11: Trams in Godthab
The Godthab tramway network forms part of the public transport system in Godthab, the capital city of Sverland.
It is one of the oldest tram networks in the world having its origins in 1866 as the horse-drawn tramway system before it was converted into a modern, electric system in 1895. Godthab's tram system is made up of 15 tram lines that operate throughout the 1,435mm standard gauge network with almost 500 tram stops. The system has 175 kilometres of dual tram tracks making it the fourth largest tram network in the world after Melbourne in Australia, St Petersburg in Russia and Berlin in Germany. With exception of Line S14, all tram lines in Godthab are connected to Godthabs Central Station (often abbreviated as Godthab C.) from the suburbs. Godthabs Central Station is located in Nystad (New Town). Nystad is basically the city centre area of Godthab and we will have a new City Journal update about Nystad later.
Like Tunnelbana metro trains and suburban buses, trams are operated under the Godthabs Omtrad Trafik (abbreviated as GOT) branding. GOT is a public-owned public transport company that is funded and managed by Godthabs Stad (City Council). GOT's colour branding is yellow and this means all public transport vehicles in Godthab, including trains, trams and buses, are all painted yellow.
As of 2021, the tram fleet consists of about 185 tram vehicles, of which 177 are W-Class Type 1. All W-Class tram vehicles are manufactured locally in Sverland between 1964 and 1988, and this means Godthab's tram fleet is actually quite old (mostly about 40 to 50 years old). Although the fleet is mostly old, all W-Class tram vehicles has already been restored and upgraded between 2004 and 2014 under the ten-year fleet modernisation programme funded by the Sverlandic National Government. All W-Class tram vehicles are unidirectional which means it cannot go back in reverse at terminus. All tram terminuses throughout Godthab has turning loops. The remaining 8 trams (out of the fleet of 185 trams) are heritage trams (from the 1920-1940s). It is only on the service during weekends on Line S8 to Gamla Stan.
In 2018, the European Commission on Transport Accessibility (ECTA) has fined Godthabs Stad and Sverland Government 60 million euros (equivalent to $72 million USD) for failing to provide adequate access for people with mobility limitations and issues including those with wheelchair. The key problem in Godthab is that all W-Class trams has steps by the door and this means all passengers will need to step up to enter the tram from tram stop platform. Although all new, modern buses in Godthab are low-level with full wheelchair access, it is still not good enough because trams are more popular and busier in Godthab.
In a response to the finding by ECTA in 2018, Godthabs Stad (City Council) and Sverland Government has funded 5 Billion Sverlandic Kroner (Skr) to withdraw ageing W-Class trams from all services and eventually replace with a new fleet of 200 low-level Z-Class trams manufactured by Bombardier in Germany. The single low-level Z-Class tram has a capacity of 210 passengers and will be bidirectional. The funding of 5 Billion Skr will also cover the cost of modernisation and upgrades for all tram stops and tram stations. It will be progressively upgraded line by line. The first line to be upgraded and receive new Z-Class trams will be Line S8 (to Gamla Stan), Line S9 (to Johannesfred), Line S10 (to Henriksdal) and Line S11 (to Kristianstad). It was decided that S8, S9, S10 and S11 will be the first group of lines because these lines are among the busiest in the network. It is also because S9, S10 and S11 lines stops at Godthabs Universitet (the largest university in Sverland). This group of lines will be completely upgraded by mid-2021.
This is a huge, significant change and the entire tram network in Godthab won't be fully completed until 2025.
Godthabs Stad plans to sell 65% of the W-Class fleet to other cities, donate the remaining 25% to community organisations, schools, transport museums and parks throughout Sverland. The remaining 10% will be used on special heritage weekend services with other old trams from the 1930s.
All trams in the photos below are old W-Class trams.
Line S7 tram (to Boras) on Kungsgaten (King Street) in Nystad at midnight. This is a W-Class tram.
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Line S11 tram (to Kristianstad) at Eriksberg, near Godthabs Universitet.
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Line S12 tram (to Norrkoping) at Ostermalm tram station with Tunnelbana Line T4 train (to Nyborra).
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Line S6 tram (to Ny Godthabs Hamn / New Port of Godthab) in Norrmalm.
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Line S4 tram (to Hallsave) in Nystad (New Town / City Centre).
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Hamnar Station is the second largest train station in Sverland - after Godthabs Central Station. Hamnar Station is the terminus for 3 Tunnelbana train lines and for the Line S2 tram. You can see Tunnelbana Line T2 train just departing Hamnar Station on way to Enkoping Station (25 kilometres away) via Godthabs Central Station.
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The Line S8 tram (to Gamla Stan) near Godthabs Katedral (Cathedral) in Gamla Stan (Old Town).
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The suburban town of Hasselby is a terminus for both S5 tram line and T1a Tunnelbana line.
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Godthabs Universitet tram stop during the peak hour. You can see how busy it is!
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Godthabs Sparvagen (Tram) Network Map
The tram system in Godthab is broken up into 6 colour groups with 15 tram lines. Each tram line is numbered beginning with a letter "S" (short for Sparvagen). This number system is consistent with the Tunnelbana train system where train lines have a "T" before the line number, for example Line T2 to Enkoping. In the map above, if you see a [T] symbol next to the name, it means there is a Tunnelbana train station nearby. In the tram map above, only major tram stops and interchanges are named. The map will get really messy if we include the name of all 500 tram stops!
Orange Group
From Godthabs Central Station: S1 to Gotaab, S2 to Hamnar and S3 to Lauvegardet
Red Group
From Godthabs Central Station: S4 to Hallsave, S5 to Hasselby, S6 to Ny Godthabs Hamn (New Port of Godthab) and S7 to Boras
Blue Group
From Godthabs Central Station: S8 to Gamla Stan (Old Town), S9 to Joahnnesfred, S10 to Henriksdal and S11 to Kristianstad
Green Group
From Godthabs Central Station: S12 to Norrkoping and S13 to Beckomberga
Lime Group
From Riksdaghus (Parliament House): S14 to Jakobsberg
Pink Group
From Godthabs Central Station: S15 to Sodermalm
I have already posted a City Journal update about the Tunnelbana train system (see the "03: Godthabs Tunnelbana" post) but I'll attach the Tunnelbana map here anyway. You can have a look at the train map below and compare it with the tram map above.
Godthabs Tunnelbana (Train) Network Map
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