ...
line. * Brill-32 (CCFP designation; not an indication of car's builder) – 12 new cars built by workshops 1926–1928 * Brill-28 Plataforma Salão (CCFP designation; not an indication of car's builder) – 26 rebuilt Brill 23 or 28 cars by workshops 1938–1946


Network Map


See also

* Funicular dos Guindais, a cable car route in Porto, is distinct from the tram system *
Porto Metro The Porto Metro ( pt, Metro do Porto), part of the public transport (mass transit) system of Porto, Portugal, is a light rail network that runs underground in central Porto and above ground into the city's suburbs. ''Metro do Porto S.A.'' was f ...
, Porto's light rail system which is also distinct from the tram system *
List of town tramway systems in Portugal This is a list of town tramway systems in Portugal. It includes all tram systems in Portugal, past and present; cities with currently operating systems, and those systems themselves, are indicated in bold and blue background colored rows. The use ...


References


External links


STCP – official website
* *
Sítio oficial da STCP

Sítio oficial do Museu do Carro Eléctrico

Sítio oficial do Porto Tram City Tour
{{Railway lines in Portugal Transport in Porto
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...
Heritage streetcar systems 600 V DC railway electrification
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropo ...