Trams in Potsdam

{{Infobox tram network | color = | name = Potsdam tramway network | system = | logo = | image = Potsdam Variotram in Babelsberg asv2023-08.jpg | caption =  | locale = Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany  | era1_name = Horsecar | era1_start_year = {{Start date|1880}} | era1_end_year = {{End date|1907}} | era1_state = show | era1_system = | era1_status = Converted to electricity | era1_routes = | era1_owner = | era1_operator = | era1_gauge = {{Track gauge|sg}} {{nowrap|(standard gauge)}} | era1_propulsion_system = Horses | era1_el = | era1_depot = | era1_stock = | era1_single_track_length = | era1_double_track_length = | era1_total_track_length = | era1_route_length = | era1_pass_year = | era1_passengers = | era1_pass_percent = | era1_pass_system = | era1_mpassengers = | era1_map = | era1_website =  | era2_name = Electric tram | era2_start_year = since {{Start date|1907}} | era2_end_year = | era2_state = show | era2_system = | era2_status = Operational | era2_lines = 7 | era2_owner = | era2_operator = {{Interlanguage link|Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam|de}}(ViP) (since 1990) | era2_gauge = {{Track gauge|sg}} ({{nowrap|(standard gauge)}} | era2_propulsion_system = Electricity | era2_el = 600 V DC overhead | era2_depot = | era2_stock = 17 Combino 18 Tatra KT4DC 18 Variobahn | era2_single_track_length = | era2_double_track_length = | era2_total_track_length =  | era2_route_length = {{convert|28.9|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} | era2_stops = 63 | era2_pass_year = | era2_passengers = | era2_pass_percent = | era2_pass_system = | era2_mpassengers = | era2_map = 250px|thumb|center|alt=Map of the network, 2009|Map of the network, 2009 | era2_website = http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/stadtwerke-potsdam/home.php Stadtwerke (and Verkehrsbetrieb) Potsdam {{in lang|de}} }}

The '''Potsdam tramway network''' ({{langx|de|Straßenbahnnetz Potsdam}}) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Potsdam, the capital city of the federal state of Brandenburg, Germany.

The network is owned and operated by the public citizen company {{Interlanguage link|Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam|de}}(ViP), and included in the "Berlin C" fare zone (''Tarifbereich Berlin C'') of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg.<ref>{{cite web |title=S+U-Schnellbahn Berlin (Tarifbereich ABC) |url=https://www.vbb.de/media/download/3400 |publisher=Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe |access-date=13 November 2019 |date=4 August 2019}}</ref>

==History== The network opened on 12 May 1880: It was a horsecar system owned by the society Reymer & Masch, named ''Potsdamer Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft'' and consisted of a pair of lines.<ref name=a>{{in lang|de}} Günther Wolf-Dietger, Michael Wolf-Dietger, Machel Wolf-Dietger: "''Potsdamer Nahverkehr: Straßenbahn und Obus in Brandenburgs Landeshauptstadt''". Geramond-Verlag GmbH, Munich 1999 - {{ISBN|3-932785-03-7}}</ref> 1907 saw the introduction of electric trams which ran on a new line of {{Cvt|8|km}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/potsdam/|title=Potsdam Light Rail}}</ref> In 1908 the network consisted of 4 lines (named from A to D) and in 1949 of 5 lines (named from 1 to 5).

At the end of the 1950s, new streetcar models were introduced (typical during the DDR era), the Gothawagen (T57, G4-61, G4-65 and T2-62), produced in the Thuringian town of Gotha by the Gothaer Waggonfabrik.<ref>{{in lang|de}} [http://home.arcor.de/heuer.c/gothawagen/staedte/potsdam/potsdam.html Gothawagen in Potsdam]</ref>

In the 1980s, a pair of new routes were built: in 1984 through the new residential center in Babelsberg and in 1988 from ''Am Stern'' stop to the new south-eastern residential area in Drewitz.<ref name=a /> The Czech trams Tatra KT4 were introduced in 1993, and the modern Combino and Variotram in the 2000s. Some of the Tatra KT4D were given to Ploiești, an industrial city in Romania.<ref>{{in lang|de}} [https://archive.today/20120917211614/http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/verkehr/ueber-uns-vip/historie-vip/historie.php History of transport in Potsdam]</ref> Delivery of the Stadler Tramlink started in 2025.<ref name="MS2025">{{cite web |title=First Stadler Tramlink delivered to Potsdam |url=https://www.mainspring.co.uk/industry-news/first-stadler-tramlink-delivered-to-potsdam/ |website=www.mainspring.co.uk |access-date=12 June 2025 |language=en-gb}}</ref>

==Network== right|thumb|Line network, 2022 right|thumb|Track plan, 2014 [[Image:PotsdamTram2.jpg|right|thumb|KT4Dm-cars 153/253 at Nauener Tor]] The Potsdam route network is a standard-gauge railway. It is {{Convert|28.9|km}} long and has 63 stops. The track length is {{Convert|59.6|km}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zahlen und Fakten|publisher=Stadtwerke Potsdam|url=http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/verkehr/ueber-uns-vip/zahlen_und_fakten-vip/zahlen_und_fakten.php|access-date=2015-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527190414/http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/verkehr/ueber-uns-vip/zahlen_und_fakten-vip/zahlen_und_fakten.php|archive-date=2015-05-27|language=de}} Stand 2008</ref> It is served by five main and two amplifier lines. It is almost continuously double tracked, only the Nauener Tor is crossed by means of a gauntlet track.

The network consists, as of June 2022, of 7 lines:<ref>{{in lang|de}} [https://www.swp-potsdam.de/de/verkehr/fahrplan-und-liniennetz/ Potsdam tram network infos on ViP website]</ref> {| border="0" style="border: 3px solid gainsboro; " | {{Bahnlinie|U||91|#FFFFFF|#ED1C24|#ED1C24}} | Bhf. Pirschheide ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||92|#FFFFFF|#1A468E|#1A468E}} | Bornstedt, Kirschallee ↔ Schlaatz, Bisamkiez (↔ Kirchsteigfeld, Marie-Juchacz-Straße) to Kirchsteigfeld only Saturday and Sunday |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||93|#FFFFFF|#F36717|#F36717}} | Glienicker Brücke ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||94|#FFFFFF|#838A8F|#838A8F}} | (Bhf. Pirschheide ↔) Schloss Charlottenhof ↔ Babelsberg, Fontanestraße |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||96|#FFFFFF|#00A998|#00A998}} | Campus Jungfernsee ↔ Kirchsteigfeld, Marie-Juchacz-Straße |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||98|#0994DC|#E5F2FB|#0994DC}} | (Schloss Charlottenhof ↔ Bhf. Rehbrücke, Bisamkiez) only Monday to Friday in the rush hour and not in the school holidays |- | {{Bahnlinie|U||99|#FFFFFF|#59C134|#59C134}} | Babelsberg, Fontanestraße ↔ S Hauptbahnhof (↔ Schlaatz, Bisamkiez) from Bisamkiez only in the morning, to Bisamkiez only in the evening |}

The tram lines 91 to 96 operate on all days according to a uniform timetable scheme. The basic scheme of the tram lines is a 20-minute-cyclic schedule. The timetable of the tram lines are coordinated at the interchange points ''Potsdam Hauptbahnhof'' and ''Babelsberg station'' with the Berlin S-Bahn.

Lines 98 is a peak-only line, which operates on school days. On Line 92, extra rides are offered throughout the route in the rush hour. As a result, lines 92 (with 2 courses) and 96 (with one course) run at 6/7/7-minute intervals, which in turn means that line 91 and 92 as well as 96 and 93 serve the transit network at intervals shorter than 10 minutes.

The network is navigated with uni-directional vehicles. There are turning loops at all terminal stops. Exceptions are ''Glienicker Brücke'', which is crossed by a triangular junction, as well as ''Schloss Charlottenhof'', where the tramcars are turned around by a block bypass.

==Photogallery== <gallery widths="180"> File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-B0407-0029-001, Potsdam, Neubauten am Platz der Einheit (cropped).jpg|A "Gothawagen" at Platz der Einheit in 1965 File:Lindner-TW-Potsdam.jpg|Historical 1907 ''Triebwagen Nr. 9'' in 2006 </gallery> <gallery widths="150"> File:Potsdam KT4Dm am Schragen 22-05-2005.JPG|A "Tatra KT4" at Schragen KT4D 001 (Prototyp).jpg|A "Tatra KT4" at Nauener Tor File:Potsdam Combino 411 als SL 94 am Rathaus Babelsberg.JPG|A "Combino" at Rathaus Babelsberg File:Potsdam Variobahn am Platz der Einheit.JPG|A "Variotram" used in Duisburg<ref>Note the DVG logo on the vehicle</ref> at Platz der Einheit File:ViP-Variobahn 2011.jpg|The final Potsdam version of the new "Variotram" File:Potsdam Schienenpflegefahrzeug 303 12-12-2007.jpg|A rail maintenance vehicle at Platz der Einheit </gallery>

==See also== *Berlin Tramway *Kiewitt Ferry

==References==

===Notes=== {{Reflist}}

===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{Bauer: Die Straßenbahnen in Ostdeutschland|volume=3}} * {{Schwandl-TAtlas-Deutschland|pages=116–117}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{commons category|Trams in Potsdam}} *[http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/stadtwerke-potsdam/home.php Stadtwerke (and Verkehrsbetrieb) Potsdam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102082957/http://www.swp-potsdam.de/swp/de/stadtwerke-potsdam/home.php |date=2017-11-02 }} {{in lang|de}} *[http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/de/p/potsdam.htm Potsdam Tramway (map, infos, pictures) at urbanrail.net] *[https://tramtravels.com/company/verkehrsbetrieb-potsdam-vip Tram Travels: Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam (ViP)] *[http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/potsdam/ Article about Potsdam Tramway at railway-technology.com] * {{Urban Electric Transit | id = 104 | title = Potsdam | tram = yes}} * {{Phototrans | id = 187 | title = Potsdam}} {{Portal bar|Transport|Germany}} {{Stadtbahn and town tramway systems}} {{Urban public transport in Germany}}

Category:Transport in Potsdam Potsdam Category:600 V DC railway electrification Potsdam