page_title: Trams in Freiburg im Breisgau
section_title: Initial operation
hierarchical_section_title: Trams in Freiburg im Breisgau / History / Initial operation
context_page_description: The Freiburg im Breisgau tramway network is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Freiburg im Breisgau, a city in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Opened in 1901, the network has been operated since its foundation by the company now known as Freiburger Verkehrs AG (VAG Freiburg or just VAG) and powered by electricity. Currently, the tramway network is run by five lines. The expansion of the tram network since 1980 has served as an example of the "renaissance of the trams" in Germany. At the start of 2017, 72 trams were available for regular use. Five of these were high-floored, 37 partial and 30 low-floored. Almost the entirety of the network is located within Freiburg's urban area, only a few metres of the balloon loop at Gundelfinger Straße are located outside the boundary of Gundelfingen to the north of Freiburg. In total, the trams serve 20 out of the 28 districts in Freiburg.
context_section_description: On Friday 30 August 1901, the first test run took place, with the first public serving trams operating in the autumn. From 14 October 1901 on, the two lines A and D went into operation before lines B and C, which opened on 2 December 1901. The original length was nine kilometres and had 34 stops. The latter two routes were only able to operate once the Schwabentor had been converted. For the two-tracked tramway, it was extended, similar to that of the Martinstor, with a second passageway. At first, however, the lines were only used for internal purposes and were not prescribed to trams. Freiburg was the fourth tram network installed within the Grand Duchy of Baden. In contrast to the older networks in Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Mannheim, which were all electrified three months before the plant opened in Freiburg, trams in the Breisgau were powered by electricity from the outset and used lyric current collectors.
  The power plant opened on 1 October 1901 and regularly produced direct current. In the first year, 61 percent of the 177,000 Kilowatt hours were used by the tram network. This was until 1933, when it received its own supply. At the start, this is how the network ran:
  
  Lines A and D ran along Habsburger Straße, Kaiser-Joseph-Straße and Günterstalstraße, while the section Line D alone served along the entire length of Schauninslandstraße. Lines B and C both followed Bismarckallee, Bertoldstraße, Salzstraße, Straße Oberlinden and the Schwabentorring until its southern end. From there, Line B alone served Hildastraße and Urachstraße, whilst Line C followed Schwarzwaldstraße to the east. For train crossings, seven evasions were accessible on the single-track east-west route.
  During the morning peak, up to 18 trams were used simultaneously, whilst nine others were in reserve. In the inner city, a more dense supply resulted from the superposition of Lines A and D. There was on the single Double-track railway of the network between Rennweg, now Hauptstraße, and Lorettostraße up to 16 trips per hour. On the interchange Lorettostraße-Günterstal, which was originally cross-bordered, the only intermediate passing loop was at Wonnhalde. As a single line, the one to Güterstal, as was the case at the time, was operated from the outset by a trailer car. For this purpose, there was a transfer line at the two terminals of Rennweg and Günterstal. There were four open summer carriages available for the strong holiday traffic during this season.
  The section serving Hauptbahnhof and Schwabentorbrücke was served by twelve cars an hour. However, due to the single-track infrastructure, the trams on lines B and C always ran very close behind each other.
  An operational feature from the earlier years was the level junction of the interurban route to Günterstal with Höllentalbahn, which had not yet been electrified. This was located on Günterstalstraße, a few metres south of Lorettostraße and Urachstraße.
  From as early as 1902, the tram was able to transport more than three million passengers. The horse-drawn bus lines in their last full year of operation in 1900 had transported a mere 50,000 passengers. In the same years, Lines B and C were extended from their former endpoint at the Hauptbahnhof by approximately 200 metres to the northwest at Lehener Straße. Heading towards Lehener Straße, trams were still signposted for the Hauptbahnhof, although they continued from there to a stop. This should have served to make the orientation easier for locals.
  Within the inner city, the operating company introduced a uniform tariff of ten pfennigs in 1902. This was the only reason for a one-off transfer to Bertoldsbrunnen junction (colloquially called Fischbrunnen, or Fish's Well), Schwabentorbrücke and Lorettostraße. The fee for the route from Günterstal to Lorettostraße was ten pfennigs. It also cost 20 pfennigs for trips beyond Lorettostraße. Passengers were asked to keep their money readily available for payment when they disembarked and give it to the conductor.
caption: Network map 1902