İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
(Smyrna) is
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
's third largest city and most important port in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. In the past, İzmir had the second largest tram system in Turkey. Trams operated between 1890 and the early 1960s.Ömer Tolga Sümerli - The history of Alsancak terminal. The İzmir Municipality has been operating a new, larger tram system in the city since 2017. This new system is integrated with the
İzmir Metro
İzmir Metro ( tr, İzmir Metrosu) is a metro system in İzmir, Turkey that is in the process of being extended with new stations being put in service. The current system, consisting of one line, starts from Fahrettin Altay station Göztepe in t ...
and the regional commuter system,
İZBAN
İZBAN, previously known as Egeray, is a commuter rail system serving İzmir and its metropolitan area, mainly on a north–south axis, via two lines: The Northern Line and the Southern Line. Averaging a daily ridership of 185,000 passengers, ...
.
History
The first tram line in İzmir opened in 1890, between
Alsancak Terminal
Alsancak railway station ( tr, Alsancak garı) is one of the two main railway terminals in İzmir and is the second-oldest railway station in Turkey, after Kemer, being completed in 1858. This line also saw horse-drawn trams carry railway passengers from Pasaport (near the city center), to Alsancak station. In 1901, this line was extended to the newly built
İzmir Clock Tower
İzmir Clock Tower ( tr, İzmir Saat Kulesi) is a historic clock tower located at the Konak Square in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. It is considered as the main landmark of the city.
History
Kâmil Pasha, the then-Governor of Aidin ...
in Konak (the city center). The second line to open was in
Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional ...
, in 1906, from the Karşıyaka pier to the Karşıyaka railway station. In 1907, two more lines were completed in Karşıyaka: Karşıyaka pier-Alaybey and Karşıyaka pier-Bostanlı.Karşıyaka Dergisi - A full history of trams in Karşıyaka and planned future lines.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(1914–1918), the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
collapsed and the
Turkish Republic
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
was formed. The trams were electrified in 1927, as well as the opening of the Konak-Reşadiye (Güzelyalı) line. New pink painted trams began service and between 1927 and 1939, İzmir trams were at their peak. With the rise of the automobile, busses were becoming more popular and the inevitable decline of İzmir's trams began. The first lines to be discontinued were the 3 lines in Karşıyaka. On October 1, 1939, the Karşıyaka Municipality took up all tramlines in Karşıyaka. The Konak-Reşadiye line was abandoned in 1950, leaving the Konak-Alsancak line the last tram line in İzmir. The Alsancak-Pasaport portion was abandoned in 1956 and the last remaining line in İzmir (Konak-Pasaport) was taken up in the early 1960s. Ever since, İzmir has been without tramways. Some tram lines were converted to
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 trol ...
es.
Today
Tram İzmir
In April 2017, the Karşıyaka Tram went in service on a line of with 14 stations between Alaybey and Mavişehir İZBAN. By March 2018, the -long Konak Tram line with 19 stations between Fahrettin Altay Square-Konak- Halkapınar have begun operation.
Nostalgic Tram
The Nostalgic Tram runs between Alsancak Harbor viaducts and Cumhuriyet Square. It began operation on 9 September 2020, with the first nostalgic tram, Boyoz. The second tram, Çiğdem, started to service on 11 November 2020. The third tram, Gevrek, is planned to start service soon. All of the trams are rubber-wheeled, and they are the first rubber wheeled trams since 1954.