Tram systems in Zürich

As far back as the 1860s, proposals were made for the introduction of trams to Zürich, but it wasn't until 1882 that the first trams actually started operating in the city. Since then, there have been a number of different companies operating lines within the Zürich area, the majority of which have either merged with other companies or closed down, until the present day situation. This section gives a chronological summary of the different companies and the areas they covered.

• Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft (ZStG) - This is the private company that opened Zürich's first private tramway in 1882, using horse-drawn standard gauge trams (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8½ in gauge). It was absorbed into the StStZ in 1897.
• Elektrische Strassenbahn Zürich (EStZ) - This company was the first electric tram operator starting in 1894, and also the first to use metre gauge (3 ft 3⅜ in gauge). It was bought by the city of Zürich and renamed as the StStZ in 1896.
• Zentrale Zürichbergbahn (ZZB) - Formed in 1895, the ZZB operated 2 lines, running from near the current Kunsthaus to the Kirche Fluntern and the lower terminus of the Rigiblick funicular. They also ran their trams to Paradeplatz on STSTz lines and were eventually acquired by the StStZ in 1905.
• Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich (StStZ) - The StStZ was formed by the city of Zürich in 1896 to buy the EStZ and continued to absorb other local operators until by 1931, it owned all the remaining private tramways in the city. In 1950, the StSTZ was renamed as the VBZ.
• Strassenbahn Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach (ZOS) - Formed in 1897, the ZOS ran a tram route from what was Leonhardsplatz (now called Central) to Oerlikon and Seebach via Stampfenbachstrasse and Schaffhauserstrasse. The company later extended its route from Seebach to Glattbrugg and introduced a route from Oerlikon to Schwamendingen. ZOS operated independently of the city trams run by the StSTZ, until it was taken over by them in 1931. At the time of the take over, the Seebach to Glattbrugg and Oerlikon to Schwamendingen lines were closed.
• Industriequartier-Strassenbahn Zürich (IStB) - Formed in 1898, the IStB constructed a route from Bahnhofquai to Escher-Wyss-Platz, where it connected with the StZH route to Höngg. Initially. the trams ran through from Bahnhofquai to Höngg, however this through route ceased in 1901 and passengers needed to change trams at Escher-Wyss-Platz. IStB was taken over by StStZ in 1903 and the through route to Höngg resumed again.
• Strassenbahn Zürich–Höngg (StZH) - From 1898, the StZH ran a route from Escher-Wyss-Platz via Wipkingen to Höngg. At Escher-Wyss-Platz, the line connected with the IStB line to Bahnhofquai. The StSTZ aquired the company in three stages. First in 1907 when it purchased the section from Escher-Wyss-Platz to Wipkingen and replaced the bridge over the Limmat river. Then in 1931, the line as far as Höngg was purchased, followed in 1923 by the remainder of the line to the terminus at the Wartau depot.
• Dolderbahn (Db) - The Dolderbahn was opened in 1895 as a funicular running from Römerhof to the upper terminus at the Dolder Waldhaus Hotel. In 1899, a tramway was added to run from the upper terminus to the Dolder Grand Hotel. The line had a single car and was totally unconnected with any other tram line. The tram was replaced by a bus in 1930, which was itself replaced in 1973 when the Dolderbahn was converted to a rack railway and extended to the Dolder Grand.
• Limmattal Strassenbahn (LSB) - The LSB was formed in 1900 and ran an interurban line from the former Zürich city boundary at Letzigraben to Dietikon, via Altstetten and Schlieren. The company also ran a branch from Schlieren to Weiningen. The line connected to the StStZ at Letzigraben. The route between Schlieren and Dietikon was closed in 1928 and in 1931, the section between Schlieren and Weiningen was closed and the remaining section from Letzigraben to Schlieren was acquired by the StStZ.
• Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn (BD) - The BD was formed in 1902 and ran a rural tramway between Bremgarten in Kanton Aargau and Dietikon to the west of Zürich. The tramway was well outside of the city boundaries, but was indirectly connected to the city's tramways by the LSB at Dietikon. BD was amalgamated with the bus operator Wohlen–Meisterschwandento form the BDWM in 2000.
• Albisgütlibahn (AGB) - Formed in 1907, the AGB was the last privately owned tramway to be built within the city and connected the city tramway at Giesshübelstrasse to Albisgüetli, the site of the federal shooting festival. At the time, the location was very rural and after the festival finished, the line suffered from a lack of traffic, causing financial difficulties and in 1913, the company sold 3 of its 5 trams to the StStZ. By 1915, the line only operated on Sundays and was finally taken over by the StStZ in 1925.
• Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn (WMB) - The WMB was a rural tramway, constructed in 1909, that ran from Kempten and Wetzikon to Meilen on the shores of Lake Zürich. The tramway was well outside of the city boundaries, but was indirectly connected to the city's tramways by the UOeb, with which it connected at Langholz, allowing connection to the FB.
• Uster-Oetwil-Bahn (UOeB) - Constructed in 1909, the UOeB was a rural tramway linking Uster, Esslingen, Oetwil am See and Langholz. The tramway was well outside of the city boundaries, but was indirectly connected to the city's tramways by the FB, with which it connected at Esslingen.
• Forchbahn (FB) - Constructed in 1912 and linking Zürich with the towns of Esslingen and Forch, the FB was initially a rural tramway that connected with the city trams at Rehalp and ran as far as the city centre. In the 1950s, the line was rebuilt with more railway characteristics and outside of the city runs separate from road traffic. The line continues to share the city tram lines from Rehalp to its terminus at Stadelhofen.
• Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) - The VBZ is the current tram operator in Zürich and was formed in 1950 when it was renamed from the StStZ.
• BDWM Transport AG (BDWM) - The BDWM was created in 2000 by the amalgamation of the BD with the bus operator WM. The company still operate a light rail service between Dietikon and Wohlen, but it is no longer connected to the city tram system.

Zürich currently has 17 tram lines, which are listed below. To see more information about a particular line, click on the link in the table below (where applicable).

With a forcast population expansion and increased demand on public transport, Stadt Zürich and the ZVV have put in place concrete plens for the development of the city\s transport network in the years and decades to come. In this section we will detail the plans that have been officially released at the time that this page was last updated. Below are the different plans that have been announced

The 2025/26 timetable update will see major changes to a number of the existing tram lines in Zürich, to reflect in the changing needs of the population of the city. In particular, the plans for the expansion of the six clinics in the hospital district and the opening of the new children's hospital in Lengg at the end of 2024, will see an increased pressure on the capacity of the vehicles on Forchstrasse during rush hour.

To allow for this increased demand, the timetable for 2026 will see changes to a number of the existing tram lines in Zürich. These changes are as follow:

• Line 2, which currently runs between Schlieren, Geissweid and Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen will be rerouted to run from Schlieren, Geissweid via Bellevue to Klusplatz. The portion of the route from Bellevue will replace the current route of Line 8;
• Line 4, which currently runs between Bahnhof Altstetten Nord and Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen will be rerouted to run from Bahnhof Altstetten Nord via Bellevue to Rehalp. The portion of the route from Bellevue will replace the current route of Line 11;
• Line 5, which currently runs between Laubegg and Kirche Fluntern will be rerouted to run from Laubegg to Stadelhofen during off-peak hours and extended to run from Albisgütli via Paradeplatz and Bellevue to Bahnhof Stadelhofen. During rush hour, the line will supplement line 4 between Bellevue and Rehalp and line 13 between Paradeplatz and Albisgütli;
• Line 8, which currently runs between Hardturm and Klusplatz will be rerouted to run from Hardturm via Bahnhof Enge to Kirche Fluntern (and Zoo on Sundays). From Bahnhof Enge, the route replaces the current route of Line 5;
• Line 11 , which currently runs between Auzelg and Rehalp will be rerouted to run from Auzelg via Bellevue to Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen. The portion from Belevue replaces the current route of lines 2 and 4;
• Line 15, which currently runs between Bucheggplatz to Bahnhof Stadelhofen will be rerouted to run from Bucheggplatz via Bellevue to Bahnhof Tiefenbrunnen. The portion from Belevue replaces the current route of lines 2 and 4;
• Line 17, which currently runs between Werdhölzli and HB/Bahnhofplatz and to Albisgütli during peak hours will be rerouted to run from Werdhölzli via Bahnhofquai, Paradeplatz, Bahnhof Selnau and Stauffacher to Wiedikon during peak hours and between Werdhölzli and HB/Bahnhofplatz. During peak hours, the route replaces the current route of Line 8 between Stauffacher and Paradeplatz.

The second part of the future plans for the tram network are titled züri-linie 2030 and focus on changes to be implemented by 2030 to allow for the expected increase in passenger numbers of 100 million.

Some parts of this plan have already been implemented, such as the creation of the Limmattalbahn and associated extension of Line 2 to Schlieren, Geissweid, together with the creation of the line over Hardbrücke.

The final part of this plan to be implemented is Tram Affoltern. This new line will run from Brunnenhof (formerly Radiostudio9 to Holzerhurd, following the route of trolly-bus line 32 that it will replace. Following completion of the new tracks, Line 11 will be rerouted to run from Rehalp to Holzerhurd and Line 15 will be extended from its current terminus at Bucheggplatz to run to Auzelg. Bus line 32 will then terminate at Bucheggplatz. It is expected that track construction for the new section will commence in late 2025, to be completed by the end of 2029.

In addition to the plans of the ZVV, the Glattalbahn which runs to the airport has a planned extension to Klotten that is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed in 4 or 5 years. This extension will run from Flughafen to Oberfeld, via Obstgartenstrasse, Mühle and Steinacker.

The final part of ZVV's future plans for the tram network looks even further into the future from 2040 to 2050 and is titled Netzentwicklung 2040 / Zukunftsbild 2050.

As would be expected for plans looking decades into the future, the information available is very high level at the moment and rather sparse, but the key points are:

• The plan foresees population growth in the outer areas of Zürich, such as Oerlikon and Altstetten;
• The plan therefore focuses on the development of public transport rings that will directly connect these outer areas without the need to travel into the city center;
• An outer "ring" will connect the centers of Oerlikon and Altstetten together with Bahnhof Stettbach and Bahnhof Enge;
• An inner ring will connect areas such as Milchbuck, Hardbrücke, Bahnhof Enge and Bellevue;

This proposed ring network will allow travelers to quickly reach the growing neighborhoods from the stations on the outskirts of the city. This ring system also serves to provide good access to Binz, ETH Hönggerberg and Schwamendingen and also to relieve the pressure on the city center.