Industrial relics will be restored to their former glories to create a scenic stretch along the city’s forthcoming tram line, officials said yesterday.

The 2.5-kilometer section along Longteng Avenue will form part of the 13km line, mostly in Xuhui District, running between Xupu and Nanpu bridges.

Along the route by the Huangpu River, an old steam engine, riverside cranes, a coal transport belt and a cement warehouse will be restored, the city government said in an environmental evaluation report yesterday.

These date from the early 20th century.

The project will see trams return to downtown Shanghai after an absence of more than 40 years.

Work will start by 2017, according to a riverside public space construction plan. The city government did not say how long the work will take.

The city’s Huangpu Riverbanks development general office has said the tram line will help ease traffic congestion and provide a low-carbon transport option.

Trams were introduced in Shanghai early in the 20th century and at their peak more than 300 ran in the city.

The network was closed in the early 1970s.

Now, the only tram route is a 9.8km line with 15 stops at Zhangjiang High Tech Park in the Pudong New Area.

But the city government approved tram routes in Songjiang District last year and these are set to open in 2017.

And the construction of a tram line parallel to Yan’an Road, from the Bund to the Huqingping Highway in Qingpu District, may get the go-ahead this year.

No details have been given about when it would be built.

The Shanghai government is planning to build more than 800 kilometers of tram lines across the city in the coming years.

The city government has also announced a “water bus” trial of two ferry routes between Xuhui and Lujiazui in the Pudong New Area and Lujiazui to Yangpu District.

If successful, the routes that cover 20 kilometers will be extended to other river crossings in the city, said officials.