Trams in Barcelona

Like many cities, Barcelona started with a horse-drawn tram network, which then grew and was electrified before being decommissioned in favour of buses, private vehicles and the metro. Having not turned out so great, Barcelona then returned to the tram. I wrote about this same pattern in Luxembourg and Berlin, now it’s time for Barcelona. The first tram network The horse-drawn tram A monument to Christopher Columbus was constructed in 1888 near the Drassanes shipyards. The first tram line opened on 27 June 1872, as Cerdà was hard at work implementing his plan to expand Barcelona using the infamous grid layout. The service connected the shipyards at Drassanes (Pla de la Boqueira) through la Rambla, passeig de Gràcia, and Gran o Major de Gràcia. It ended in Josepets by Plaça de Lesseps, in the neighbouring village of Gràcia. The project was promoted by businessmen Aleix Soujol and Eduard Biada, while the operation of the tram service was managed by the British Barcelona Tramways Company…