Trams in Kassel

Kassel tramway network

Tram no 458 with art – Das Kunstmagazin
wrap advertising, for documenta X, 1997.
Operation
Locale Kassel, Hesse, Germany
Steam tram era: 1877 (1877)–1897 (1897)
Status Converted to electricity
Operator(s) Cassel Tramways Company
Casseler-Straßenbahn-Gesellschaft
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) steam
Horsecar era: 1884 (1884)–1909 (1909)
Status Converted to electricity
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) Horses
Electric tram era: since 1897 (1897)
Status Operational
Lines 7 (5 local + 2 regional)[1]
Operator(s) Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (KVG) (since 1897)
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s) electricity
Electrification 600 V DC
Route length 93.3 km (58.0 mi)[1]
Kassel tramway network.
Website Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (German)

The Kassel tramway network is a 93.3-kilometer (58.0 mi) network of tramways,[1] forming part of the public transport system in Kassel, a city in the north of the federal state of Hesse, Germany. As of 2014, the Kassel tram network is made up of seven regular tramlines.[2]

Opened in 1877 as a steam tramway from Wilhelmshöhe the Königsplatz (Royal Square), the network has been operated since 1897 by Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (KVG). The track gauge is 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge. There existed also a narrow gauge network to the Hercules monument. The network was extended gradually into the surrounding area, partly as conventional tramways, and partly as a tram-train RegioTram network.

History

In the summer of 1870 opened a horse-drawn omnibus line. It was part of an industrial exhibition from 1 June to 5 October 1870. The growth of the city made it attractive to operate a steam tram which was opened in 1877 by the English company "Jay & Comp. London". With the first two steam locomotives and four passenger cars they brought visitors to the Royal Palace in Wilhelmshöhe. Soon other vehicles, including locomotives made by Henschel were added to the rolling stock. The Kassel steam train is considered to be the first tramway in Germany not pulled by horses. In 1881 the company was taken over by an other company from Berlin which invested into the transformation into an electric tram in 1897.

The "Hercules Rail" was operated separately until 1927 bringing tourists to the Hercules monument.

System

Tram lines

As of 2014, the Kassel tram network is made up of seven regular tramlines.[2][3]

Line Route Remarks
Line 1 Wilhelmshöhe – Königsplatz – Vellmar
Line 3 Druseltal – Murhardstr./Uni – Ihringshäuser Str.
Line 4 Mattenberg – Bebelplatz – Hessisch Lichtenau
Line 5 Baunatal – Auestadion – Holländische Str.
Line 6 Brückenhof – Auestadion – Wolfsanger
Line 7 (Mattenberg – ) Bf. Wilhelmshöhe – Ihringshäuser Str.
Line 8 Hessenschanze – Bebelplatz – Kaufungen, Papierfabrik

RegioTram

Main article: Kassel RegioTram

In addition, Kassel is served by the four lines of the RegioTram system.[4]

Fleet

Historic fleet

Tram in 1995

Until 1900 54 railcars were ordered at Van Zypen & Charlier and Crede. From 1955 to 1958 the railcar types "260", "261-288 (2 +2 Tw)" desigend by Duewag and built in Kassel were put in service. They were in regular service until 1991. Ten vehicles were given to Gorzow in Poland and later scrapped, one of them went to the Warsaw tram friends. Other presented railcars are in two Dutch railway museums one in Hanover and one in Kassel. The next generation 301-317 and 351-366 was produced by Wegmann in Kassel in the 1960s and in service until 2003. Some of them still exist but are not in regular service any more.

Current fleet

See also

References

Inline references

  1. 1 2 3 "KVV Im Überblick 2012" [KVV At a Glance 2012] (pdf) (in German). Kasseler Verkehrs- und Versorgungs-GmbH (KVV). 2012. p. 7. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  2. 1 2 "Tram - Fahrpläne für den Tramverkehr in und um Kassel" [Tram - timetables for tram traffic in and around Kassel] (in German). Kasseler Verkehrs-Gesellschaft (KVG). Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  3. ↑ "Tram-Linien" [Tram Lines] (in German). Nordhessischen VerkehrsVerbund (NVV). Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  4. ↑ "RegioTram" [RegioTram] (in German). Nordhessischen VerkehrsVerbund (NVV). Retrieved 2014-05-03.

Bibliography

  • Höltge, Dieter; Köhler, Günter H. (1992). Straßen- und Stadtbahnen in Deutschland [Tramways and Stadtbahnen in Germany] (in German). Band 1: Hessen [Volume 1: Hesse] (2nd., enlarged ed.). Freiburg i. B., Germany: EK-Verlag. ISBN 3882553359. 

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Coordinates: 51°19′N 09°30′E / 51.317°N 9.500°E / 51.317; 9.500

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