As cities started growing in the end of 19th to the beggining of 20th century, the need for public transportation became very strong. Following that trend, many greek cities builded tramway systems in their roads for human and goods to be easily transported. The interesting part though is that all those cities were near the sea and had busy ports. Some trams began as horse-powered, some steam-powered, some others were electric since the construction and some others were electrified afterwards.
ATTICA
The Athenian tram began its opperation as horse-powered and serving a small network around the centre in 1882. But athenians loved it so much that in 20 years later in 1902 started growing and beeing electrified. The first electric tram moved on the Athenian rails in 1908. It is said that people used to love tram so much that they would hop in unti the end of the routes, just for the ride. The following years the lines got expanded and got their final form until 1912
Keeping up, rather than the lines around the centre of Athens there were also two tram lines connecting Athens with the beach (Faliro). The trains were steam powered at the begging, but got electrified at 1908. This connection also helped those areas by the sea to develop.
The area of Piraeus, although beeing in the greater Athens area, is considered as a different city and also had a generous tram system on service. Iniciated as horse-powered the same year as the Athenian one (1882) and got electrified also at 1908. Although both tram systems had their terminals at Faliro area, they never got connected with each other because the company that serving the train line Athens-Piraeus (today Athens metro green line 1) never let it happen, because of market competition.
The Athenian, along with the Faliro line and the Piraeus tram systems started falling apart after WW2, for lack of spare parts for the vehicles and because of the car indusrty which was growing vastly and had created the electric buses (trolleys) that replaced trams. The last scheduled routes were at the 15th of October 1960. The old rails were either demolished or covered with asphalt.
The tram line connecting Perama with Piraeus is a different kind of story though. The plan began around 1890's because of the need for connection of the two ports, but it was not before the 1930's for the construction to begin. Finally the tram line started opperating electrically in 1937. It was different from the previous three systems, as it was running on normal width tracks and fully independent by trafic. We could mention it like a light rail system of its era. Furthemore, the greater plan was to extend further to the town of Elefsina, but never did.
During WW2 the Germans was using the system and some small connective lines with Keratsini port and the national railway were added, but because of some ruinings after the war the system stoped opperating for about a year for renovation. The final schedule route was in March of 1977, although it worked again for a day in April 1977 because of a strike that took place. The tram was in many greek movies and the lines are still visible today.
THESSALONIKI
Thessaloniki got its tram not so many years after Athens. It was on 1893 and it ws also horse-powered, covering the centre of the city. The electrification in 1908 made the lines to extend further and cover a bigger part of the city. But after the Othomans gave the opperation and management to the electricity company and then, under the Greece to the greek company, the system could hardly been maintained by the workers, so they began striking. These moves made them achive many of their requests and started a movent of syndicalism.
Some rails were demolished by Constantinos Karamanlis (minister of infrustructure) in 1954, but the end of the system was in 1957 when the same person, prime minister now, shut down the tram. Although in Athens most of the lines were replaced by the trolleys, in Thessaloniki all of the routes were given to the public buses.
PATRAS
Patras is said to be the first ever greek city to have electricity. Its tram system was also electric since the begging of oppertion. The firts thoughts for a tram in the city was in 1893, when the mayor gave the costruction and opperation to the electricity company. But until the 1900's nothing had been done, so the next mayor convinces the company for the construction and the opperation of an electric tram by changing some terms in the first agreement. The begging of the tram was in 1902 and the electricity factory was placed next to the gas factory.
The system after 1914 started to have many promlems and although the company was commited to solve them by replacing ruined rails, put more schedule routes and raise the workers salary, in WW1 and because England stoped exporting coal to Greece, both of the factories shut down and caused huge problems to the city in 1917, with the tram to stop opperating and Patras to remain without gas. Many mayors afterwards tried to put the tram on service again, even by trying to convise the bourgeoisie to opperate it along with the municipality, but nothing happened. So Patras tram was kept in city's history.
KALAMATA
As the port of Kalamata was growing vastly and the beach was expanding, the need for a connection with the centre became vital. The municipality attempted to start constructing a tram system in 1898 with a first contract, but the final sign was in the 4th one in 1908, when the construction began. The works lasted a bit more that a year and in April 1910 the electric tram made by Siemens started scheduled routed in a single round path around the city, connecting finaly the city centre with the port and the beach. People love the tram and the city is developing radidly thanks to it. Βut because of WW2 the tram stopes opperating in 1940 and the lines gradually are being removed until 1962.
VOLOS
In Volos there is a little train that connects the city with the mountain of Pilio that had its terminal at the Railway Station of the city (today the terminal is at Ayia, a town very close to Volos). So in 1898 some steam trains started using the lines of that train between the Railway station and the beach of Volos (Anavros) and opperating as formal tram system of the period. It never got electrified and stoped working in 1939 because of WW2, iniciate again in 1941, but shut down in 1944. The final shut down though was in 1950 when attempted unsuccesfully to work again.
KARLOVASI
The island of Samos was the only one that ever had a tram systems in Greek region. Because of the grand developement of the great Karlovasi, a tram could easily solve the connection problem of the three areas that constitute it, offer a better transport of all goods to the port and create a huge impact outside the Greek region. The constructions of the system began in June of 1905 and in September of the same year was fully completed and started opperating. Rather than the main line connecting the three areas with the port, there were two additional connective lines for cargo transports. The system worked until 1939, when shut down, as horse-powered and never got electrified.
The truth is that seeing all those tram systems builded the previous century being distroyed is not pleasant. The reasons are either because of economic issues, or the destruction was caused by the car industry and its growth. The trams though were not the fast and comfortable vehicles that we know today, so it was unanoidable to be replaced by cars and buses. Although the train industry has known large technological growth and have overpass the buses, many cities in Greece still choose not to add tram systems in their network. The tram history should be an example of the developement of the cities and could be easily applied, with the modern technology, in cities all over Greece.
