The Hague Tram (Dutch: Haagse tram) is a tram network forming part of the public transport system in and around the city of The Hague in South Holland, Netherlands.
Opened in 1864, as of 2018 the network has twelve tram lines, three of which were built to light rail standards and currently operate under the RandstadRail brand. It consists of 117 kilometres of rails and 241 stops, and has been operated by HTM Personenvervoer since 2002, being the successor of N.V. Gemengd Bedrijf Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij (01-01-1927 - 11-06-2002) and N.V. Haagsche Tramweg-Maatschappij (HTM) (01-05-1887 - 01-01-1927).
The first lines in The Hague were horse-drawn. In the first half of the 1880s, steam trams appeared and rapidly replaced the horse-drawn lines, especially in longer services. One of these was the line between The Hague and Delft in July 1887, which is still in service today and extended to Scheveningen Noord. In August 1904, the first electrified line went into service; this is now part of line 9 between Plein and Scheveningen Kurhaus. Most of this line is still part of the line between Vrederust and Scheveningen Noord.
A 1.25-kilometre (0.78 mi) long city centre tunnel for trams was opened in March 2004. It is used by Lines 2, 3, 4 and 6 and incorporates two underground stations: Spui and Grote Markt.[2] The tunnel is the western section of a grade-separated section of the tram network, part of a proposed semi-metro network in the 1950s. Currently, it includes the tunnel and an elevated viaduct to the east, which includes a branch line for RandstadRail trams that connects to the former Hofpleinlijn near Den Haag Laan van NOI railway station. Trams on RandstadRail lines 3 and 4 use this connecting line. East of Laan van NOI they share tracks and stations with Rotterdam Metro line E trains as far as Leidschendam-Voorburg before diverting onto the former Zoetermeer Stadslijn towards Zoetermeer.
As of 2017, the fleet consists of approximately 250 trams of three types:
There are additional services between Den Haag Savornin Lohmanplein and Den Haag Centraal railway station during rush hours
There are additional services between Den Haag Monstersestraat - Zoetermeer Javalaan during rush hours (double units)
A number of trams from the city are preserved in the city's transport museum, the Haags Openbaar Vervoer Museum, situated in the old Frans Halsstraat tram depot, by the Wouwermanstraat stop on tram lines 9, 11 and 12.
Additionally, the city's PCC car 1147 is preserved in the UK's National Tramway Museum, where it is displayed to illustrate the evolution of tram car design around the world.[4]
Media related to Trams in The Hague at Wikimedia Commons
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