Tram systems in Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital of South Australia. Founded in 1836 as a planned city, it was named after Queen Adelaide, the wife of King William IV. The city centre is laid out on a grid surrounded by parklands, while the metropolitan area extends west to the coast at Glenelg.
Adelaide's public transport network consists of buses, suburban trains and trams. Suburban trains serve destinations including Gawler, Outer Harbor, Grange, Belair, Seaford and Flinders. Adelaide Railway Station is the hub for these services; long-distance trains use the separate Adelaide Parklands Terminal at Keswick. Adelaide Airport handles domestic and international flights and is connected to the city by bus. Nearby Parafield Airport is primarily a general aviation airport.
Adelaide's tram network links the city centre with Glenelg, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the Botanic Gardens and Festival Plaza. The route to Glenelg follows much of the former Adelaide–Glenelg Railway, which opened in 1873 and was converted to an electric tramway in 1929. Later extensions brought trams further through the city and created the other branches.
The network has three listed services. Glenelg trams normally run to the Royal Adelaide Hospital, with a limited number continuing to the Entertainment Centre at peak times. A separate service connects the Entertainment Centre with the Botanic Gardens. The Glenelg–Festival Plaza service operates on weekends, public holidays and Adelaide Oval special event days. The South Australian Government operates the trams as part of Adelaide Metro.
Adelaide currently has 3 tram lines, details of which can be found on the Lines tab.
Adelaide's trams are operated by the South Australian Government under the Adelaide Metro brand. Tram operations returned to public control in August 2025.
Adelaide Metro provides a train and tram network map and timetables for all three tram services.
Adelaide's first horse-drawn tram opened in 1878, and electric trams began replacing the horse network in 1909. The line to Glenelg had a different origin: it opened in 1873 as a railway from Victoria Square and was converted into an electric tramway in 1929.
Trams once served many of Adelaide's suburbs. As buses and cars became more common, the street tram network was progressively closed. The last of those services ran in November 1958, leaving the Glenelg line as Adelaide's sole surviving tram route. Its original 1929 trams remained in regular use into the twenty-first century.
A programme of modernisation brought new Flexity trams and the network's first extension since 1929. Trams returned to King William Street when the line from Victoria Square to City West opened in 2007. An extension to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre followed in 2010, while branches to Festival Plaza and the Botanic Gardens opened in 2018.
The Glenelg line underwent another major rebuild in 2025–26. New overpasses replaced the level crossings at Morphett Road, Marion Road and Cross Road, and the South Road tram overpass was rebuilt. Trams resumed running to Glenelg in January 2026.
Adelaide currently has 3 tram lines, which are listed below. To see more information about a particular line, click on the link in the table below.
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| BTANIC | The BTANIC line runs between Botanic Gardens and Entertainment Centre via North Terrace and Port Road. |
| FESTVL | The FESTVL line runs between Glenelg and Festival Plaza via Morphettville, South Terrace and Victoria Square. The line only operates on weekends, public holidays and Adelaide Oval special event days. |
| GLNELG | The GLNELG line runs between Glenelg and Royal Adelaide Hospital via the southern suburbs and central Adelaide. Selected journeys continue to Entertainment Centre. |
Adelaide's tram network uses 1,435 mm standard-gauge track and 600 V DC overhead power. The Glenelg line runs largely in its own corridor between the coast and South Terrace. In the city, trams run along King William Street and North Terrace, with branches along Port Road to the Entertainment Centre and King William Road to Festival Plaza.
The Glenelg line crosses South Road, Marion Road, Cross Road and Morphett Road on tram overpasses. The overpasses at Marion, Cross and Morphett roads replaced level crossings in 2025–26. Trams reverse direction at the network's termini using terminal tracks and crossovers; there are no turning loops. Stops have platforms with marked accessible boarding positions, and the rebuilt stops include improved access. The fleet is based at Glengowrie depot.
Two types of modern articulated tram operate in Adelaide. The Bombardier Flexity Classic fleet comprises 15 three-section trams, approximately 30 metres long. They began replacing the original Glenelg trams in 2006. The Alstom Citadis 302 fleet comprises nine five-section trams, approximately 32 metres long. The first six were acquired from Madrid for the Entertainment Centre extension; three more followed for the 2018 city extensions.
Both types provide low-floor boarding, although the Flexity has raised floor sections at its ends. The Citadis has a low floor throughout its passenger area.