There was a

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 ...

system in

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

East Java East Java (, , ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia located in the easternmost third 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 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

from 1889 to 1978. The tramway was operated by a private company

Oost-Java Stoomtram Maatschappij Oost-Java Stoomtram Maatschappij (OJS) () is the name of a List of railway companies in the Dutch East Indies, private railway company which once operated in Surabaya, Dutch East Indies. The network had 46 stops with a total of near 66 miles (1 ...

(OJS, "East Java Steam Tram Company"), and later by

Kereta Api Indonesia PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero) (, abbreviated as PT KAI or simply KAI) is a major railway operator in Indonesia and one of the Public transportation, public railway companies in the country. It is State-owned enterprise, state-owned and pa ...

(KAI), and was the only OJS-owned rail system survived in post-independence Indonesia. The tramway linked Ujung (

Port of Tanjung Perak Port of Tanjung Perak () is the second busiest sea port in Indonesia, located at Surabaya, East Java. It is the main port for the eastern part of the island of Java. The port is accessed from the north through the Madura Strait, a long, wide, ...

) with

Wonokromo Wonokromo is an administrative district (''kecamatan'') in the city of Surabaya, Indonesia. The Wonokromo railway station serves the area. The Kalimas River originally turned north and empties into the Tanjung Perak and Kali Jagir, a manmade bra ...

and continued towards Krian in

Sidoarjo Sidoarjo Regency () is a regency in East Java, Indonesia. It is bordered by Surabaya City and Gresik Regency to the north, by Pasuruan Regency to the south, by Mojokerto Regency to the west, and by the Madura Strait to the east. It has a l ...

. All land assets of the tramway is currently owned by Operational Area VII Surabaya of the KAI.

History

As the initial capital of the company, the OJS started to build a steam-powered tram line in Surabaya in 1889. The first section, Ujung–Fort Prins Hendrik, was inaugurated in 10 December 1889. The line mostly runs along the banks of

Mas River The Kali Mas ("Golden River" in Javanese language, Javanese), also known as Kali Surabaya, is a distributary of the Brantas River in East Java, flowing north-easterly towards the Madura Strait. This river also forms part of the border between th ...

. In early 20th century, the OJS was interested in the Bataviasche Elektrische Tram Maatschappij (BETM) success in developing electric trams in Batavia. To prepare for electric tram installation, in 1911 the OJS expanded its network so that almost the entire city of Surabaya was connected by tram lines. It reached 36 kilometers of length as of 1924. The electric tram system was officially opened in 15 May 1923. During expansion, the main line was completely overhauled; the route that previously passed through the banks of Mas River was diverted through the city center, running past Pasar Turi and Sawahan and followed Darmo Street in the city center. Other lines built are the Simpang–Wonokromo Kota, Simpang–Gubeng, Tunjungan–Sawahan, and Simpang–Kalimas. To support tram maintenance, a tram depot and a power plant were also built in Sawahan. However, during the Japanese occupation the Karangpilang–Krian OJS section was finally scrapped by Japanese ''

rōmusha (compare ''corvée''), is a Japanese language word for a "paid conscripted laborer." In English, it usually refers to non-Japanese who were forced to work for the Japanese military during World War II. The U.S. Library of Congress estimates that ...

'' workers along with all OJS lines outside Surabaya. Although the tram stop names were recorded in the data, they were unable to save the tracks and stops from their dismantling. The tram network was nationalized and operated by DKARI (currently KAI) in 1949. The electric tramway was dismantled in late 1960s, and the remaining steam tramway was finally closed in 1978.

Line sections

Initially, all OJS tram lines were steam trams. In 1911, to prepare for electric trams, OJS expanded its network until almost the entire city of Surabaya was connected to the railway so that in 1924 all Surabaya tram lines were electric trams. These are the tramway sections in Surabaya according to the book ''Buku Jarak Antarstasiun dan Perhentian'' by the KAI.

Connected lines

The regular service of this line is not directly connected to any other line. To change modes, users must get off the train and walk to the nearest SS/ NIS station. Some of the stops are located right in front of major train stations, such as in front of Pasar Turi Station and Gubeng Station.

Active lines

There used to be a connecting line that connected the steam tram network with the active line north of Surabaya Kota Station. However, this line was only for transferring steam tram vehicles to be sent to the SS Balai Yasa. This line was never used for regular passenger services.

Inactive line

* Wonokromo City–Krian

Gallery

Stasiun WOK 2020.jpg, Wonokromo Kota tram station in 2020, located not too far from the counterpart train station Java - Steam Tram, Batavia LCCN2014711085.jpg, A steam tram pulled by OJS No. 27 locomotive

References

{{reflist 1889 establishments in the Dutch East Indies

Tram transport in Indonesia Transport in Surabaya