December 22, 2012
A single-track tramway line in Oranjestad, the capital city of the Caribbean island country of Aruba, was officially dedicated. Aruba is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and — along with the Netherlands’ special municipalities and other constituent countries in the Caribbean Sea — it is part of those separate regions collectively known as the Dutch Caribbean.
The tramway line operating in Aruba’s capital city has been officially designated as the Oranjestad Streetcar. It was built as a major component of a larger project in Oranjestad. This wide-ranging project also encompassed upgrades such as the resurfacing of streets and sidewalks; the installation of decorative street lighting; and the planting of more trees.
The Oranjestad Streetcar has the distinction of being the sole passenger rail service in not only Aruba but the entire Dutch Caribbean. The dedication of this tramway line took place the Saturday before Christmas. The first single-deck car for the line did not arrive in Oranjestad until a week before that dedication. Those participating in the inaugural festivities for the Oranjestad Streetcar included Mike Eman (born in 1961), the prime minister of Aruba from 2009 to 2017.
The Oranjestad Streetcar, which relies on battery-run trams, ultimately began regular service on February 19, 2013. This 1.2-mile (1.9-kilometer) line is owned and operated by the public transportation company Arubus.
Photo Credit: Rennbootarchiv (licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
Additional information on the Oranjestad Streetcar is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Oranjestad,_Aruba
For more information on tram systems across the globe, please check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tram_and_light_rail_transit_systems
Transportation History 
Leave a comment