List of largest tram and light rail transit systems

This is a list of the largest town tramway systems that have ever operated. Town tramway systems include all light rail, tram, interurban, streetcar, or other comparable modes of public transport which uses rails while mainly traveling among other traffic. All figures reflect the system at its height. To keep the list manageable, only systems with over 90km of track are included.

List

+ System Country Length (km) Notes ClosedVicinal tramwayBelgium4,095Networks between towns ceased in the 1970s, but one line (the Coast Tram) remains in operation.Streetcars in MontrealCanada500Network dismantled in 1959 in favour of buses.1959Streetcars in TorontoCanada405+most dismantled throughout the opening and extension of the subway system. 83km as of 2025 Streetcars in Los Angeles USA1,770+Composed of Los Angeles Railway and Pacific Electric.1963Chicago Surface Lines1,600+1958Trams in ParisFrance1,111Original network stopped service in 1938. Since then, a new 196.6 km network has been built.Trams in Buenos AiresArgentina875Historia del tranvía en Buenos Aires - Revista Digital eadUn viaje por la historia de la ciudad en el viejo Tramway - ElDiario.es, 21 March 2015.Still operating some lines.Trams in Saint PetersburgRussia700+205 km of lines remain.Boston Elevated RailwayUSA677 West End Street Railway system under lease. Remaining lines are operated by the MBTA within the Green Line systemDetroit United Railway6401956Trams in BerlinGermany624194 km of lines remain.Tram in MoscowRussia560 208This reference () quotes the 2014 single track length of Moscow's tram network to be – for the purposes of this table, the double track system length of Moscow's tram network is assumed to be roughly half that figure, or approximately .Trams in LondonUK523All trams removed by 1952, but a much smaller modern tramway network, Tramlink, reintroduced in 2000.1952SFMTAUSA489Length in 1921.Manchester Corporation TramwaysUK470Length could relate to all track in current Greater Manchester including neighbouring operators (but with much inter-running/shared routes).Yearsley, Ian. (1962) The Manchester Tram. Huddersfield: The Advertiser Press. p.21. Others suggest about 470 km.Bett, Wingate H; Gillham, John C, The Tramways of South-East Lancashire (1972). London: Light Railway Transport League. All trams removed by 1950s, but modern light rail, Manchester Metrolink introduced 1992.1949Market Street RailwayUSA4571944Trams in Rio de JaneiroBrazil433Streetcars in Washington, D.C.USA3201962Trams in ViennaAustria318Today 172 km remain.Sacramento NorthernUSA2951941Trams in SydneyAustralia2911961San Diego Electric RailwayUSA2661949Trams in MelbourneAustralia256Current largest tram system by route length.Glasgow Corporation TramwaysUK227.511962Trams in OsloNorway200+Today 94 km remain, several lines have been ripped out and high frequency buses are run on the lines instead and five lines have had their rights of way used for the current metrosystem.Trams in BrisbaneAustralia1991969Cologne StadtbahnGermany194.8 Trams in MilanItaly181.8 Data as of 2017. The network was longer in the past.Silesian TramwaysPoland178Tidewater Southern RailwayUSA137Trams in GenevaSwitzerland170The network was reduced to only one surviving line in the 1960s. It has been re-expanding since then, back to over 40 km.Trams in BudapestHungary158Trams in SofiaBulgaria154Trams in LeipzigGermany148Peninsular RailwayUSA146.6Trams in PragueCzech Rep.145.7As of 2019, the Prague tram network operates 882 tram vehicles.Trams in BucharestRomania144Liverpool Corporation TramwaysUK1401957Trams in KyivUkraine139.9Trams in BrusselsBelgium139Trams in DresdenGermany134.3Trams in MunichGermany134Trams in WarsawPoland132Trams in Stuttgart Germany131Trams in Hanover127Birmingham Corporation TramwaysUK129.6Birmingham City Transport, Malcolm, etc. Keeley, Transport Pub. Co 1978 1953Central California Traction CompanyUSA126Trams in LodzPoland124.1Tram in ZürichSwitzerland122Trams in Greater CairoEgypt1202019Trams in ZagrebCroatia116Trams in AdelaideAustralia113As of 2024, only 15 km remain.Visalia Electric Railroad USA109Key System1061959Dublin tramwaysIreland97No original tramways still exist, but modern light rail, the Luas, was introduced in 2004 and operates 42 km of track.1959Trams in GothenburgSweden95Trams in KrakówPoland97Trams in ChristchurchNew Zealand86.1A new heritage loop was built totalling 3.9 km.1954Pittsburgh RailwaysUSA975.2Replaced with a much smaller light rail network still in use today. As of 2026, only 42.2 km remain.

See also List of town tramway systems List of tram and light rail transit systems List of largest currently operating tram and light rail transit systems History of tram and light rail transit systems by country

References