Tram roundabout

Tram exiting Moscow Triumphal Gate roundabout in St Petersburg

A tram roundabout or grand circle is a circular rail junction for trams in the shape of a roundabout. A tram roundabout is able to provide the equivalent any-to-any connection of a grand union, but with a simplified tramway track configuration using one-way traffic, fewer turnouts and reduction in level junctions, at the cost of slightly more space. Trams may continue as one-way traffic in an endless loop around the tram roundabout junction.

A circular roundabout design is often used to allowing passing around a centrally-placed monument, or fountain, or small park.

Standard design

Standard tram roundabouts

Name	System	Ring track		In	Out	Thru	Stops	Notes	Geo
Hoofddorpplein	Amsterdam		2	2
Tropenmuseum	Amsterdam		3	3
Slotermeerlaan	Amsterdam	212 m	696 ft	4	4		6	junction with Burgemeester Röellstraat
Place Dumon/ Dumonplein	Brussels	242 m	794 ft	2	2		2
Bersarinplatz	Berlin	254 m	833 ft	3	3		4	stops off ring
Romanplatz	Munich	137 m	449 ft	3	3		4	stops off ring, two tracks at one of the Ins
Moscow Triumphal Gate	St Petersburg		2	2
Turgenev Square	St Petersburg	557 m	1,827 ft	2	2		2
Lenina / Lunacharskogo	Yekaterinburg	188 m	617 ft	4	4
Moscow Highway	Ulyanovsk	230 m	750 ft	4	4
Tivoli Circle	New Orleans	283 m	928 ft	3	2
Kaiserplatz	Karlsruhe	245 m	804 ft	2	2	2		around Kaiser Wilhelm monument (Karlsruhe), with "Kombilösung" bypass tunnel underneath
Wolnośći Square in Katowice	Silesian	366 m	1,201 ft	2	2			near Katowice railway station
Mihaljevac	Zagreb		2	2		3
Square of the Victims of Fascism	Zagreb	456 m	1,496 ft	3	3		2
Będzin Rondo	Silesian	218 m	715 ft	4	4		8
Koszutka Słoneczna Pętla	Silesian	221 m	725 ft	2	2		4	one platform on loop

Four-way circular tram roundabout in Będzin, Poland, on the Silesian Interurbans system, often referred to as 'the kidney' due to the entire junction's rather unusual shape.

Four-way circular tram roundabout in Będzin, Poland, on the Silesian Interurbans system, often referred to as 'the kidney' due to the entire junction's rather unusual shape.

Special variations

Special variations of tram roundabout

Name	System	Ring track		In	Out	Thru	Stops	Notes	Geo
Rond-Point du Meir/ Meerplein	Brussels	210 m	690 ft	2	2	1	3	with tram stop in middle
Barrière de Saint-Gilles/ Bareel van Sint-Gillis	Brussels	115 m	377 ft	3	3		4	overlapping tracks, stops off ring
Place de l'Altitude Cent/ Hoogte Honderd	Brussels	262 m	860 ft	2	2		2	around Saint Augustine Church, Vorst
Rond-point Winston Churchill/ Winston Churchillplein	Brussels	154 m	505 ft	2	2	2	8
Verboekhoven Square	Brussels	241 m	791 ft	4	4		2	over main line rail tracks
Maxmonument	Munich	255 m	837 ft	4	4	2	4	separation around the monument
Alt-Köpenick	Berlin		3	3		3	old town centre
Hackescher Markt	Berlin		3	3		3	around station, with sidings
Basel SBB railway station	Basel		4	4	4	6	station forecourt
Haarlemmermeer station	Amsterdam	195 m	640 ft	4	4	1	2	next to Electric tram museum line
Surinameplein	Amsterdam		3	3	1	4
Hoofddorpplein	Amsterdam		2	2
Paunsdorf-Nord	Leipzig		3	3	1	5	operates clockwise
Stortorvet	Oslo	256 m	840 ft	3	3	1	3
Pilestredet / Welhaven Gate	Oslo	904 m	2,966 ft	3	3		2	residential one-way
Chebzie Pętla / Rondo	Silesian	244 m	801 ft	4	4		5
Porta Maggiore	Rome		5	4	2	6
Regina Margherita	Rome	145 m	476 ft	2	2	2	2

Former

On 8 September 1968, one week before closure of Liverpool Corporation Tramways, tram car 245 completed three complete laps of the St. Oswald Street tram roundabout whilst being filmed.