The story of an Anatolian city's modernisation is often measured in railways. For Konya that measure began with the train that arrived in 1896; it spilled into the city's streets with the horse tram of 1917 and became Anatolia's first modern rail system with the electric tram of 1992. Today the rails running from the shade of Alaaddin Hill to Rumi's mausoleum and on to Selçuk University take in nostalgic trams gifted to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, innovative carriages that carry bicycles, and an old vehicle turned into a kiosk in Kültürpark. Let us read this 120-year story on Konya's rails together, through a guide's eyes.
The Horse Tram Years: 1917–1925
Konya's tram adventure officially began in the late years of Abdülhamid II, with a decision approved by the Council of Ministers on 1 March 1906 and ratified by the sultan. Yet the first tram could only reach the city in 1917: the governor of Konya at the time, Avlonyalı Ferit Pasha — later grand vizier — had the horse trams left idle in Salonica when electric trams came into service there dismantled and transported to Konya. Established through the efforts of the mayor of the day, Muhlis Koner, this operation became Konya's first form of public transport; according to some sources the operator was a private company founded in 1906.
The horse tram ran between Türbe Önü (in front of the Mevlana Mausoleum) and the railway station, on a route totalling more than 30 kilometres, linking the station district — brought to life by the train services that began in 1896 — with the city centre. It did not last long: with passenger numbers falling as motor vehicles rose and operating difficulties increasing, services were stopped in 1925 (according to some sources they continued to 1930). Sources of the period tell of a slightly sorrowful end — passengers having to put their shoulders to a tram stuck in snow and mud is recalled as one of the reasons that led the municipality to withdraw the service.
The Modern Electric Tram: Red Trams From Cologne
Konya's modern tram story began in 1987: the existing buses could not carry the growing passenger load, and reaching the Selçuk University Alaaddin Keykubat Campus, far from the city centre, was pushing up fuel costs. Designed in 1986 at the initiative of the then metropolitan mayor Ahmet Öksüzler, the Alaaddin–Campus line came to life in 1992 with second-hand Duewag GT8 trams brought from Cologne in Germany. Built between 1963 and 1967, these classic European trams — single-ended and with eight axles — became known popularly as the "Red Trams".
The first tram began its journey from Cologne to Konya on 25 November 1988. The opening unfolded as follows:
- 15 April 1992: Power was first supplied to the system and tram number 104 made the first movement between the depot and the Cumhuriyet stop.
- 23 April 1992: The first opening was held and trial runs and driver training began.
- 28 September 1992: Free public operation began over the 10.5 km between Alaaddin and Cumhuriyet; paid operation followed shortly after.
- The first fare in 1992: 7,000 TL (13 German pfennigs at the exchange rate of the day).
With this opening the Konya Tram earned the title of the first modern tram system in service in Anatolia. The second stage, 8 kilometres between Cumhuriyet and the Campus, began trial runs on 21 December 1995 and entered service with a ceremony on 19 April 1996. To meet growing demand, 25 more carriages were bought in 1995–96 and a further 26 in 2001, bringing the fleet to 51 trams.
The Škoda Renewal: Green Trams
To replace the ageing Duewag GT8 fleet, which no longer met present-day conditions, the Metropolitan Municipality opened a new tender in 2012. Six of the world's leading manufacturers bid, and the Czech firm Škoda won with an offer of about 1,706,000 euros per vehicle; the total value of the 72-vehicle contract came to 104,700,000 euros. Produced specially for Konya, these new trams took on an identity whose colour was chosen by public vote and came to be known as the "green trams".
The fleet consists of 60 standard Škoda 28T trams and 12 battery-powered Škoda 28T2 units able to run without overhead catenary in the historic districts. Thirty-two and a half metres long, running on 750 V DC and entirely low-floor, these vehicles reach 70 km/h and carry 287 passengers in total — 70 seated and 231 standing. Air conditioning, WiFi, passenger information screens and regenerative braking also became standard. The first Škoda tram reached Konya in October 2013 and entered service in February 2014 after test runs — making Konya the first city in Anatolia with a Škoda 28T fleet.
A Gift to Sarajevo: A Bridge of Friendship
The most curious chapter of Konya's tram story is the gift of some of the retired Duewag GT8 trams to Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under a decision taken in the time of the then metropolitan mayor Tahir Akyürek, a total of 20 trams — specially decorated with the words "Konya" and "Sarajevo" and with whirling dervish and tulip motifs — were sent to the streets of Sarajevo. Because the vehicles from Konya proved compatible with the old gauge of a city that had one of Europe's first electric tram systems in 1885, they entered service without technical difficulty — one of the most concrete symbols of Turkish-Bosnian friendship, running on rails.
The Bicycle Tram: A First for Türkiye in 2020
In line with the vision of "Konya, City of Bicycles", the Metropolitan Municipality achieved a first for Türkiye in September 2020: two retired Duewag GT8 trams were redesigned and put into service as the "Bicycle Tram". Special fixings for bicycles were added inside and hydraulic ramps fitted at the stops to make boarding and alighting easier. The tram serves only cyclists, on the T1 line (Alaaddin – Selçuk University), at particular stops and times — a concrete example of Konya's cycling culture meeting public transport.
The Tram Café: A Second Life for a Vehicle
The warmest corner of Konya's tram story is an old Duewag GT8 taken out of service and turned into a kiosk in Kültürpark. In this conversion by the Metropolitan Municipality the tram's original exterior was preserved and the interior turned into a small café. Sipping your tea in Kültürpark, the odd and pleasant feeling of sitting inside a tram that carried passengers through Konya's streets for more than half a century is a small tribute to the city's nostalgic rails.
Lines and the Future: KonyaRay
Today the Konya Tram serves two lines centred on Alaaddin:
- T1 — Alaaddin – Selçuk University: 21 km, opened in 1992 (with separate services for cyclists).
- T2 — Zafer – Adliye: 6.5 km, opened in 2015.
Planned new lines
The city is continually expanding its rail network:
- T3: Adliye – City Hospital – Stadium (21.2 km, planned for 2027)
- T4: Fırat Avenue – Selçuklu High-Speed Rail Station (13.85 km, planned for 2028)
- T5: Selçuklu High-Speed Rail – Fatih Işıklar Ring (19.4 km, planned for 2028)
KonyaRay: a new 54 km line
Planned in 2009 and carried out in cooperation between the Metropolitan Municipality, the Ministry of Transport and TCDD, the KonyaRay project aims to add 54 kilometres of new rail on top of the existing lines and give Konya the most extensive rail network in Anatolia; modernising the old Duewag GT8 trams for use on the T4 line is also among the plans.
The Guide's Note
On your next visit to Konya, when you get off at the Alaaddin stop and board the tram, remember that you are stepping onto rails with more than a century behind them. A project that began with a sultan's decree in 1906 took shape in 1917 with horse trams from Salonica, fell to motor vehicles in 1925, but was revived in 1992 by the "red trams" from Cologne; it was rejuvenated by Škoda's green trams in 2014, turned into an international story by the bridge of friendship reaching to Sarajevo, gained a new purpose carrying bicycles in 2020, and began a second life in a small kiosk in Kültürpark. The Seljuk buildings passing your window, the shade of Rumi, the green of Alaaddin: all are silent witnesses to a story that has echoed on our rails since 1917. The Konya tram is not a means of transport but a 120-year city story — and a new page is written every day.