Trams in Dessau

Dessau tramway network
Dessau tramway network
Straßenbahn Dessau
	NGT low-floor tram at main station, 2022
Operation
Locale	Dessau-Roßlau, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Gas tram era: 1894–1901
Status	Converted to electricity
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s)	Gas
Electric tram era: since 1901
Status	Operational
Lines	2
Operator(s)	Dessauer Verkehrsgesellschaft [de]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Propulsion system(s)	Electricity
Electrification	750 V DC
Stock	10 NGT6DE
Route length	11.9 km (7.4 mi)
Stops	29
Website	Dessauer Verkehrsgesellschaft (in German)

The Dessau tramway (German: Straßenbahn Dessau) is a network of tramways forming part of the public transport system in Dessau-Roßlau, a city in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

The first part of the network opened in 1894 as a gas-powered tram line, and electric operation began on 26 March 1901.^[1] Since 1990 the network has been operated by Dessauer Verkehrsgesellschaft [de].

Lines

Since 2016 only two lines have been in operation, lines 1 and 3.

Line	Route	Stops	Journey time (peak hours)
1	Hauptbahnhof – Wasserwerkstraße – Dessau Süd	14	16 min
3	Hauptbahnhof – Berufsschulzentrum – Junkerspark	19	22 min

Rolling Stock

GT8

At the time of German reunification the tram fleet in Dessau still consisted of two-axle vehicles which required urgent replacement. To renew the fleet 14 second-hand Düwag GT8 trams were acquired from Duisburg in 1992. Four of these were sold again to Norrköping in 1997, with the remaining ten covering all services in Dessau until the arrival of new low-floor trams in 2001. As of 2020 two GT8 trams were still in use as service vehicles.^[3]

NGT6DE

The current rolling stock fleet consists of ten Flexity Classic NGT6DE unidirectional low-floor trams, numbered 301-310. These trams were delivered between 2001 and 2002 and have six-axles, two articulated sections and a length of 21 m. The trams were built by Bombardier Transportation in Bautzen, with the front and back sections produced by Fahrzeugtechnik Dessau.^[2]

Düwag GT8 approaching Dessau Hauptbahnhof
Flexity Classic NGT6DE

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Perbandt, Jens (October 2024). "Mit der Straßenbahn durch die Bauhausstadt" [By tram through the Bauhaus city]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 26–28. ISSN 0340-7071.
^ ^a ^b Pohl, Christoph (2022-01-08). "Seit 20 Jahren sind in Dessau Niederflurstraßenbahnen im Einsatz - mit Erfolg" [Low-floor trams have been in service in Dessau for 20 years - with success] (in German). Mitteldeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 2024-09-22.
^ Beitelsmann, Michael; Kochems, Michael; Pietschmann, Matthias (August 2020). "Aufbau Ost" [Reconstruction East]. Straßenbahn Magazin (in German). GeraMond. pp. 47–61. ISSN 0340-7071.

Bibliogrpahy

Bauer, Gerhard; Kuschinski, Norbert (1994). Die Straßenbahnen in Ostdeutschland [The Tramways in East Germany]. Vol. Band 2: Sachsen-Anhalt, Thüringen [Volume 2: Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia]. Aachen, Germany: Schweers + Wall. ISBN 392167980X. (in German)
Schwandl, Robert (2012). Schwandl's Tram Atlas Deutschland (in German and English) (3rd ed.). Berlin: Robert Schwandl Verlag. ISBN 9783936573336.