Trams in Zürich
Many companies
The many companies that operated trams in and around Zürich are summarised in the table below. Names of companies whose lines were entirely outside the current city boundaries are shown in italic type, and those which still operate tram or other light rail services are shown in bold type.

Trams in Zürich

Section Title: Many companies
Table Section Text: The many companies that operated trams in and around Zürich are summarised in the table below. Names of companies whose lines were entirely outside the current city boundaries are shown in italic type, and those which still operate tram or other light rail services are shown in bold type.

Company	Abbreviation	From	Until	Absorbed by	Notes

Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft [de]	ZStG	1882	1897	StStZ	The private company that opened Zürich's first tramway, using horse-drawn standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in gauge) trams.

Elektrische Strassenbahn Zürich [de]	EStZ	1894	1896	StStZ	The first electric tram operator, and the first to use metre gauge (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in gauge). Bought by the City of Zürich, and renamed the StStZ.

Zentrale Zürichbergbahn [de]	ZZB	1895	1905	StStZ	Constructed two electric tramways from near the current Kunsthaus to the Kirche Fluntern and to the lower terminus of the Rigiblick funicular.

Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich	StStZ	1896	1950	VBZ	Formed by the City of Zürich to buy the EStZ. The city owned company continued to acquire other tram operators, until by 1931 it owned all the remaining tramways within the city.

Strassenbahn Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach [de]	ZOS	1897	1931	StStZ	Constructed a tram route from Leonhardsplatz (now known as Central) to Oerlikon and Seebach via Stampfenbachstrasse and Schaffhauserstrasse. Later additions included an extension from Seebach to Glattbrugg, and a route from Oerlikon to Schwamendingen.

Industriequartier-Strassenbahn Zürich [de]	IStB	1898	1903	StStZ	Constructed a tram route from Bahnhofquai to Escher-Wyss-Platz. At Escher-Wyss-Platz, connection was made with the StZH route to Höngg, and initially cars ran through from Bahnhofquai to Hongg.

Strassenbahn Zürich–Höngg [de]	StZH	1898	1923	StStZ	Constructed a tram route from Escher-Wyss-Platz, with connection to the IStB line to Bahnhofquai, via Wipkingen to Hongg. The line was acquired by the StStZ in three phases; firstly in 1907 when the bridge over the Limmat river to Wipkingen was replaced, then in 1913 when the line as far as Grenzstein Honng was acquired, and finally in 1923 when the rest of the line as far as the terminus at the Wartau depot was acquired.

Dolderbahn	Db	1895	From 1899, the Dolderbahn company operated an electric tram between the upper station of the Dolderbahn (then a funicular) and the Dolder Grand Hotel.

Limmattal Strassenbahn	LSB	1900	1931	StStZ	Constructed an interurban line from the former Zürich city boundary at Letzigraben, via Altstetten (Farbhof) and Schlieren to Dietikon, together with a branch from Schlieren to Weiningen.

Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn	BD	1902	2000	BDWM	Originally constructed as a rural tramway between Bremgarten and Dietikon to the west of Zürich. Althyough well outside the city of Zürich, it was at one time indirectly connected to the city's tramways by the LSB, which also served Dietikon.

Albisgütlibahn [de]	AGB	1907	1925	StStZ	The last privately owned tramway to be built within the city was built to connect the city tramway at Giesshübelstrasse to the site of the federal shooting festival, held at Albisgüetli [de] in July 1907.

Wetzikon-Meilen-Bahn	WMB	1909	1950	(closed)	A rural tramway linking Kempten, Wetzikon and Langholz [de] to the east of Zürich with Meilen on the shores of Lake Zürich.

Uster-Oetwil-Bahn	UOeB	1909	1949	(closed)	A rural tramway linking Uster, Esslingen, Oetwil am See and Langholz [de] to the east of Zürich. Well outside the city of Zürich, it was at one time indirectly connected to the city's tramways by the FB, with which it connected at Esslingen.

Forchbahn	FB	1912	A line linking line Zürich with the towns of Esslingen and Forch. The line opened in 1912 as a rural tramway connecting at Rehalp with the city trams, with inter-running as far as the city centre.

Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich	VBZ	1950	Owned by city of Zürich.

BDWM Transport AG	BDWM	2000	Created by amalgamation of the BD with the bus operator WM. Still operates a light rail service between Dietikon and Wohlen, but is no longer connected to the Zürich tram system.

Sentence(s)

The trams were operated by the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft (ZStG), a private company, and were of standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in gauge) and horse-drawn.

final_sentence: The trams were operated by the Zürcher Strassenbahn Gesellschaft (ZStG), a private company, and were of standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in gauge) and horse-drawn.