page_title: Launceston, Tasmania
section_title: Tram and rail network
hierarchical_section_title: Launceston, Tasmania / Infrastructure / Tram and rail network
caption_attribution_description: English: Launceston trams in 1911
context_page_description: Launceston is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. With a population of 87,328, Launceston is the second most populous city in Tasmania after the state capital, Hobart, and the twelfth-largest non-capital city in Australia.
  Settled by Europeans in March 1806, Launceston is one of Australia's oldest cities and it has many historic buildings. Like many places in Australia, it was named after a town in the United Kingdom – in this case, Launceston, Cornwall. Launceston also had the first use of anaesthetic in the Southern Hemisphere, it was the first Australian city to have underground sewers, and it was the first Australian city to be lit by hydroelectricity. The city has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. Local government is split between the City of Launceston and the Meander Valley and West Tamar Councils.
context_section_description: Launceston operated a suburban tramway system between 1911 and 1952, which consisted of 29 trams. It was first conceived in 1909, after observations of efficiently working systems in Melbourne and Adelaide. A decade before the tram system was abandoned, Launceston had begun converting to trolleybuses, especially for the hilly routes. The Launceston trolleybus system was one of the most extensive of the various trolleybus systems in Australia. The tramway network was finally removed in 1952 to make way for cars and buses. A tramway museum in Inveresk is all that remains of Launceston's trams. Launceston's streets, most of which were planned in the early nineteenth century, were probably always too narrow for trams to be fully successful: in many cases little of the roadway remained for other forms of transport. The track gauge was 1067mm (3 ft 6in).
  A regional passenger rail system operated in Tasmania, of which Launceston was a major hub; however, after many years of gradual retrenchment it was closed in July 1978.
  Former passenger railway lines servicing Launceston
  Launceston and Western Railway (1871–1873)
  Launceston–Deloraine (1875–1978)
  Launceston–Hobart (via Evandale) (1876–1978)
  Launceston–Devonport (1885–1978)
  Launceston–Burnie (1901–1978)
caption: Opening of the Launceston Municipal Tramway in 1911
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