Trams in Hobart

Hobart tramway network
Hobart double-decker trams showing how exposed the upper decks were to the elements.
Operation
Locale	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Lines	8 32 km (20 mi)
Owner(s)	Hobart Electric Tram Company (1893–1913) Hobart City Council (1913–1955) Tasmanian Government (1955–1968)
Operator(s)	Hobart Electric Tram Company (1893–1913) Hobart Municipal Tramways (1913–1955) Metropolitan Transport Trust (1955–1968)
Tram era: 1893 (1893)–1960 (1960) Track gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Propulsion system(s) Single overhead electric line
Trolleybus era: 1935 (1935)–1968 (1968) Propulsion system(s) Twin overhead electric line

Trams operated in Hobart, the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania, between 1893 and 1960. The city had an extensive and popular system that reached most of its suburbs. It was the first complete electric tram system in the Southern Hemisphere, and the only one in Australia to operate double-decker trams.^[1]

Opened in 1893 by a private consortium, the network was taken over in 1913 by the Hobart City Council, who ran a successful network for much of the early twentieth century, reaching its peak in 1937. Following the introduction of trolleybuses in 1935, the growth of car ownership after the Second World War, and the state takeover of municipal transport networks in 1955, the system closed in 1960.

In 2003 the Hobart City Council proposed a waterfront heritage tramway, and in recent years, debate over the reintroduction of light rail and trams in Hobart has been growing.