A tram stop is a place designated for a tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 to stop so passengers can board or alight it. Tram stops share most characteristics of bus stop

Bus stop

A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

s, but because trams operate on rails, they often include railway platform

Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...

s, especially if stepless entries are provided for accessibility

Accessibility

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...

. Trams are however also able to use at mere bus stop-type flags and using pavements as platforms.

Examples

Most tram stops in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 and Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 have no associated platforms and stop in the middle of the road; traffic cannot pass a tram with its doors open unless the tram is behind a safety zone. On the other hand, Manchester Metrolink

Manchester Metrolink

Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...

 high-floor trams stop at dedicated platforms at the height of a railway platform, because the tram system took over former railway lines in the suburbs. Such trams also stop at dedicated platform stops on Stadtbahn

Stadtbahn

A ' is a tramway or light railway that includes segments built to rapid transit standards, usually as part of a process of conversion to a metro railway, mainly by the building of tunnels in the central city area....

s in Germany, especially in underground stations in the city centre.

The Toronto streetcar system

Toronto streetcar system

The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission , and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in...

 has Sunday stops in addition to regular tram stops. A Sunday stop may only be used on a Sunday and, with few exceptions, are always near a church. A few Sunday stops near a subway station are usable only before 9 am, the Sunday opening time of the subway system. Most Sunday stops are along current and former streetcar routes.

See also

• Train/railway station
  Train station
  A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
  
  
• Bus stop
  Bus stop
  A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...