Trams in Asia were well established at the start of the 20th century, but started to decline in use in the 1930s. By the 1960s, the majority of systems had been closed down. Extensive legacy tramways still exist in Japan. Recently, more modern systems have been built in China.
Cambodia
In
Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
, tram networks once ran in
Siem Reap
Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia.
Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...
and
Battambang
Battambang ( km, បាត់ដំបង, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang Province and the third largest city in Cambodia.
Founded in the 11th century by the Khmer Empire, Battambang is the leading rice-pr ...
. Trams in Cambodia were known as "bamboo train" and using
Werkspoor and
Beijnes
Beijnes (1838 – 1963) is a defunct Haarlem manufacturer of carriages, buses, trains, and trams. It was closely associated with the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg-Maatschappij (HIJSM)
History
J.J. Beijnes the elder opened a horse carriage sho ...
tram fleets.
China

Several cities in China had tram systems during the 20th century. However, by the end of the century, only
Dalian
Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on ...
and
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a ...
continued to operate.
* Beijing had the first tram system in China. It opened in 1899 and connected Ma-chai-pu Railway Station to the south gate of the city.

*
Fushun
Fushun (, formerly romanised as ''Fouchouen'', using French spelling, also as Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun Ri ...
city in
Liaoning province had a tram system circa 1902, operated by the Manchuria Railway Company with 26 trams.
*
Tianjin
Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...
city had a tram system that opened in 1906. By 1933 it had 9 miles of track and operated 116 tramcars. It was closed by 1972.
* In
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
there were three tram systems – two operated by the colonial powers of Britain and France and one by a Chinese company. The British system opened in 1908 and was the largest of the three. It had 7 lines and ran 216 tramcars. The French system opened the same year and its 3 lines ran 60 tramcars. The Chinese system opened in 1913 and operated 52 tramcars over 4 lines of some 23.5 km in length.
* In
Shenyang city, the largest city of Liaoning province, a Japanese owned electric tramway opened in 1925 and replaced an earlier horse-drawn tram system that dated from around 1907.
By 1937 it had expanded to cover 12 km of track and ran 21 tramcars. It was finally closed in 1973.
*
Harbin city in
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...
province had a system from 1927 with 8 lines and about 40 trams. The system closed in 1987.
* The city of
Anshan, in Liaoning, had a single tram line from 1956 till the late 1990s and the track was dug up in 2006.
* The
Changchun
Changchun (, ; ), Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin, Jilin Province, China, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a ...
tramway system started operations in 1942. By the 1950s the system covered 28 km with 98 cars. The system continues to operate today with two lines.
* Dalian city in Liaoning opened its first tram line on 25 September 1909. It was operated by
South Manchuria Railway
The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
. By 1945, the system had 11 lines. Today 2 lines remain in operation covering 23.4 km. The system is in the process up being updated with a mixture of old tram cars and new modern low floor cars in operation.
However, in the 21st century, a number of tram systems started operating. Initially, Tianjin and Shanghai have introduced
rubber tired tram
A rubber-tyred tram (also known as tramway on tyres, french: tramway sur pneumatiques) is a development of the guided bus in which a vehicle is guided by a fixed rail in the road surface and draws current from overhead electric wires (eithe ...
s for the
TEDA Modern Guided Rail Tram and
Zhangjiang Tram respectively. In 2011,
Shenyang city decided to reintroduce the trams to complement its new metro network, then under construction. The first three lines of the new system were opened in the southern part of the city on 15 August 2013: Line 1 from New World International Convention & Exhibition Centre to Taoxian street, line 2 from
Taoxian Airport to the
Olympic Center and line 5 from the Olympic Center to Shenfu New Town. A fourth line is under construction. A year later, Nanjing opened the new
Hexi trams just before the 2014 Youth Olympics. After that new tram systems opened in
Qingdao,
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong ...
,
Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major Sub-provincial division, sub-provincial city and one of the Special economic zones of China, special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pea ...
,
Suzhou
Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...
,
Zhuhai
Zhuhai (, ; Yale: ''Jyūhói''), also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern Guangdong province, People's Republic of China, on the southeastern edge of Pe ...
,
Wuhan
Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...
, and
Huai'an
Huai'an (), formerly called Huaiyin () until 2001, is a prefecture-level city in the central part of Jiangsu province in Eastern China. Huai'an is situated almost directly south of Lianyungang, southeast of Suqian, northwest of Yancheng, alm ...
. As of 2017,
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...
,
Sanya
Sanya (; also spelled Samah) is the southernmost city on Hainan Island, and one of the four prefecture-level cities of Hainan Province in South China.
According to the 2020 census, the total population of Sanya was 1,031,396 inhabitants, li ...
,
Wuyishan,
Honghe and
Haikou
Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the ...
have new tram systems under construction. While
Ningbo
Ningbo (; Ningbonese: ''gnin² poq⁷'' , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly romanized as Ningpo, is a major sub-provincial city in northeast Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises 6 urban districts, 2 sate ...
,
Quanzhou
Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a populat ...
,
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the Nationa ...
,
Baotou
Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is ...
and
Kunshan are planning tram networks for the future.
Hong Kong
The tramway system was introduced in the then British colony in 1904. The
Hong Kong Tramway is a traditional British Isles-style
double-decker tramway with
street running, along the north shore of
Hong Kong Island. Since the 1980s, the
MTR Light Rail system has opened in the north west
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. Despite its name, the famous
Peak Tram
The Peak Tram is a funicular railway in Hong Kong, which carries both tourists and residents to the upper levels of Hong Kong Island. Running from Garden Road Admiralty to Victoria Peak via the Mid-Levels, it provides the most direct route an ...
is actually a
funicular railway
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite e ...
.
India

In
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, the city of
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
has the only operational
tram network. The tram network in Kolkata is the oldest operating electric tram network in Asia, with the current network operating since 1900.
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...
,
Nashik
Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nash ...
,
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
,
Kanpur
Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation ( help· info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military station ...
,
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of ...
,
Patna
Patna (
), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
and
Bhavnagar
Bhavnagar is a city in the Bhavnagar district of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, a state of India. It was founded in 1723 by Bhavsinhji Takhtasinhji Gohil (1703–1764). It was the capital of Bhavnagar State, which was a princely state befo ...
formerly had tram networks, but all of these were dismantled between the 1930s and 1960s.
Indonesia
In
Batavia (now
Jakarta), the capital of the former
Dutch colony
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...
of the
Netherlands East Indies
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, whi ...
, a horse tram service started in 1869. A steam tram ran from 1881, and electrification followed in 1897. All Jakarta trams were discontinued in the 1960s by an independent
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
due to pressure from
Sukarno
Sukarno). (; born Koesno Sosrodihardjo, ; 6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967.
Sukarno was the leader ...
, who saw the tram network as "antiquated" and a "relic of colonial era".
Other cities in Indonesia that used to have an urban tram network were
Surabaya
Surabaya ( jv, ꦱꦸꦫꦧꦪ or jv, ꦯꦹꦫꦨꦪ; ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of East Java and the second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern border of Java island, on the Mad ...
,
East Java
East Java ( id, Jawa Timur) is a province of Indonesia located in the easternmost hemisphere of Java island. It has a land border only with the province of Central Java to the west; the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean border its northern and so ...
, and
Semarang
Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...
,
Central Java
Central Java ( id, Jawa Tengah) is a province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogyakarta ...
.
The Semarang tram network was constructed between 1882 and 1883, and it was essentially the inner suburb extension of the
Samarang–Joana Stoomtram Maatschappij
The Samarang–Joana Stoomtram Maatschappij, N.V. (SJS, Dutch language, Dutch for Steam Tram Company Samarang–Joana) was from 1879 to 1959 a private tram company on the Dutch East Indies (now Central Java), providing passenger and freight trains ...
(SJS) network, where they already had extensive rural tram network to the east of Semarang. Unfortunately, because of financial difficulties that hampered the SJS railway company, the Semarang tram network was closed down in 1940 (despite public protest in Semarang), and their rolling stocks were transferred to the Surabaya tram network.
The Surabaya tram network was first built in 1886. Initially consisting of steam trams, another network of electric trams was added in 1923. They served Surabaya commuters well into the independence era. The electric tram bowed out from service in 1968, while its steam counterpart outlived the electrics before bowing out from service in 1978, making it the very last urban steam tram service in the world to see service.
In 2012 there was talk of reviving Surabaya's tram network as a part of Surabaya Mass Rapid Transit project, which will see parts of the old electric tram right of way reactivated, and it will be combined with the future monorail network. The project is aimed to alleviate Surabaya's traffic congestion and provide cheap public transportation for Surabaya commuters. As in 2014 the project have entered tender phase.
In 2018, Gamplong Natural Studio was inaugurated in
Sleman Regency
Sleman Regency () is an Indonesian regency ( id, Kabupaten) on the island of Java. It is located in the north of the Yogyakarta Special Administrative Region, Indonesia, and has an area of , with a population of 1,093,110 at the 2010 CensusBiro ...
,
Special Region of Yogyakarta
The Special Region of Yogyakarta (; id, Daerah Istimewa (D.I.) Yogyakarta) is a provincial-level autonomous region of Indonesia in southern Java. It has also been known as the Special Territory of Yogyakarta.
It is bordered by the Indian Oce ...
, and was built for movie purposes. There is a tram line inside the studio that is made complete with replicas and can be operated.
Israel
The 13-kilometre-long
Jerusalem Light Rail
Jerusalem Light Rail ( he, הרכבת הקלה בירושלים, ''HaRakevet HaKala Birushalayim'', ar, قطار القدس الخفيف, ''Qiṭār Al-Quds Al-Khafīf'') is a light rail system in Jerusalem. Currently, the Red Line is the o ...
system began operation in August 2011 and is being extended. The construction of the
Tel Aviv Light Rail has begun, and the first line is under test runs. It will be opened by 2023. A significant portion of the line will be underground. A light rail system for
Beersheba
Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...
is also currently planned, as well as a route that will connect between
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropoli ...
and
Nazareth.
Japan
The first tramway in Japan was the
Kyoto electric railroad
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
built in 1895. By 1932, there were 82 street railway companies in 65 cities, with 1,479 km of track. Similar to North America at the time many of these local tram networks had
through service A through service is a concept of passenger transport that involves a vehicle travelling between lines, networks or operators on a regularly specified schedule, on which the passenger can remain on board without alighting. It may be in form of eith ...
with
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 ...
lines. Many Japanese cities had extensive tram systems until the 1960s, when increased motorization started to make some lines disappear. While others, particularly in the larger cities, were outright replaced by subway lines or converted the interurban routes to suburban railway lines. Tokyo, for instance, had
41 routes in 1962, while only two routes (
Toden Arakawa Line and
Tokyu Setagaya Line) still survive today. Kitakyushu was the most recent closure, being closed in 2000.
There are still many smaller cities that still have relatively well-kept networks. However, not many of them enjoy high ridership. Current tram systems include the
Sapporo Street Car
The is a tram network located in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. The system is sometimes referred to by residents as simply the . The first section of the network opened in 1909 as the ; ...
(
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous ci ...
) and
Hakodate City Tram
The is a public transport authority in Hakodate, Japan. The bureau currently operates only trams, although until 2003 it also ran a number of bus routes.
The , a private horsecar operating company, opened Hakodate's first tramway line in 1897. ...
(
Hakodate
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of ...
) in
Hokkaidō;
Tokyo Toden and
Tokyu Setagaya Line in (Tokyo),
Enoden (
Kamakura
is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.
Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939.
Kama ...
),
Toyohashi Railroad (
Toyohashi
is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 377,453 in 160,516 households and a population density of 1,400 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . By area, Toyohashi was Aichi Prefecture's second-la ...
),
Toyama Chihō Railway
The is a transportation company in Toyama, Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The company is commonly known as . This private company operates railway, tram, and bus services in the eastern part of the prefecture. It also operates as the agency of A ...
(
Toyama),
Man'yōsen (
Takaoka),
Randen
Randen may refer to:
* Randen (mountain range), in Switzerland and Germany
* Randen, a tram line of the Keifuku Electric Railroad in Japan
See also
* Randens
Randens (; frp, Randèns) is a former commune in the Savoie department in the Auve ...
(
Kyoto
Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ...
),
Hankai Tramway
is a company which owns two tramway lines in the cities of Osaka and Sakai, Osaka, Japan. The parent company is Nankai Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Lines
Current
* Hankai Line (Ebisucho - Hamadera eki-mae) 14.1 km
* Uemachi Line (Tennoji ...
(
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
),
Okaden (
Okayama
is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is .
The city is ...
), and
Hiroden (
Hiroshima) on
Honshū
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...
;
Iyotetsu
The is the main transport provider in Matsuyama, Ehime, Shikoku, Japan. The company operates railway, tram, and bus lines, and also has many subsidiaries, which include a bank, department stores, travel agencies, and various other businesses. ...
(
Matsuyama
270px, Matsuyama City Hall
270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building
is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househ ...
) and
Tosaden (
Kōchi
Kochi is a city in Kerala, India.
Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to:
People
* Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan
* , a Japanese surname:
** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...
) on
Shikoku
is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ...
; and
Nagasaki Electric Tramway (
Nagasaki
is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.
It became the sole port used for trade with the Portuguese and Dutch during the 16th through 19th centuries. The Hidden Christian Sites in th ...
),
Kumamoto City Tram
The is a public transportation authority of Kumamoto City, Japan.
Tram Routes
The bureau operates 2 tram lines within the city.
Tram Fare
The fare is a flat 170 yen for adults, 90 yen for children, payable by cash or public transit card (inc ...
(
Kumamoto
is the capital city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a population of 1,461,0 ...
), and
Kagoshima City Tram
The is a public transportation authority of Kagoshima City, Japan. The bureau operates trams and bus lines. From April 1, 2005, together with Nangoku Kōtsū and JR Kyūshū Bus, the bureau introduced RapiCa, a smart card ticketing system.
Th ...
(
Kagoshima
, abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...
) on
Kyūshū. There are a few private railroad interurbans that have not been upgraded into full heavy railway standards.
Trams were formerly used in Sendai, Yokohama, Kobe, Fukuoka, and Nagoya, among others.
North Korea
Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...
, the capital city of
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
, has an extensive
tram system
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 are ...
that first opened in 1991. It is now 50 km in length, running mainly ČKD/Tatra vehicles with some other trams originally from
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich () i ...
. Another tram system is present in the city of
Chongjin
Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's third largest city. It is sometimes called the ''City of Iron''.
History
Prehistory
According to archaeological findings near the lower ...
.
South Korea
The
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n capital
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...
had trams up until 1968. Some of their cars were acquired second-hand from the
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
system. The trams were very useful in the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top: ...
, where half of the trams broke down. Trams were also formerly used in
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...
until 1968. The
Wirye Line in Seoul is a future tram line scheduled to open in 2025.
Lebanon
Tram networks existed in
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
under French rule. These networks were no longer functional after the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
from 1975 to 1990.
Malaysia
The sole tram service in present-day
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
operated in
George Town, Penang
)
, short_description = Capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of George Town in Penang
, pushpin_map = Penang#Malaysia#Asia#Earth
, pushpin_maps ...
, in
British Malaya
The term "British Malaya" (; ms, Tanah Melayu British) loosely describes a set of states on the Malay Peninsula and the island of Singapore that were brought under British hegemony or control between the late 18th and the mid-20th century. ...
, between 1906 and 1936; its service was discontinued in favor of
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 (which would in turn be replaced by conventional diesel buses). Owing to the relatively early retirement of streetcars in the city, few traces of streetcar infrastructure remain in George Town, with the exception of a stretch of paved-over streetcar railway rediscovered during roadworks in the late 2000s. Although talks on reviving the city's tram system have taken place since, none of these plans have materialized.
Pakistan

In
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former ...
was the first and only city where trams were introduced by the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Q ...
in 1885. After almost 90 years, the
network was closed in 1975 as trams were involved in many accidents and there was an attempt to decongest the city's traffic. Trams are under construction at
DHA City, Karachi, which is going to be a planned city of 1 million people.
A 35-km tramway has been approved in the city of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest ...
and construction was expected to start in February 2020.
Philippines
The
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
once had a tram network in the capital,
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...
, which first started in the 1880s using horse-drawn streetcars owned by Spanish-Filipino businessman
Jacobo Zóbel de Zangroniz through the Companía de Tranvias y Ferrocarriles de Manila. These streetcars are known as the ''
tranvía'', or ''trambiya'' in the Filipino language. At the turn of the 20th century, horse-drawn ''tranvías'' of the Companía de los Tranvías de Filipinas were replaced by electric-powered streetcars as it changed ownership to the Manila Electric Railroad and Light Company, now known as the
Manila Electric Company. The ''tranvía'' network ran throughout the city of Manila and its outskirts,
Pasay
Pasay, officially the City of Pasay ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasay; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 440,656 people.
Due to its location j ...
,
Makati
Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines.
Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentratio ...
, and
Pasig
Pasig, officially the City of Pasig ( fil, Lungsod ng Pasig), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, i ...
. Much of the system was destroyed during the
Battle of Manila in 1945.
The trams were superseded in the late 20th century by a still-growing urban rail network, beginning with the
Line 1 Line 1 or 1 line may refer to:
Public transport Africa
* Line 1 (Algiers Metro), Algeria
* Cairo Metro Line 1, Egypt
Asia China
* Line 1 (Beijing Subway)
* Line 1 (Changchun Rail Transit)
* Line 1 (Changsha Metro)
* Line 1 (Changzhou Metro)
* L ...
in the late 1980s, followed by the
Line 3 a decade later. Trams were also formerly used on the island of
Corregidor
Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historicall ...
.
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
has historically operated
two tram services, the first a steam tramway existing between 1886 and 1894, and the second an electric-powered system between 1905 and 1927.
Sri Lanka
The northern and central areas of the city of
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
had an electric tram system. This system commenced operations around 1900 and was discontinued by 1960. The original operator was the Colombo Electric Tram Car and Lighting Company Ltd. (represented by Boustead Brothers), and after an infamous tram car Strike, the
Colombo Municipal Council
The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 mun ...
took over operations. Subsequently, the tram system was phased out.
Taiwan
During the
Japanese colonial period in Taiwan from the 1890s to 1945, the Japanese administration in Taiwan planned for extensive tramway networks across various Taiwanese metropolitan areas. However, none of these plans materialised.
The first serious attempt on light rail in contemporary Taiwan was the development of two demonstration light rail vehicles (LRVs) by the
Taiwan Rolling Stock Company and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology in 2001; the two LRVs were built to the 1067mm Cape gauge to be tested on
Taiwan Railway Administration tracks. In 2004,
Siemens built a demonstration track in
Kaohsiung to evaluate the suitability of light rail in Kaohsiung and operated a
Melbourne D-class tram there. However the first revenue-earning light rail line only came about with the start of construction of the
Kaohsiung LRT Circular line in June 2013.;
the first phase began trial operations in 2016 with a fleet of catenary-free low floor
CAF Urbos
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Met ...
LRVs. The
Danhai LRT began operations in December 2018 with a fleet of locally-built light rail vehicles.
File:Taiwan LRV2.jpg, The demonstration LRV as built by the Taiwan Rolling Stock Company and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology
File:Ddm 2004 007 Kaoshiung Cable Car on Rail.jpg, The demonstration Siemens Combino LRV as used in Kaohsiung in 2004
File:KMRT_CAF_train_at_C7_2016-08-27.jpg, CAF Urbos
The CAF Urbos is a family of trams, streetcars, and light rail vehicles built by CAF. The Basque manufacturer CAF previously manufactured locomotives, passenger cars, regional, and underground trains. In 1993, CAF started building trams for Met ...
as operated on Kaohsiung Circular Light Rail
File:New Taipei Metro Danhai Light Rail Train 2018-12-29.jpg, Danhai LRT train as built by the Taiwan Rolling Stock Company
Thailand
The
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populatio ...
electric tramway system was first introduced in 1893. It serviced Bangkok with 48.7 km of track and 206 trams. The tramway service was discontinued in 1968.
United Arab Emirates
The
Dubai Tram
The Dubai Tram ( ar, ترام دبي) is a tramway located in Al Sufouh, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It runs for along Al Sufouh Road from Dubai Marina to the Palm Jumeirah and Al Sufouh. The tram connects with the DMCC and Sobha Realty stat ...
opened in 2014 and became the first tramway system in the world to use
platform screen doors
Platform screen doors (PSDs), also known as platform edge doors (PEDs), are used at some train, rapid transit and people mover stations to separate the platform from train tracks, as well as on some bus rapid transit, tram and light rail syste ...
at its stations
and the first tram system outside Europe to be powered by
ground-based electric supply system.
Uzbekistan
The
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...
electrical tramway system was introduced in 1912 as a replacement of the horse-driven trams that were running since 1901. The Tashkent tram system is the oldest in Central Asia and was one of the biggest in the former Soviet Union. In the beginning of the 21st century, the system lost many of its routes due to removal of track from the city center. The last route closed in May 2016.
However, in 2017 a new tram system in
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top: Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zi ...
came into operation. All rolling stock (21 streetcars) were transferred from Tashkent.
Vietnam
In
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...
, tram networks once ran in
Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...
and
Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
(formerly
Saigon
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
).
Saigon
The
Compagnie française des tramways de l’Indochine (CFTI) began tram services in Saigon in 1881, using cars towed by a steam locomotive designed by
Deauville
Deauville () is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and sumptuous hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film F ...
on a 0.5m gauge line.
The system went bankrupt in 1896, but the system managed to survive using 14 new cars (trailers and locomotives) that CFTI ordered from
Borsig,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
, and expanded with two more lines in 1904 and 1913. Electric car service began in 1923 with new electric cars, and the line became with two lines in service. Tram service ceased in 1953–1954, and the system was dismantled by 1957.
Hanoi

Hanoi's tram system, the
Compagnie des tramways électriques d’Hanoï et extensions, began service in 1900 and was acquired by the
Société des Tramways du Tonkin in 1929 (renamed
Société des Transports en Commun de la Région de Hanoi in 1952). By 1943, the system had five lines and a spur line in 1968.
The system's demise began with line closure in 1982 and survived until the last line closed in 1989,
and continued as a trolley bus system until 1993. All tram cars were imported from France.
Hanoi tram lines
* Line 1 – Petit Lac (Hoàn Kiếm Lake)-Bạch Mai (1901–1982)
* Line 2 – Giấy (Bưởi Market) (1901–1989)
* Line 3 – Petit Lac-Pagode des Corbeaux-Thái Hà Ấp (1904–after 1982)
** extended to Hà Đông 1914 and Cầu Đơ market 1938
* Line 4 – Place des Cocotiers-Pagode des Corbeaux-Pont du Papier (Cầu Giấy) (1907–1986)
** became trolleybus line 1986–1993
* Line 5 – Mandarine-Kim Liên-Place Neyret-Yên Phụ (1930-after 1982)
** extended to René Robin Hospital 1943
See also
*
Trams
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 are ...
*
List of town tramway systems in Asia
References
{{Reflist
External links
* http://www.bangkoktram.com