Tram network

The same technique as for metro lines works for every kind of public transport. Zürich has one of the densest tram networks in Europe.

The query

[out:json][timeout:60];
area["name"="Zürich"]["admin_level"="8"]->.a;
rel["route"="tram"](area.a);
out geom;

Run it

Live result from overpass.ch, cached for up to 12 hours. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

How it works

1. rel["route"="tram"] returns one relation per line and direction.
2. out geom; includes stops and platforms as members, too. Skip members with a role like stop or platform if you only want the track.

Variations

• Only the tracks, without routes: way["railway"="tram"](area.a); out geom;.

Run it from your code

curl https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter \
  --data-urlencode 'data@query.overpassql'

import requests

query = open("query.overpassql").read()
r = requests.post("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter",
                  data={"data": query}, timeout=120)
r.raise_for_status()
print(r.json()["elements"][:3])

const res = await fetch("https://api.overpass.ch/v1/YOUR_API_KEY/interpreter", {
  method: "POST",
  body: new URLSearchParams({ data: query }),
});
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(await res.text());
console.log(await res.json());

Save the query as query.overpassql. It works the same in Overpass Turbo, QGIS and JOSM.