Lviv tram

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The Lviv tram (Ukrainian: Львівський Трамвай, translit.: L’vivs’kyi Tramvai; German: Straßenbahn Lemberg) is an electric tramway in Lviv, Ukraine.

In the second half of the 19th Century, urban development of cities within the Austro-Hungarian Empire created communication problems, which occasionally led to the construction of transit systems. The first projects for the construction of horse-drawn trams appeared in the 1870s. This network was called Konki after the Slavonic word for horse, конь (konǐ). A horse-drawn tramway was built in Lviv and opened on May 5, 1880. The gauge of this first line was 1 meter. In 1906, the Lviv city administration took control of the tramway. In 1908, the tramway was fully electrified.

Running parallel to the Lviv tramway, was the Siemens & Halske tramway which opened on May 31, 1894. In 1896, the Lviv city administration took control of the Siemens & Halske tramway. Only in October 1, 1922 were the tram lines switched to the right-hand-side system and to the Russian railroad standard.

After the end of the Second World War and the annexation of the city by the Soviet Union, several lines were closed for service, yet most of the tramway infrastructure was preserved. However, many of the tram stops were cancelled. Currently, the average distance between stop is greater than 2 kilometres. On November 27, 1952, the tram lines were changed to the bus systems. Starting in the 1970s, the lines in the city centre were shut down. In 1988, the first fast tram was established in the city.

Today, the Lviv tramway runs on 75 kilometers of tracks with approximately 220 cars. Most of the tracks and trams are in bad shape. Most of the trams are the KT4 type, produced by Czech ČKD Tatra Works. Newer T4+T4 trams operate only on the second line. Pre-war Gothaer Waggonfabrik cars, which were built after 1910, are only used for maintenance and utility purposes.

In 1991, nearly 140 million passengers used the system. By 2002, this had decreased to 60 million. Despite a large number of passengers, approximately 65% of them ride free of charge. Thus, the considerable debt of the company must be covered by the government of the Lviv Oblast.

Another characteristic of the Lviv tram is the grooved rail that is used. It is one of a few cities of the former Soviet Union that use this type of rail. This oddity resulted from the fact that, when the system was constructed, Lviv was once part of the Galicia in (Austria-Hungary).

[edit] See also

• List of light-rail transit systems

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:Trams in Lviv

[edit] External links