Potsdam tramway network
A "Tatra KT4" at Nauener Tor
Operation
Locale	Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany
Horsecar era: 1880 (1880)–1907 (1907) Status Converted to electricity Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge) Propulsion system(s) Horses
Electric tram era: since 1907 (1907) Status Operational Lines 7 Operator(s) Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam [de](ViP) (since 1990) Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) ((standard gauge) Propulsion system(s) Electricity Electrification 600 V DC overhead Stock 17 Combino 18 Tatra KT4DC 18 Variobahn Route length 28.9 km (18 mi) Stops 63 Website Stadtwerke (and Verkehrsbetrieb) Potsdam (in German)

The Potsdam tramway network (German: 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 Verkehrsbetrieb Potsdam [de](ViP), and included in the "Berlin C" fare zone (Tarifbereich Berlin C) of the Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg.^[1]

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.^[2] 1907 saw the introduction of electric trams which ran on a new line of 8 km (5.0 mi).^[3] 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.^[4]

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.^[2] 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, a industrial city in Romania.^[5]

Network

The Potsdam route network is a standard-gauge railway. It is 28.9 kilometres (18.0 mi) long and has 63 stops. The track length is 59.6 kilometres (37.0 mi).^[6] It is driven 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:^[7]

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

Lines 98 and 99 are amplifier lines that don´t operate at certain times. They are only a part of the timetable scheme. 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 do not drive at an interval of 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 can be turned around by a block bypass.

Photogallery

• 
  A "Gothawagen" at Platz der Einheit in 1965
• 
  Historical 1907 Triebwagen Nr. 9 in 2006
• 
  A Tatra KT4" at Schragen
• 
  A "Combino" at Rathaus Babelsberg
• 
  A "Variotram" used in Duisburg^[8] at Platz der Einheit
• 
  The final Potsdam version of the new "Variotram"
• 
  A rail maintenance vehicle at Platz der Einheit