Trams in Graz

The first trams to run in Graz were horse trams in private ownership, with service commencing in 1878. The lines were electrified from 1899. In 1939, the tram network was acquired by the city. The Graz tram network reached a peak in 1950. Growing car ownership, and the growth of residential areas in outer reaches of the city not served by the trams, led to a fall in tram usage and eventually, after 1950, the closure of several tram routes. The city introduced trolleybuses in 1941 to serve the outer areas of the city, but these were replaced by motor buses by 1967. In 2012, new tram tunnels were built to serve the city's main railway station (Graz Hauptbahnhof), which was previously the terminus of two tram lines and some distance from the main westbound tram route. Trams on the main line now stop in a new subsurface tram station in the station forecourt area. This allows the station to be served by four of the city's six lines. On 29 November 2025, the Neutorlinie was put into service running between Jakominiplatz and Annenstraße via Neutorgasse to relieve congestion along Herrengasse in the city centre. Line 17 would use the Neutorlinie with line 16 taking over on evenings, weekends and holidays. == Operation ==

Route network The following services operate during the day on Mondays to Saturdays: • Line 1: Eggenberg/UKH – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – Mariatrost • Line 3: Andritz – Jakominiplatz – Krenngasse • Line 4: Reininghaus – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – Liebenau/Murpark • Line 5: Andritz – Jakominiplatz – Puntigam • Line 6: Smart City – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – St. Peter • Line 7: Wetzelsdorf – Hauptbahnhof – Jakominiplatz – LKH Med Uni/Klinikum Nord The following services operate in the evenings and on Sundays: With the exception of the short tunnelled sections, and the former light railway section of line 1, all of the system is street based, with varying degrees of segregation. As the trams are single-ended, with doors on only one side, all terminal locations are equipped with turning loops, and all tram stops are to the nearside of the tram. In October 2025, 15 new vehicles of the type Flexity from the manufacturer Alstom were delivered to Graz. Tickets are available for different periods of validity, including one hour, 24 hours, a week, a month or a year, and allow unlimited changes of vehicle within the validity period. Tickets can be purchased from ticket machines on board the trams or at the major stops, from tobacconists, or from a central office. They are also available by SMS text message or via a smartphone app. ==Future==

With the introduction of the full set of Variobahn trams, many of Graz's older high-floor trams will be retired. It is also planned to lengthen the new Variobahn trams by adding 2 further sections to the trams. • Double-track expansion of Line 1 from Hilmteich to Mariagrün (6.3 million euros, by 2023). • Partial double-track expansion of Line 1 between Mariagrün and Mariatrost (in several construction phases, 2.3 million euros, by 2023). Line 8 is in a planned 12.6 km connection between Gösting and Straßgang, of which 11 km will be new track. The line would be built in multiple stages. A north-west section (NW1) will be built between Roseggerhaus and Fröbelpark. A south-west section (SW2) will be built between Karlauer Gürtel and Reininghaus via Citypark and Don Bosco with some portions of the line in mixed traffic. Planning is to continue until 2028, construction would start in 2030 and the new line would go into service in 2033. In 2025, construction costs were estimated at €72 million for NW1 and €93.5 million for SW2. • Line 8: Jakominiplatz – Citypark – Don Bosco – Reininghaus – Straßgang ==See also==