International Tram & Light Rail journeys

[Wirewiper]

This thread was prompted by my discovery that the local tram network in Strasbourg, France, includes a route across the river to Kiel in Germany - the standard €1.60 single fare covers the journey.

Are there many other cross-border journeys that can be made by local tram or light rail services? The only other one I can think of is the Metro Donostialdea, part of the Euskotren network based on the San Sebastian area of Northern Spain (Donostia is the local Euskedi - Basque language - name for San Sebastian), which terminates in Hendaye, France.

 

[Adlington]

Basel trams go to Germany, and cross the French border twice en route between one piece of the Swiss territory and another, with a stop in France.

 

[edwin_m]

Saarbruecken tram-trains terminate at Sarregemines in France.

Read something recently about Geneva building a cross-border tramline into France.

The southern terminus of the San Diego Trolley has a border marker stone part way along the platform but I think this has been re-located as the border with Mexico is actually a short walk to the south.

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place...0c19307e0de91!8m2!3d32.5444075!4d-117.0301397

 

[theageofthetra]

If it reopens I think the tram/funicular used in Trieste used to end at a village in Slovenia.

 

[edwin_m]

The terminal station of the Nyon St Cergue Morez is just within Switzerland at La Cure, the extension to Morez having closed many years ago. However looking at aerial mapping the stub track of the extension still runs a few metres into France.

 

[Adlington]

All being well, from December 2024 one will be able to travel by metro between Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia:

A bilateral agreement setting the terms for the development of a cross-border urban rail link between Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia, was signed by the transport ministers of the two countries on January 16 [2018].

The RTS Link will cross the Strait of Johor on a 25m-high bridge between Woodlands North station in Singapore and Bukit Chagar station in Johor Bahru. The line is due to open in December 2024 and will have capacity to carry 10,000 passengers per hour per direction.

I know, it's a long wait....

 

[Wirewiper]

When I asked a similar question about cross-border local bus services on another forum, someone posed a link to this website by Malc McDonald that has some interesting articles on this theme.

http://randomstreets.blogspot.co.uk/

Of particular interest (and relevance to this thread, since it is specifically about trams and light rail) is this article, which gives details of a regional travel ticket around the Bodensee (Lake Constance in English) area that is valid across six different modes of transport in three different countries. As well as trams, light rail and buses, trolleybuses, ferries and even a funicular get thrown into the mix although not all the modes are cross-border in themselves.

http://randomstreets.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/6-modes-3-countries-2-currencies-1.html

 

[Adlington]

The same (ok, without funicular, trolleybuses and ferries...) goes for Basel, mentioned earlier on

Basel's green and yellow trams have become an inseparable part of the cityscape.

Together with the bus network, these ensure that the city's inhabitants and visitors alike can move themselves quickly and comfortably around the city and even across the border into the neighbouring countries of France and Germany.

[Y]ou may also profit from the BaselCard, which allows you to use the public transport network for the entire duration of your stay

https://www.basel.com/en/BaselCard/Public-Transport-in-Basel

I bet something similar operates in Strasbourg/Kiel.

 

[zuriblue]

Basel trams go to Germany, and cross the French border twice en route between one piece of the Swiss territory and another, with a stop in France.

Since the last timetable change Basel BVB route 3 has been extended to Saint Louis in France. Tram 8 extended to Weil am Rhein a few years ago.

 

[Bletchleyite]

All being well, from December 2024 one will be able to travel by metro between Singapore and Johor Bahru, Malaysia: I know, it's a long wait....

Presumably this will mean closure of the classic Causeway line, which is a shame. Good for the local economy, though.

Will be interested to see how customs etc are done.

 

[Adlington]

Will be interested to see how customs etc are done.

At the departure station:

Customs, immigration and quarantine facilities are to be co-located in both Bukit Chagar and Woodlands North, with passengers clearing both sets of border controls at their point of departure

 

[Adlington]

And now some history...

In 1911 a tram line was opened in the Austro-Hungarian town of Teschen. After WWI, in 1920 to be precise, the town was divided between Czechoslovakia (Český Těšín) and Poland (Cieszyn), with the line going now from one country to another.

However immigration and customs formalities at the border took so long to complete (not only the passengers but also the tram's interior and undercarriage were searched) that the international service proved impractical, was abandoned in April 1921 and never restored.

 

[theageofthetra]

Prior to the building of the Berlin Wall did any trams operate between East and West Berlin?

 

[Adlington]

Yes, a few lines.

 

[theageofthetra]

Yes, a few lines.

Were there 'Passport to Pimlico' type checks on the trams?