Helsinki tram

The Helsinki tram network forms part of the Helsinki public transport system organised by Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and operated by Helsinki City Transport (Finnish: Helsingin kaupungin liikenne, Swedish: Helsingfors stads trafikverk) in the Finnish capital city of Helsinki. The trams are the main means of transport in the city centre. 54.9 million trips were made in 2009. The Helsinki system is one of the oldest electrified tram networks in the world.

Since 1999, new low-floor trams have been gradually brought into operation, but technical difficulties have slowed this progress. In 2004, Helsinki City Transport bought old eight-axle trams from Germany for relief during this transitional phase.

Trunk lines

There are 13 tram lines in operation.^[1] Line 9 is the latest to open on 10 August 2008, and also the latest to have its route changed, with the opening of the extension to West Harbour on 13 August 2012.

Rolling stock

Helsinki City Transport operates the tram network with a total of 132 trams in scheduled passenger service. In addition there are six trams in reserve and eight in charter use. The Valmet NRV I (formerly Nr I), Valmet MLNRV II (formerly Nr II) and Variotram series comprise the backbone of the fleet. Both Finnish- and German-made vehicles are in use. In 2006—2012, the whole Nr II+ series underwent a major modification process in which a 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in) low-floor midsection was fitted in the tram. The type designation was changed from Nr II+ to MLNRV to reflect the modifications made and the extended trams were re-introduced in traffic gradually as the modification works completed. HKL has also decided to fit eight of the older Nr I trams with a low-floor midsection, bringing the total number of MLNRV trams up to 52 by 2012, when the modifications are expected to be complete. HKL purchased ten DUEWAG series second-hand trams from the German town of Mannheim to cover for the shortage of rolling stock caused by the problems with the Variotrams.

The following table lists the current rolling stock. Corresponding articles have further details about the cars in use.