The Geneva tramway network () is a network of tramways forming the core element of the public transport system in Geneva, Switzerland. It is operated by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG), and is supplemented by the Geneva trolleybus system and the Geneva bus system.
Opened in 1862, the network had grown sufficiently by 1920 to serve large parts of the surrounding countryside. However, by 1960 it had contracted to just one line. Since 1995, it has been greatly expanded. It presently has five tram lines, and further expansions are planned. The network extends into France, with line 17 going to Annemasse, making Geneva one of the only cities in the world with a tram system that crosses an international border (the only others being Strasbourg, between France and Germany, and Basel, between France, Germany and Switzerland).
History
Rise and fall (1862–1976)
Geneva's and Switzerland's first trams ran on 19 June 1862, with the opening of a horsecar tramway between Place Neuve and Carouge. In 1889, a steam tramway was opened, and in 1894 Geneva's first electric tram entered service. Finally, in 1899, the Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE), predecessor of the TPG, was inaugurated.
The CGTE set itself the goal of unifying the various systems. All lines were electrified and converted to a uniform metre gauge.
For nearly three months in 1904, the CGTE also operated the steepest adhesion railway in Switzerland. The incline reached 11.8%, but the dangers posed by such steep inclines brought about the swift demise of this line.
In the 1920s, the city and the canton had a large network of urban and suburban tramways. As of 1923, a total of of tramways had been built. The network extended into the countryside, and even across the border into France.
In 1925, the CGTE began to convert its interurban lines to bus operation. This process continued in the city centre, where the lines were partly replaced by trolleybuses. By 1969, the network had shrunk to just one long tramway, which was served by line 12 (Moillesulaz–Carouge). The good technical condition of the tramcars and the fact that they had not yet been written off, led to the provisional retention of the last tramway.
In the 1970s, concepts were developed to connect the relatively large suburban communities of Meyrin and Onex to the remaining tramway once again, with an appropriately modern light railway. However, all of these ideas, and also the investments necessary for the maintenance of the remaining infrastructure in the medium term, exceeded the abilities of the privately owned CGTE. A popular initiative demanding the nationalization of the CGTE was then adopted, and on 1 January 1977 the CGTE was transformed into the TPG, an autonomous government agency of the canton of Geneva.
Renaissance (1977–1992)
In 1978, the tracks of the last remaining tramway were renewed under the auspices of the "new" TPG. Planning of the proposed new lines was addressed. However, it was only on 12 June 1988, with the adoption of a new cantonal law about public transport, that the first concrete building proposals were presented. From 1995, these proposals then became the basis of larger network extensions.
By that time, the most pressing modernisation of existing operations had already occurred. In 1984, in Bachet-de-Pesay in the municipality of Lancy, construction work had begun on the new Bachet tram depot. To connect the new facility with the existing network, the route of line 12 was extended on 27 September 1987 by one kilometre (0.6 mi) from Carouge to Bachet. The sidings and maintenance facility in Bachet were opened in 1988, and in 1990 the associated tram and trackwork construction workshop was commissioned. Finally, in 1992, the new administration building was opened. Since then, it has been the headquarters of the TPG.
In 1987–1989, the TPG procured a total of 45 new, partly low floor, articulated trams, based on the prototype Be 4/6 tram no. 741, which had joined the TPG fleet in 1984. The new trams were supplied by Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey (ACMV) in Villeneuve, Vaud, in collaboration with Düwag and BBC / ABB. The colloquial expression "DAV", which is used to denote these vehicles, is an acronym for Düwag - Ateliers de Vevey. Following this new procurement, TPG's existing fleet of old trams could be completely withdrawn, as future network expansion, including the introduction of new lines 13 and 16, had already been taken into account when the order for the new trams was placed.
Network expansion (1992–2006)