page_title: Trams in Amsterdam
section_title: Beginnings
hierarchical_section_title: Trams in Amsterdam / History / Beginnings
caption_attribution_description: English: Palace on the Dam, between 1890 and 1900
context_page_description: The Amsterdam Tram is a tram network in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It dates back to 1875 and has been operated by municipal public transport operator Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf since 1943, which also runs the Amsterdam Metro and the city bus and ferry services. The Amsterdam Tram is the largest tram network in the Netherlands and one of the largest in Europe.
  The trams on the network run on standard gauge track. Since 1900, they have been powered by electricity, at 600 V DC. At the terminus station of almost every tram line is a turning loop, so that the line can be operated by unidirectional trams. The only exception is Amstelveen Binnenhof, one of the termini of line 5, which must therefore be served by bidirectional vehicles. As of 2019, there are 15 tram lines. The network comprises a total of 80.5 kilometres of route, and 200 kilometres of track. The fleet consists of 200 trams, of which 24 are bidirectional for use on the loop-less line 5.
context_section_description: On 3 June 1875, Amsterdam's first horse-drawn tramway was opened. It linked Plantage with the Leidseplein, and was operated by AOM (Amsterdamsche Omnibus Maatschappij), which had been founded in 1872 by Karel Herman Schadd, amongst others.
  In the last quarter of the 19th century, horse trams ran through the main streets of Amsterdam, linking all neighborhoods inside the Singel with Dam Square, and were extended to newly constructed residential areas. By the end of the century, about 15 lines led to or from the Vondelstraat, Overtoom, Willemsparkweg, Amsteldijk, Linnaeusstraat, Weesperzijde, Bilderdijkstraat and Ceintuurbaan.
  The lines of the original horse tram lines can still clearly be recognised in the present day tram routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, (9, 10) and 13.
caption: In the late 19th century, Dam Square was the centre of the horse-drawn tramway network.
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