TUNISIA: The Tunis Tram
January 2027

By popular request, we're spending an extended photo-weekend on this affordable tram tour to Tunis.

As usual with my trips, all permits, depot visits, and possibly charter trams are included. The Tunis Tram is a light rail network that began operation in 1985 with a route length of 61.3 kilometers, six lines, and 66 stations. A horse-drawn tram had been operating in Tunis since 1885. The first electric tram opened in 1900. Subsequently, the electric tram network continued to expand until its longest route, 30 kilometers, was reached in 1935. In 1945, the first tram lines were decommissioned and replaced by trolleybuses. Over the next 20 years, the network gradually thinned out until the last two tram lines were decommissioned on April 20, 1960. Just ten years later, trolleybus service was also discontinued.

In 1985, in a reversal of previous policy, it became the first city in Africa to put a modern light rail system into operation. The vehicles were high-floor railcars, built by Duewag in the style of the Hanover-based TW 6000. Due to the high demand, it soon became apparent that the existing 78 railcars would not be sufficient. Therefore, not only did additional vehicles have to be procured, but a second depot also had to be built.

In addition to the significant increase in passenger numbers on the existing lines, there was also a desire to expand the network to connect the El Mourouj district, which has a population of over 100,000 people. For this purpose, a branch line was built from the Mohamed Ali stop on Line 1. The first section to El Montazah opened on August 11, 2008, and the entire line to El Mourouj went into operation on November 8, 2008. For this new line, Tunis abandoned high-floor light rail vehicles and instead awarded Alstom the contract to supply 30 low-floor trams. Due to their 35-centimeter entry height, the high-level platforms were removed. The new Line 6 operates exclusively with low-floor trams. On December 10, 2009, Line 4 was extended by eight stops from Den Den to Manouba University (Kheireddine stop).

For the opening of operations, DUEWAG initially delivered a total of 78 high-floor trams to Tunis in 1984 and 1985. This was followed by series of 43 trams in 1991 and 1992, and 14 trams in 1997 and 1998, now manufactured by Siemens. In 2004, the purchase of an initial 30 new low-floor trams from Alstom was decided upon. The 32-meter-long, five-car, multi-articulated Citadis 302 cars have been in service since the end of 2007. Another nine cars followed in 2009, and another 16 in 2013. They have a single driver's cab and generally run rear-to-rear in double traction.

The tour-program is still under development (as of July 2025). If you are interested in regular updates on this trip or have suggestions for the itinerary, please email me!