A tram roundabout or grand circle is a circular rail junction for trams in the shape of a roundabout. A tram roundabout is able to provide the equivalent any-to-any connection of a grand union, but with a simplified tramway track configuration using one-way traffic, fewer turnouts and reduction in level junctions, at the cost of slightly more space. Trams may continue as one-way traffic in an endless loop around the tram roundabout junction.

A circular roundabout design is often used to allowing passing around a centrally-placed monument, or fountain, or small park.

Standard design

Standard tram roundabouts
NameSystemRing trackInOutThruStopsNotesGeo
HoofddorppleinAmsterdam180 m590 ft2252.3513°N 4.85°E
TropenmuseumAmsterdam195 m640 ft3352.3633°N 4.9228°E
SlotermeerlaanAmsterdam212 m696 ft446junction with Burgemeester Röellstraat52.3757°N 4.819°E
Place Dumon/ DumonpleinBrussels242 m794 ft22250.84°N 4.465°E
BersarinplatzBerlin254 m833 ft334stops off ring52.5186°N 13.453°E
RomanplatzMunich137 m449 ft334stops off ring, two tracks at one of the Ins48.1555°N 11.5116°E
Moscow Triumphal GateSt Petersburg290 m950 ft2259.8917°N 30.3195°E
Turgenev SquareSt Petersburg557 m1,827 ft22259.9184°N 30.289°E
Lenina / Lunacharskogo[1]Yekaterinburg188 m617 ft4456.8402°N 60.6206°E
Moscow HighwayUlyanovsk230 m750 ft4454.3064°N 48.3497°E
Tivoli CircleNew Orleans283 m928 ft3229.9433°N 90.0725°W
KaiserplatzKarlsruhe245 m804 ft222around Kaiser Wilhelm monument (Karlsruhe), with "Kombilösung" bypass tunnel underneath49.0103°N 8.3889°E
Wolnośći Square in KatowiceSilesian366 m1,201 ft22near Katowice railway station50.2598°N 19.0132°E
MihaljevacZagreb170 m560 ft22345.8422°N 15.9746°E
Square of the Victims of FascismZagreb456 m1,496 ft33245.81°N 15.9872°E
Będzin RondoSilesian218 m715 ft44850.3249°N 19.1243°E
Koszutka Słoneczna PętlaSilesian221 m725 ft224one platform on loop50.2736°N 19.0248°E

Special variations

Special variations of tram roundabout
NameSystemRing trackInOutThruStopsNotesGeo
Rond-Point du Meir/ MeirpleinBrussels210 m690 ft2213with tram stop in middle50.8327°N 4.3023°E
Barrière de Saint-Gilles/ Bareel van Sint-GillisBrussels115 m377 ft334overlapping tracks, stops off ring50.8269°N 4.3446°E
Place de l'Altitude Cent/ Hoogte HonderdBrussels262 m860 ft222around Saint Augustine Church, Vorst50.8166°N 4.3368°E
Rond-point Winston Churchill/ Winston ChurchillpleinBrussels154 m505 ft222850.8119°N 4.3539°E
Verboekhoven SquareBrussels241 m791 ft442over main line rail tracks50.8714°N 4.3759°E
MaxmonumentMunich255 m837 ft4424separation around the monument48.1376°N 11.588°E
Alt-KöpenickBerlin916 m3,000 ft333old town centre52.4456°N 13.576°E
Hackescher MarktBerlin672 m2,200 ft333around station, with sidings52.523°N 13.4018°E
Basel SBB railway stationBasel220 m720 ft4446station forecourt47.5483°N 7.5903°E
Haarlemmermeer stationAmsterdam195 m640 ft4412next to Electric tram museum line52.3496°N 4.8575°E
SurinamepleinAmsterdam170 m560 ft331452.3584°N 4.8532°E
HoofddorppleinAmsterdam180 m590 ft2252.3584°N 4.8532°E
Paunsdorf-NordLeipzig266 m870 ft3315operates clockwise51.3606°N 12.47°E
StortorvetOslo256 m840 ft331359.9128°N 10.7453°E
Pilestredet / Welhaven GateOslo904 m2,966 ft332residential one-way59.921°N 10.732°E
Chebzie Pętla / RondoSilesian244 m801 ft44550.3007°N 18.8824°E
Porta MaggioreRome435 m1,400 ft542641.8915°N 12.5151°E
Regina MargheritaRome145 m476 ft222241.9111°N 12.509°E

Former

On 8 September 1968, one week before closure of Liverpool Corporation Tramways, tram car 245 completed three complete laps of the St. Oswald Street tram roundabout whilst being filmed.[2]

References

  1. ^ Zlokazov, Vladimir (2014-08-27). "Трамвайное кольцо" [Tramway roundabout] (aerial photograph) (in Russian). – via Flickr. Трамвайное кольцо на пересечении улиц Ленина и Луначарского в Екатеринбурге
  2. ^ Blackburn, R.E. (1968). "Post-War Liverpool - Part 8". The Modern Tramway. 31 (362): 58. Ian Allan Publishing On Sunday, 8th September [1957], the LRTL hired car 245 for a final tour of the remaining routes, including three complete circuits of the roundabout at St. Oswald Street, where the cine-photographers gyrated in the centre of the grass as the tram went round and round like a clockwork toy. … On the evening of Saturday, 14th September, 1957, tramway operation in Liverpool came to an end.