Why do many Spanish progressives and conservatives dislike trams?

A viral post claims that in Spain trams are presented as obsolete while in France cities of more than 200,000 inhabitants rely on them. The claim mixes a political perception with a very different reality of urban planning.

A post on X compares the state of trams in Spain with that of France, claiming that here they are sold as "obsolete" while across the Pyrenees there is no city of more than **200,000 inhabitants** that does not depend on them. The message offers no data of its own, but it taps into a genuine frustration about how this mode of transport has been treated in recent decades.

## The tram that was dismantled and the one that came back

Spain had trams in almost every provincial capital until the **sixties** and **seventies** of the last century. Many networks were ripped up to make room for the car. The comeback came late and unevenly: Valencia, Bilbao, Barcelona and Zaragoza have built new lines, but other cities still have no service. The comparison with France is not gratuitous: there, more networks were kept and expanded earlier.

## Why the debate turns political

The viral message is not about engineering, it is about narrative. Those sharing it claim there is a deliberate attempt to portray the tram as outdated in order to avoid investing in it. That reading fits into a broader discussion about the mobility model, the use of public space and the split of funding between roads and urban rail transport. There is no single technical cause: there are budget decisions and political priorities.

## What the French numbers say

In France, cities such as **Nantes**, **Strasbourg** or **Montpellier** brought back the tram between the **eighties** and the **2000s**. Not every city of more than 200,000 inhabitants has a tram, but many have made it the backbone of their network. The claim in the message is a generalisation, not a census. Even so, the contrast with Spain exists and fuels the criticism.

## The cost and the underlying question

A tram costs between **20** and **40 million euros per kilometre**, depending on the type of works. It is more expensive than a bus, but it has more capacity and shapes urban development. The question lurking behind the message is not whether the tram is old, but who decides which transport deserves investment and what narrative is built around it.