April issue History Introduction of streetcars

Reconstruction of Hon-cho Dori Avenue and streetcars (around 1930)

　Yokohama has developed since the opening of the port at the end of the Tokugawa period, and continues to this day, streetcars (trams) have supported the development and expansion of the city. The streetcar was called the "chinchinchin train" because of the sound of the horn, and was an indispensable part of citizens' lives.

　The streetcars were not public from the beginning, but began in 1904 when the Yokohama Electric Railway opened between Kanagawa and Oebashi Bridge. Later, after World War I, the management of Yokohama Electric Railway became unstable. In 1921, Yokohama City acquired Yokohama Electric Railway and started the "Yokohama Tram" because of a major impact on citizens' lives, such as strikes and fare increases were considered.
In 1923, after the Great Kanto Earthquake struck, more than half of its vehicles, but railroad tracks were improved through reconstruction projects, and new routes were created in various suburban areas. The distance between the tracks has more than doubled before the earthquake, and the route network of the tram was almost completed at this time.

Citizens who gathered at the farewell ceremony of the streetcar (Ashinabashi) Provided in 1972

　After that, the streetcars were destroyed many times due to air raids caused by the Pacific War (1941-1945), but they were rebuilt immediately after the war and reached the largest in the 1930s (1955-1964).
　However, as the city of Yokohama becomes wider, it becomes difficult for low-speed streetcars to play a role as urban transportation, and as high economic growth progresses, it finally reached its limits as a means of transportation within the city. Was.
　From the latter half of the Showa era, the leading role of transportation from the suburbs to the city center were the Japanese National Railways (now JR) and private railways. Yokohama City started construction of the subway, a municipal high-speed train, and at the same time the tram line was removed sequentially, and in 1972 the Yokohama Tram ended its role and disappeared completely .
　Today, subways and buses are used as transportation to support citizens' lives instead of trams.

　Through this interview, I was able to reaffirm that the transportation that I usually use for granted has grown along with urban development and has been created over many years, despite being burned down in wars. . In 2020, the operation of Bayside Blue (linked bus) was started, and municipal traffic has been active not only as a "foot of life" but also as a "foot of sightseeing." What kind of history will you create in the future?