Tram revival gathers momentum
Investment in trams is booming in many European countries including Switzerland where new track is being laid in the cities of Zurich, Basel and Geneva.
On May 16 voters will have their say on a new SFr153 million ($117 million) tramline serving a western suburb of the capital, Bern.
The rash of Swiss projects coincides with a general tram renaissance across Europe and other parts of the globe.
In France, trams disappeared all over the country but are now experiencing a comeback in Nantes, Lyons, Grenoble, Strasbourg, Rouen and on the outskirts of Paris. Projects have also been launched in Italy, Spain, Britain and the United States.
Networks are also being extended in Germany and the Netherlands, countries - like Switzerland - where routes were retained after the arrival of the car.
Voters in canton Bern are deciding this weekend on whether to approve a SFr47.5 million loan for a new tramline from the city centre to Bümpliz-Bethlehem.
The remainder of the total project costs of SFr153 million would be met by the city of Bern and by the federal government.
Overcrowding
Bümpliz-Bethlehem is currently only served by buses, which are becoming increasingly crowded.
According to some politicians, a new tramline would not only alleviate overcrowding, it would also provide an economic boost for the canton as a whole.
“It’s an investment that would have a long-term effect,” explained Simonetta Sommaruga, centre-left Social Democrat senator for canton Bern. “A good urban infrastructure also benefits rural areas.”
There are also plans to build a new, multipurpose business centre at the end of the line.
But given the dire state of the cantonal coffers, opponents think the project is a waste of public money.
“[It is] an unwanted gift, an unnecessary luxury, a dream that can never be fulfilled,” said Thomas Fuchs, a member of the cantonal parliament representing the Swiss People’s Party. Fuchs set up a committee opposing the project.
Politicians are also considering another tramline, which would go to Ostermundigen to the east of Bern and would replace the most heavily used bus route in the city.
Making tracks
Similar projects are underway or have been completed elsewhere in Switzerland. Geneva has just inaugurated a tramline running between the main railway station and Place des Nations, home of the United Nations.
Geneva plans to start work in 2005 on a new tramline to replace another city bus route.
Work is also about to start in Zurich on the construction of a line in the Glattal, considered the most dynamic area of the canton, which will link Zurich-Oerlikon, Zurich airport and the railway station in Stettbach.
Other tram projects underway in Switzerland include the extension in Basel of existing tramlines to Weil am Rhein, Germany, and St Louis, France.
However, there are no immediate plans to revive the tram in the cities of Lugano and Locarno, which banished the mode of transport in the 1960s.
Both cities now boast some of the worst traffic congestion in Switzerland; smog and ozone readings are persistently high in the summer.
swissinfo, Raffaella Rossello
Key facts
40 cities around the world have reintroduced trams over the past 25 years.
Five cities in Switzerland are contemplating or already investing in new track or extensions.
In brief
The tram has been threatened with extinction in various cities around the world.
But over the past few years it has staged an impressive comeback, thanks to the ecological and economic advantages it offers.
Most of Switzerland’s main cities have retained their major tramlines; now there are plans to extend them or build new ones.
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