Trams in Italy

A tram near the Colosseum in Rome

This post is the last of a series on trains I saw and/or rode while on vacation in Italy. Start at the beginning if you like.

Trams in Rome

I saw a number of trams / streetcars while my wife and I were in Rome. We never had a reason to ride one, but I made a point of photographing them on a few occasions.

There are four types of trams running in Rome: ATAC 7000 series, SOCIMI, Cityway 1 and Cityway 2. The lead photo and the one below are Cityway 2 trams. These were manufactured by Fiat Ferrovia (now part of Alstom); the Rome Transport Company (Azienda dei Trasporti di Roma, ATAC) placed an order for 50 trams in 1998. They are bidirectional, full low floor trams operating on 600V DC and running on a track gauge of 1445mm (close to 4' 8.5").

Cityway 2 tram in Rome

The next tram is a Cityway 1 tram, at the Termini train station in Rome. 28 of these were ordered by ATAC in 1996; they are partial low floor trams and are the same type of trams that were ordered by Turin, Italy in 1989.

Cityway 1 tram at the Termini station in Rome

The next tram was built by Italian tram manufacturer SOCIMI, which went bankrupt during the production run.

Here's one more tram, another Cityway 2 tram.

Trams in Florence

There is one tram line in Florence. It was recently rebuilt (opening in 2010), long after it was closed in 1958. The line runs 11.5 km from Careggi, north of the main train station (Florence Santa Maria Novella), to Scandicci in southwest Florence.

I did not take any photos of this, as the only portion of the line I would have seen was right by the train station. The tram line does not go near the Duomo area, where most tourists go.

Trams in Venice

A tram in Venice, Italy

Believe it or not, there is tram service in Venice, Italy. The tram system is mostly in the mainland portion of Venice, but it does operate over the causeway to the island portion to a spot near the train station.

These are Translohr rubber-tired trams, originally developed by the French company Lohr and now built by a consortium that includes Alstom.

Although they run on rubber tires, they use a single rail to guide the tram along the route.

We did not ride these trams.

P.S. A Few Buses

A bus in Rome

Here are two photos of buses, for those who like them!

A vaporetto, aka a water bus, in Venice

That concludes my series on trains (and trams) in Italy. Thanks for reading!

See Also

• Trains in Italy (the start)
• Trains in Belgium
• Trains in Amsterdam
• Public Transit in Vienna