Inspiration was drawn from the experience of Italy's first electrically powered tramcar introduced on the (originally horse-powered) Florence-Fiesole line earlier in the 1890s.

A contract for the construction of the Perugia tramline was awarded on 10 April 1899 to the "Napoleone Pimpinelli" company, which executed the work under the supervision of Berlin based Siemens & Halske.

On the other hand, the hill-top location of the city centre meant that children, periodically interrupted by a passing tram, could enjoy rolling and racing bowling balls down the tracks.

[1] Ultimate ownership moved south in 1939 when the Unione Esercizi Elettrici (UNES) was sold to the Naples based Società Meridionale di Elettricità (SME / Southern Electricity Company).

It was not till 1943, however, that an urban transformation project that had been under discussion for some time came to fruition when, on 28 October, trolley buses replaced trams on the route of the former tramway.

Over a total length of 4.24 km (2.63 mi) the route covered a change in altitude of 175.9 m (577 ft), giving rise to an average gradient of 0.42%, which peaked at 0.72% where the line passed the Church of Sant'Ercolano.

[1] There was also an open high sided wagon used to convey coal to the city's power station and there were two lighter trucks used for transporting mail.