A decisive development in the urbanization of Erfurt took place with the construction of residential areas Erfurt-Nord (50,000 inhabitants) and Erfurt-East (40,000 inhabitants) in the 1970s and 1980s.
The result was that the city's transport needs had evolved considerably, whereupon Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe had to respond.
So old, narrow routes in the city center were shut down and separate new lines to the newly built residential areas were constructed.
This was a first step in the direction of the development of Erfurt's modern Stadtbahn network, and included some routes that were fully grade-separated from other traffic (e.g. cars).
Going hand-in-hand with the expansion of the network was the complete conversion of the railcar fleet.
In 1975, the first Tatra KT4 traincars were introduced to replace the old Gotha cars in use at that time on the tramway, and through 1987 the old Gotha cars were removed from service.

After German reunification in 1990, the previous VEB Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe enterprise became the Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe AG (EVAG), but it remained owned by the city.
Since 1996, EVAG has been a division of the city's public utilities company (Stadtwerken), and since 2008 has been known as SWE EVAG.
In the early 1990s, stops and passenger information systems were revitalized, and the fleet was modernized with the first low-floor MGT6D Duewag tramcars operating from 1994.
In 2000, Combinos Siemens traincars were added to the fleet.
Moreover, after 1990, fares were increased for the first time since 1914, from 15 Pfennig per trip to a level that allowed for a tram operation that was economically sustainable.
A decisive development in the urbanization of Erfurt took place with the construction of residential areas Erfurt-Nord (50,000 inhabitants) and Erfurt-East (40,000 inhabitants) in the 1970s and 1980s. The result was that the city's transport needs had evolved considerably, whereupon Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe had to respond. So old, narrow routes in the city center were shut down and separate new lines to the newly built residential areas were constructed. This was a first step in the direction of the development of Erfurt's modern Stadtbahn network, and included some routes that were fully grade-separated from other traffic (e.g. cars). Going hand-in-hand with the expansion of the network was the complete conversion of the railcar fleet. In 1975, the first Tatra KT4 traincars were introduced to replace the old Gotha cars in use at that time on the tramway, and through 1987 the old Gotha cars were removed from service. 
After German reunification in 1990, the previous VEB Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe enterprise became the Erfurter Verkehrsbetriebe AG (EVAG), but it remained owned by the city. Since 1996, EVAG has been a division of the city's public utilities company (Stadtwerken), and since 2008 has been known as SWE EVAG. In the early 1990s, stops and passenger information systems were revitalized, and the fleet was modernized with the first low-floor MGT6D Duewag tramcars operating from 1994. In 2000, Combinos Siemens traincars were added to the fleet. Moreover, after 1990, fares were increased for the first time since 1914, from 15 Pfennig per trip to a level that allowed for a tram operation that was economically sustainable.
Erfurt Stadtbahn