The T1, officially referred to as the T1 Kabataş–Bağcılar tram line ( tr, T1 Kabataş–Bağcılar tramvay hattı) is a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

line of the

Istanbul Tram The Istanbul Tram ( tr, İstanbul Tramvayı) is a modern tram system on the European side of Istanbul. The first section, the T1 opened in 1992, followed by the T2, which opened in 2006. In 2011, the T1 and T2 merged, with the line retaining ...

, operated by

Metro Istanbul Metro İstanbul is a public rail transport operator headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey. Established in 1988, the company is responsible for operating most Istanbul's rail systems, including the Istanbul Metro, Istanbul Tram, funiculars and aeria ...

. It runs from Kabataş to

Bağcılar Bağcılar is a district located on the European side of Istanbul. The district is located near the city centre, just north of Bahçelievler, between the two major ring roads, TEM and D100 (formerly E5). The district is the third most populous ...

via

Eminönü Eminönü is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is connected to Karaköy (historic G ...

, with a total length of .

History

The first section of the T1 opened between Aksaray and Beyazıt on 13 June 1992 and was later extended first to

Topkapı Topkapı ("cannonball gate"), sometimes spelled Topkapi outside of Turkey, is a Turkish word that may refer to: * Topkapı Palace, a museum in Istanbul, Turkey * Topkapı Scroll, a Timurid dynasty pattern scroll in the museum's collection * Topkap ...

and Zeytinburnu, and later to Eminönü. On 29 June 2006, the Eminönü–Kabataş extension was opened, making the transfer to Kabataş–Taksim funicular possible. On 3 February 2011, the T1 merged with the T2 which opened in 2006 between Zeytinburnu and Bağcılar, with the T2's stations being converted to low-floor.

Rolling stock

At the time of opening in 1992 the T1 used high-floor trams manufactured by

ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...

. These have subsequently been replaced by two types of low-floor tram, which are currently in use on the line. Both types are air conditioned and usually run in coupled pairs.

Bombardier Flexity Swift A32

In 2001 the Istanbul Transport Authority placed an order for 55

Bombardier Flexity Swift The Bombardier Flexity Swift is a series of urban and inter-urban tram, light rail and light metro vehicles manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. It is part of the Bombardier Flexity family of rail vehicles, and like the others, Flexity S ...

A32 trams. They entered service in 2003, once the platforms on the line had been lowered to accommodate low-floor trams. They have a top speed of 70 km/h, a total of 64 seats + 10 tip-up seats, and a maximum capacity of 272 passengers.

Alstom Citadis X04

In 2007, 37

Alstom Citadis The Alstom Citadis is a family of low-floor trams and light rail vehicles built by Alstom. , over 2,300 Citadis trams have been sold and 1,800 tramways are in revenue service throughout the world, with operations in all six inhabited continents ...

X04 trams were ordered to replace the high-floor trams running on the T2 Zeytinburnu-Bağcılar line, in anticipation of the merger of the T1 and T2 lines and the conversion of the former T2 line platforms to low-floor height. The first tram was delivered in September 2009, and following testing the trams entered service in 2011. They also have a top speed of 70 km/h, and a maximum capacity of up to 500 passengers as a coupled pair.

Stations

References