The first horse-drawn tram line opened between what were then the twin cities of Barmen and Elberfeld in 1873.

The tram network was operated by a number of companies and starting in 1901 had to compete with the Wuppertal Suspension Railway for passengers travelling east-west through the region.

In 1925 Barmen and Elberfeld merged to form the city of Wuppertal and in 1940 the numerous tram operators were consolidated into a single system.

By 1948, Wuppertal's tram network was the 6th most extensive in all of Germany and had a total route length of 175 km (109 mi).

[1] After the introduction of public buses, tram lines in Wuppertal were gradually discontinued until the entire system was closed on 30 May 1987.