The Istanbul nostalgic tramways are two heritage tramlines in the city of

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. The city has two completely separate heritage tram systems, one on the European side (the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway, aka. T2 line), the other on the Asian side (T3 line, aka. the Kadıköy-Moda Nostalgia Tramway).

, the former capital of Turkey, once had a large tramway network on both the Asian and European sides. These started as

horse tram A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...

s in 1871, but gradually changed to

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

. Many routes were built step by step, and the network reached its greatest extent in 1956 with 108 million passengers in 270 cars on 56 lines. But as happened in most cities around the world, tram service in Istanbul began to close in 1956, and ended completely in 1966. Trams returned to Istanbul in 1990, with the opening of the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway (T2 line). The city is divided between

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, and while the Asian side has a heritage tram system (T3 line, which opened in 2003), the European side has both a heritage tram (T2 line) and a modern tram system (T1 and T4 lines, which opened in 1992 and 2007, respectively).

History

After closing the tram network in the mid-1960s, the people of Istanbul thought that transport within the city would move faster than before, but this proved false some years later. The uncontrolled increase of petrol vehicles such as

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

es,

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s, and private cars started choking the streets of Istanbul.

suffered many of the problems of developing countries, including

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, th ...

traffic jam Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...

s, illegal

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, low

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...

, and rapid increase of

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...

. A growing population increased the

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly th ...

of Istanbul, and with it more

motor vehicles A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo. The veh ...

which increased air and

sound pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is main ...

, traffic jams and

smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words '' smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odor. The word was then int ...

. From the early 1970s, these problems increased and by the mid-1980s Istanbulians realized that lack of control of motor vehicles and the closure of the tram network were great mistakes. Due to constantly increasing traffic jams and air pollution, Istanbul became one of the most polluted

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelag ...

n cities during the mid-1980s. Many cities around the world like

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

etc. also understood that error, and like them, Istanbul also planned for the return of trams. Looking at examples in other cities around the world (e.g.

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

and

), the authorities planned to bring trams back to Istanbul. By then, the number of cars and buses had increased so much that starting a completely new tramway was not possible at that time. Instead they planned an experimental heritage tramway, mindful of the lower installation cost, mainly as tourist attraction, and as a test system to see how trams would be accepted by the younger generations in Istanbul. The original Istanbul tram network was almost completely destroyed, including depots, termini, electric power stations, etc., except for some of the rolling stock which had been preserved in transport museums. The Authority wished to re-introduce heritage trams in Istanbul using the same type of rolling stock which was running in the European part until 1962, and in the Asian part until 1966. Using old photographs, people's memories, and other sources, some rolling stock was built for the European side resembling pre-1962 European-side tram stock, including the size, shape, interior, color scheme etc. The prototypes had originally been built in 1915. Around 1990, the Istiklal Caddesi became a

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...

, and the tram was restored and revived in 1990, in the form of the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway. After a 24-year absence, trams returned to Istanbul. The length of the line is and there are 5 stops. After the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway gained in popularity, mainly among tourists, another heritage tramway opened in 2003 on the Asian side of Istanbul, as what is now known as the T3 line (or the Kadıköy-Moda Nostalgia Tramway). In the case of the T3 line, first-generation trams were not re-installed along the route. Instead, secondhand trams from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

were acquired, mostly from the Jena tram system,Russell, Mike (March 2008). "Heritage tramways across two continents". ''

Tramways & Urban Transit ''Tramways & Urban Transit'' ''(TAUT'' or ''T&UT)'', also known as ''Modern Tramway'', is a British monthly magazine about tramways and light rail transport, published continuously since 1938. Its content is orientated both to tramway enthu ...

'', pp. 122–123. UK: LRTA Publishing. ISSN 1460-8324. which were built in the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

area or in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the Gotha (district), district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine House of Wet ...

(see Rolling stock section, below). Trams on the T3 line run on a clockwise circular loop, following roughly the old tram Route 20. The length of the line is and there are 10 stops.

Timeline

* 1961 – The last tram ran on the European side of Istanbul on 12 January 1961. The Topkapi-Eminönü line was replaced by trolleybuses on 27 May 1961. Six trams were transferred to the tram network on the Asian side. * 1966 – The last tram ran on the Asian side of Istanbul on 3 October 1966, between

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea ...

and Kızıltoprak. The remaining trams were transferred to the transport museum. * 1984 – Trolleybus service stopped on 16 July 1984. At this time, all electricity-driven city transport in Istanbul completely ended. * 1990 – İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue) was closed to traffic. Trams returned to the European side of Istanbul as a heritage tram line, the Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway, operating on İstiklal Caddesi between Taksim and

Tünel The Tünel ( en, Tunnel, designated as the F2 line on the Istanbul transport map) is a historic underground funicular line in Istanbul, Turkey. It has two stations, connecting Karaköy and Beyoğlu. The tunnel runs uphill from near the conflue ...

. Rolling stocks were same as the pre-1966 trams. * 1992 – Opening of a completely separate tramline: the tram system on the European side of Istanbul was expanded to include a modern tramline, built by

Yapı Merkezi Yapı Merkezi Holding A.Ş. is a group company whose field of activity is primarily in the construction industry. It was founded in 1965 by Ersin Arioglu and Koksal Anadol in Istanbul. As the first and largest company of the Yapı Merkezi Group, ...

. The line, now called the T1 line, operates on the same alignment where trams last ran in 1956. * 2003 – Trams returned to the Asian side of Istanbul as heritage tramway, operating a circular tramway on the part of the old closed Route 20 tramway. The secondhand rolling stock was imported from

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...

and

Schöneiche Schöneiche is a municipality in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated directly at the edge to Berlin/ Friedrichshagen and next to Rüdersdorf and Woltersdorf, Brandenburg on the eastern edge of the German capital Be ...

, Germany. This line is now known as the T3 tramline (or the Kadıköy-Moda Nostalgia Tramway). * 2007 – Another modern tramline on the European side, named T4, opened, using high-floor light rail vehicles (LRVs). * 2021 - The first catenary free tram line in the city opened between Alibeyköy and Cibali on the European side using modern low-floor trams. The line will be extended to Eminönü where it will meet the T1.

Tram lines

There are two heritage tramways in Istanbul – the European side tramway, Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway (also sometimes called the T2 line), runs from Taksim to

; the Asian side tramway, the T3 line (also called the Kadıköy-Moda Nostalgia Tramway), runs as a clockwise circular route from

to Moda and back to Kadıköy. The European side T2 tramline follows an alignment of Istanbul's previous historic tram network, which was served by Routes 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17. The Asian side T3 tramline uses the previous Route 20 (operating on a portion of that route).

European side tramline: T2 Line (Taksim-Tünel Nostalgia Tramway)

* Total length – * Opened – 29 December 1990 * Operating hours – 7 A.M. to 8 P.M. * Frequency – 10 to 20 minutes. * Fare – TL 1.75

Asian side tram: T3 Line (Kadıköy-Moda Nostalgia Tramway)

* Total length – * Opened – 1 November 2003 * Operating hours – 7 A.M. to 9 P.M. * Frequency – 10 minutes (peak-hour). * Route time, end-to-end – 20 minutes. * Fare – TL 1.75

Alignment

Both nostalgic tramlines run on unreserved tracks, in regular

street running A street running train is a train which runs on a track built on public streets. The rails are embedded in the roadway, and the train shares the street with other users, such as pedestrians, cars and cyclists, thus often being referred to as ru ...

operation. The length of the European side Taksim-Tünel (T2) tramline is , with 5 stops, Taksim, Odakule, Galatasaray, Ağa Cami and Tünel (Şişhane). The line runs between Taksim and Tunel via İstiklal Caddesi (Independence Avenue). This road was formerly used by tram, bus & car. After the original tram line closed in 1962, the street was still used by buses and cars until 1990, when the area (

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, mea ...

) was recognized as a heritage area because of the many historic buildings and shops. The municipal authority decided to convert this area to a pedestrian zone, banned most vehicles (taxis and delivery vehicles are still permitted) and resurfaced the road in concrete with a tactile finish. Many medium trees were planted in both the

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

and road and old-fashioned street lamps and curved chairs were also installed. Tram tracks were laid in the middle of the road as a single line, with a passing siding at Galatasaray Square that allows trams from opposite directions to pass each other. As the area is a popular entertainment and nightlife district, the driver must frequently ring the bell to clear the way of pedestrians, especially during the peak tourist season. Approximate passenger volume for this system is 6,000 people per day. Interchange with the Istanbul Metro ( M2 line) is possible at Taksim and Şishane. The length of the Asian side T3 tramline is and there are 10 stations. The single-track loop has no sidings so all trams travel in a clockwise direction from Kadıköy Square along a bus lane, Bahariye Street, and Moda Street. Approximate passenger volume for this system is 2,000 people per day. The roads were resurfaced with concrete, but are also used by other road vehicles.

Rolling stock

On the European side T2 line, the tramcars are original Istanbul cars, from the first-generation tramway (closed in 1966), which were restored in the 1980s for use on the heritage tramway. During peak season, a trailer is often coupled to the motored tram for extra capacity. As of 2008, the motored trams include car 47, built in 1913; car 223, built in 1928; and car 410. Trailers are 411 and 418, built in Germany in 1914 and 1919, respectively. On Asian side T3 line, the trams are secondhand from tram systems in

. All are two-axle trams of similar design, but made by two different builders and acquired from two different tram systems, both located in what was

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

at the time these trams were built. Istanbul cars 201 and 203, which have four windows on each side, are a type of tram known as ''Rekowagen'' ( de), built by ''Reichsbahnausbesserungswerk Berlin-Schöneweide'' ( de), and were previously Jena tram system car 138 and car 75. Car 202 was built by

Gothaer Waggonfabrik ''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In World War I, Got ...

(of

) and is type Gotha T57, with three windows per side, and before being acquired by Istanbul it was No. 102 of the Jena tram system. Four more trams of type Gotha T57 were acquired from Jena in 2006. They were given fleet numbers 204–207 (ex-Jena 104, 110, 112 and 115, not necessarily in that order), but do not show their fleet numbers on the exterior, wearing advertisements instead. Ex-Jena cars 102 (now Istanbul 202) and 138 (now Istanbul 201) were built in 1958 and 1973, respectively.''Tramway & Light Railway Atlas Germany 1996'' (1995), pp. 146, 224. Berlin: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blickpunkt Strassenbahn eV / London:

Light Rail Transit Association The Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA), formerly the Light Railway Transport League (LRTL), is a non-profit organisation whose purpose is to advocate and encourage research into the retention and development of light rail and tramway/street ...

. . Ex-Jena 104, 110, 112 and 115 were built in 1960, 1961, 1958 and 1959, respectively, and the last three had been in the fleet of the Görlitz tram system until 1992.''Straßenbahnatlas Deutschland 2005'' (2005), p. 148. Berlin: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blickpunkt Straßenbahn eV. . Ex-

tramway car 75, now Istanbul 203, was built in 1975 (but to a 1950s design).

Depots and termini

Tünel, Moda and Kadıköy are the three places where both the termini of the past system and nostalgic system of today are present. The current termini were built after complete redesign of Tünel, Moda and Kadıköy area. Taksim is still the city centre of Istanbul, which is now served by European side heritage tram.

References

External links

– Taksim Nostalgic Tramvay official site (IETT)T3 Kadıköy – Moda Heritage Tramline official page

Official History of Istanbul Tram with old photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istanbul Nostalgic Tram Tram transport in Istanbul