The trams are coming back to the streets of the inner city parts of Essen in Germany. Was it a failure to dig the trams underground? Can both of the systems that exist in Essen live together? Yes! Trams are as important as light rail lines.
In the Ruhr area. Essen is one of the most known cities in this area of Germany. It is a place for tramway enthusiasts to visit as public transportation in the Ruhr area is heavily built and several tramways, light rail, and metro lines connect the cities in the area.
The Tramways in Essen, Germany
For people who are interested in the history of Essen: Trams had a huge role in the expansion of Essen as a city. But all of the change happened back in 1977 when the underground stations of the city were inaugurated and the then undesirable tram at that time disappeared from the cityscape.
The tramways were seen as annoying moving vehicles for car traffic. Tramways had a hard time in the 1970s around the globe and so in Germany, they started to dig the trams underground like a metro instead of closing it off completely like in many cities around the world did at that time.
2000’s Climate Debate Saved The Tramways
Well, the undesirable tramway thoughts were changed thanks to climate change debates that appeared during the 1990s. In 2000 politicians across the globe made those debates into action. Porto in Portugal and Bergen in Norway got their tramways back because of this. So now the local public transportation options were that Essen was ready to get their tramways back on their streets again.
At first, the outskirts of the city still got parts of the tramways on the street level. But the city center of Essen remained absent of tramways running on its streets. So, now the focus has changed for the inner city of Essen.
Essen is now finally focusing on getting the trams back together with many new bike lanes built at the same time in the inner parts of the city. This is what the politicians of Essen think is a positive move for the future of their city and I agree. Why can’t more politicians around the world think like them? Actions need to be taken now!
In this happy transit news article, I can reveal that the tramways are coming back to the streets of Essen by 2025 which is really great. The line will be called CITYBAHN, and it will become the above-ground tramway line. It will make the trams return to the city center by 2025.
New tram line through Essen will give a healthy tram choice
The new CITYBAHN in Essen will run in the square in front of the station and finally joined the historic building ensemble of Handelshof, Hauptpost, Haus der Technik, and Eickhaus. The trams have always belonged in Essen as in any city in the world. London? New York? Madrid? Tokyo? Stockholm? Your politicians should read this!
By 2025 the new CITYBAHN in Essen is planned to reach Willy-Brandt-Platz and it will reach the venerable station forecourt after decades of absence! This remarkable comeback of tramways running on the streets in Essen, Germany makes the transition from the train station to the city center way more attractive! Going green is so much better, isn’t it?
The plan with CITYBAHN is that it will not only enhance life in the center of Essen, but it will also give access to the “forbidden city” area in Essen.
The CITYBAHN route is planned to be a five-kilometer-long above-ground tram route between the “Bergmühle” and “Stadtmitte depot” stops. The CITYBAHN route thus links the new ESSEN 51st district with the city center in an emission-free manner and also creates a connection from west to east to the Essen-Steele district, as the Essen public transport plan (for a long time) has provided.
8 New Stops are Planned in inner city parts of Essen
In the inner city of Essen, Germany they have planned to build 8 above-ground stops, with two existing ones are being improved at the same time. This is a huge step forward for Essen.
The construction of this new tram route is a major event. The Ruhrbahn was the last new route in the area that was built between Berthold-Beitz-Boulevard. This happened six years ago. Before that. The very first trams on tram line 109 rolled over the 1.3-kilometer section in the Westviertel and in Holsterhausen in October 2014.
And now the CITYBAHN will become the future lines for Essen it seems. If everything goes as planned, the first trains, this future line in the inner city of Essen, will run on the new route by 2025.
Great news for Essen!
