Trams in Chemnitz

Chemnitz tramway network
Tram Vario Car at Chemnitz Hbf, 2007.
Operation
LocaleChemnitz, Saxony, Germany
Horsecar era: 1880 (1880)–1898 (1898)
Status Converted to electricity
Track gauge 914 mm (3 ft)
Electric tram era: since 1893 (1893)
Status Operational
Operator(s) Chemnitzer Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft [de]
(CVAG) (since 1990)
City-Bahn Chemnitz
(CBC)
Track gauge
  • 914 mm (3 ft) Ra
  • (1893–ca 1914)
  • 925 mm (3 ft 1332 in)
  • (ca 1914–1950s/1988)
  • 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
  • (since the 1950s)
Propulsion system(s) Electricity
Electrification 600 V DC overhead
Track length (total) 39.97 km (24.84 mi)
Route length 30.6 km (19.0 mi)
Map of the network, 10 December 2017.
Map of the network, 10 December 2017.
Website CVAG (in German, English, and French)

The Chemnitz tramway network (German: Straßenbahnnetz Chemnitz) is a network of tramways forming the centrepiece of the public transport system in Chemnitz, a city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany.

Opened in 1880 as a horsecar system, the network was converted to an electrically powered system between 1893 and 1898. The network's gauge, originally 914 mm (3 ft), was widened to 925 mm (3 ft 1332 in) by the outbreak of World War I. From the 1950s, the gauge was widened further, to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge, although the gauge conversion work was not completed until as late as 1988. The infrastructure is currently operated by the Chemnitzer Verkehrs-Aktiengesellschaft [de] (CVAG), and services are operated by them and City-Bahn Chemnitz. The system is integrated in the Verkehrsverbund Mittelsachsen (VMS).

The city used Czechoslovak Tatra T3 trams (Tatra T3D and Tatra B3D) from 1969 until they were all decommissioned by 2019. Some were sold to Kazakhstan and Russia. In 1993, the city began using Stadler Variobahn, originally built by ABB (ASEA Brown Boveri, now made by Stadler). In 2019, new Škoda 35 T trams were delivered to the city.[1]

  1. ^ "Chemnitz launches new Škoda For City Classic low-floor tram". Urban Transport Magazine. 26 September 2019.