Trams and urban development

Christoph Groneck
The modern French tram.
Impulses for local public transport and urban development in Europe

Abstract

In the post-war era, the tram with a classical character was considered a discontinued model everywhere in the Western world. Since the 1980's, a contrary trend can now be increasingly observed. After the first re-introductions of surface urban railway systems in North America, France became an essential pacemaker of the development since 1985. While three tram networks of the first generation existed previously, there are meanwhile almost 30 again. In the article, the developments and strategies of the French renaissance of trams are outlined. Furthermore, other countries are considered in which similar projects are being implemented, some of them explicitly with regard to the French models.

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