How To Use Trams in Cities: Skylines

Tram car on a 2-lane road in Cities: Skylines

Trams are a mode of transport available with the Cities: Skylines Snowfall DLC. To start using trams, you’ll first need to reach the Boom Town population milestone, which can be anywhere from 650 to 2,600 citizens, depending on the map.

Without the use of mods, each tram vehicle can transport up to 90 passengers – making them a more efficient alternative to buses.

Once unlocked, you can set up your tram system with three specific steps:

  • Building a tram depot
  • Setting up tram tracks
  • Assigning tram lines

Step 1: Building a Tram Depot

First, build a tram depot from the Tram tab of the Transport menu.

The tram depot costs ₡40,000 to build.

A tram depot. / Cities: Skylines
A tram depot.

Step 2: Setting Up Tram Tracks

You can go about creating your tram tracks in several ways:

  • Building standalone tram tracks
  • Building roads that are fitted with tram tracks
  • Upgrading your current roads to have tram tracks

Note: You can connect standalone tram tracks to tram tracks on roads.

Standalone tram tracks (left side) going into a two-lane road with tram tracks (right side). / Cities: Skylines
Standalone tram tracks (left side) going into a two-lane road with tram tracks (right side).

The standalone tram tracks and all the tram track-equipped roads can be found on the Tram tab.

There are two- and four-lane options for the roads with tram tracks. / Cities: Skylines
There are two- and four-lane options for the roads with tram tracks.

Begin setting up your tram tracks in front of the depot, since it needs to be connected in order to send trams out on their lines.

Be aware that the trams in the game are not able to reverse at the end of each line, so you’ll want to set up your tram tracks in such a way that they can loop back to their first stop.

Step 3: Assigning Tram Lines

Lastly, use the Tram Line tool to place stops along the tram tracks you’ve created.

The Tram Line tool. / Cities: Skylines
The Tram Line tool.

Just like with buses, you need to complete each tram line by returning to the first stop.

The purple lines show a simple tram loop in a high-density neighborhood, connected to the tram depot towards the south. / Cities: Skylines
The purple lines show a simple tram loop in a high-density neighborhood, connected to the tram depot towards the south.

Tip: Use Trams to Complement Longer-Distance Public Transport

Trams are similar to buses in that they’re great for collecting passengers from residential streets.

You can then assign a tram stop near another mode of public transport that will take them farther across your city (or outside of it), such as metros or trains.

A large group of passengers waiting to transfer from the metro to the tram. / Cities: Skylines
A large group of passengers waiting to transfer from the metro to the tram.

Trams vs. Buses or Metro: Which One Should You Use?

The main downside of trams compared to buses is that you have to build tracks for them, which can significantly add to their overall cost.

However, if you can afford trams, they’re superior to buses – since they have a larger passenger capacity and won’t add to your road traffic in the same way that a fleet of buses can.

Meanwhile, compared to metros, trams work better in shorter-distance travel around your local streets. This is because placing stops along your tram tracks is free, versus having to spend at least 10,000 to build each station (more if underground).

SCROLL
Trams Buses Metro
Max passenger count per vehicle (base game) 90 30 150
Depot Build Cost ₡40,000 ₡30,000 none
Stop/Station Build Cost none none ₡10,000 per station
₡15,000 per underground station
Tracks Cost ₡65/cell
₡250/cell underground
none ₡380/cell underground

Advantages of trams over buses

  • Trams don’t cause traffic the way buses can
  • Transport larger number of passengers at a time

Disadvantages of trams vs. buses

  • You need to build tracks or roads with tracks for trams; buses can just use regular roads

Advantages of trams over metros

  • Only need a depot, with no cost to add stops, versus having to build each metro station
  • Tram tracks are much cheaper than metro tracks
  • Tracks can be built into your roads

Disadvantages of trams vs. metros

  • Smaller number of passengers per vehicle
  • Trams may not be placed underground

Liz Villegas

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Liz is a writer and photographer with a love for building and strategy games. Her spare time is often split between lifting, reading, drawing, annoying her dog Mr. Porky Butt, and squinting at stat tables on the wiki pages of whatever game she's currently playing.

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