Košice tram
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| Basic information | |
| Country | Slovakia |
| city | Košice |
| opening | November 14, 1891 |
| operator | Dopravný podnik mesta Košice (DPMK) |
| Infrastructure | |
| Route length | 33.7 km |
| Gauge | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) |
| Power system | 600 V DC overhead line |
| Stops | 48 |
| business | |
| Lines | 7 (+8 HVZ lines and 2 X lines) |
| vehicles | 18 Tatra T3 , 19 KT8D5 , 29 T6A5 , 1 Pragoimex Vario LF , 46 Vario LF2 + |
| Top speed | 65 km / h |
| statistics | |
| Passengers | 25 524 000 per year (2009) |
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The Košice tram is part of the local public transport system in the eastern Slovak city of Košice . The standard gauge network is next to the tram Bratislava , the older of two tram networks in Slovakia . The network operator is Dopravný podnik mesta Košice (DPMK, Košice City Transport Company).
history
Beginning in Austria-Hungary (1884 / 1891-1918)
The beginnings of the tram go back to 1884, when the then city of Kaschau in Austria-Hungary approved a project for a horse-drawn tram. In addition to passenger traffic, goods traffic should also be operated. The concession was granted in 1890 to the Budapest citizen István Popper, who founded the company Kassai közúti vasút ( Kosice tram). The first route was from the train station via Elisabeth Square (now Slovakian Námestie Osloboditeľov ) and Main Street (now Hlavná ulica ) to Čermeľ Street (now Komenského ulica ). The first part was opened to traffic on November 14, 1891, making it the oldest tram in today's Slovakia. Soon after, on August 12, 1892, the entire line was opened. In the same year, Popper's company turned into a stock corporation, for goods traffic and in 1893 for passenger traffic, steam operation was introduced. At the end of 1895, however, horse riding was used again for passenger transport. Then a combined operation was introduced: on the route from the train station to the theater (today Košice State Theater ) there was horse operation, while steam operation was carried out from the theater to the Čermeľ valley.
In the meantime the network had developed so that by the turn of the century the length was 7,849 meters. In 1911 the city decided with the company for the construction and operation of railways Henning Hartwich Co. to build a new, electrically operated tram. The old main line train station - main street - Čermeľ, as well as the branch lines Elisabeth-Platz via Bethlen-Ring (today Slovakian Kuzmányho ) to Franz-Josefs-Platz (today Slovakian Námestie Maratónu mieru ) and Elisabeth-Platz via Peststraße (today Južná trieda ) to the Franck factory (at today's Wendeschleife Ryba ). The company Kassai villamosvasút rt (Kaschauer Straßenbahn AG) was founded for this purpose. The electrically operated goods traffic started operating in 1913, the passenger traffic only on February 28, 1914, a few months before the outbreak of the First World War .
Czechoslovakia, Horthys Hungary (1918–1945 / 1948)
After the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy and the incorporation of the city, now known as Košice, into Czechoslovakia, the Košické elektrické pouličné dráhy, úč. spol. (Kaschauer electrical streetcar AG) the new operating company. However, this was so badly hit by the economic crisis of the 1930s that it had to hand over the entire property to the city and tram was placed under its management.
After the first Viennese arbitration award in 1938, Czechoslovakia had to cede the city to Hungary, whereby the operating company changed its name to Kassai városi közúti vasút (Kaschau city tram ). However, this did not bring any major changes, until 1945 only two kilometers of new lines and some sections were expanded to double tracks.
After the city was reintegrated into Czechoslovakia, the operation had to be largely repaired first, as several lines and lines were damaged during the Second World War. In addition, ten series 1-18 trams were confiscated by the Hungarian army in November 1944 and transferred to the Budapest tram . As a replacement, 18 already parked but still functional cars could be bought from the Prague tram .
Czechoslovakia and the "Building of Socialism" (1948–1990)
After the KSČ came to power in 1948, the company was renamed Dopravné závody mesta Košíc, komunálny podnik (Košice City Transport Company) a year later . This changed in 1953 to Dopravný podnik mesta Košíc (transport company of the city of Košice), with the small change in 1959 to Dopravný podnik mesta Košice . Since the 1950s, the tram, which had previously held a monopoly on local public transport, had to compete with the bus. During this time extensive modernizations began, new tracks, technical equipment and new Tatra T1 wagons were delivered.
The 1960s were characterized by large construction activity, but also by stagnation compared to bus traffic. When the East Slovak Steelworks (VSŽ, today US Steel Košice) was built in the Šaca district in the southwest of the city , the construction of an express tram began there in 1961 and went into operation on November 7, 1964. While a new line was also being built on the Trieda SNP street ( Západ district ), several lines were closed at the same time. The Čermeľ branch to the Štadión Lokomotívy stop was shortened, and the branch to Ťahanovce that was opened only a few years earlier was abandoned. In addition, freight traffic was finally ended at the end of 1964. Thanks to the opening of the express tram, the vehicle fleet has been comprehensively modernized and Tatra T3 cars have been introduced.
It was not until the late 1970s that the tram experienced a renewed boom. In addition to the usual solo multiple units and double units, triple units were even used on the route to VSŽ in 1979, which was a rarity in Czechoslovakia. A year earlier, on October 30, 1978, a tragic accident occurred when two Tatra T3 cars, moving downhill, derailed at the Amfiteáter stop . Nine people were killed, ten were seriously injured and 80 were slightly injured.
The last expansions so far came in the 1980s. First, in 1983, a new line was built to the districts of Krásna and Nad jazerom, and in 1989 a connecting line on Alejová Street, which improved the connection between the western and eastern parts. In 1986, traffic in the city center was moved to Kuzmányho Street, as the main road was closed due to the renovation of the St. Elisabeth Cathedral and the theater. Although it was only meant to be a temporary solution, operations there remained suspended. The modernization of the fleet was continued with the Tatra T3 wagons, which were supplemented by the Tatra KT8D5 articulated multiple units since 1986 .
Establishment of Slovakia and austerity measures (1990 to 2014)
The period since the 1990s is characterized by longer intervals and austerity measures. New Tatra T6A5 wagons appeared in the early 1990s , but the fleet has only been slightly modernized since then. Three-part cars were also discontinued due to high operating costs.
Present and near future (2014 to 2020)
Slow travel routes and an outdated fleet required extensive investments in trams, financed by the structural funds of the European Union since 2014. From 2014 to 2015, 33 new, full low-floor Vario LF2 + trams were delivered.
The IKD (Integrated Rail Transport) project is intended to enable the connection of trams and railway lines in the outskirts of the city. The 'regio tram' (i.e. the S-Bahn train) would be the modern drive train in the city and beyond.
Some routes have already been opened. The operator is planning to build a new depot that will be adapted to the new trains.
Line network
Today's line network comprises 33.7 km and 48 stops and consists of two rings to the west and south of the old town, from which several branches branch off. These lead clockwise to the Štadión Technickej univerzity stop , to the Štadión Lokomotívy (today Havlíčkova ), to the train station ( Železničná stanica ), to the Nad jazerom ( OC Važec , today Važecká ), to the Barca ( Servis , today Socha Jána Pavla II. ) , to the US Steel Košice steelworks ( Vstupný areál USS ) and the depot on Bardejovská Street ( DPMK ).
The maximum speed is 65 km / h (on the express tram). The tram carried 25.524 million passengers in 2009, which is about 27% of all passengers carried by DPMK.
The trams run every 15 minutes, sometimes every 10 minutes at peak times.
Below is a list of the lines:
| line | Start station | final destination |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Námestie Maratónu mieru | Staničné námestie |
| 3 | Staničné námestie | Važecká |
| 4th | Havlíčkova | Barca |
| 5 | Staničné námestie | OC Optima |
| 6th | Vozovňa, DPMK | Staničné námestie |
| 7th | Važecká | Botanická záhrada |
| 9 | Vozovňa, DPMK | Havlíčkova |
The following lines go to the US Steel Košice steelworks. Compared to the other lines, their only job is to get workers to and from the steel mill. Therefore, they essentially only run during rush hour.
| line | Start station | final destination |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | Staničné námestie | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R2 | Važecká | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R3 | Havlíčkova | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R4 | Botanická záhrada | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R5 | Ryba | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R6 | Moldavská, OC | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R7 | Amfiteáter | Vstupný areál US Steel |
| R8 | Barca | Vstupný areál US Steel |
In the meantime there are also replacement lines for certain occasions:
| line | Start station | final destination |
|---|---|---|
| X6 | Staničné námestie | SOŠ Automobilová |
| X9 | Spoločenský pavilión | Nad Jazerom |
Vehicle fleet
Today trams from the Czech manufacturer Tatra and its successor company Pragoimex run on the tram. The cars are painted green-white, red-white or in the new blue-white-yellow color scheme introduced in 2010. There are also vehicles painted for advertising purposes. As of October 14, 2015, the DPMK had a total of 150 wagons, of which 138 were in operation. The mean age was 20.6 years.
| image | Type | Exact type description | number | particularities |
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Tatra T3 | Tatra T3SUCS , Tatra T3Mod | 79 | Since 2015, the trains are mainly used in the event of a breakdown
other teams used in winter |
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Tatra KT8D5 | Tatra KT8D5, Tatra KT8D5R. N2 | 19th | Of these trains, eight became Tatra KT8D5R. N2 modernized. |
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Tatra T6A5 | Tatra T6A5 | 30th | |
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Pragoimex Vario LF | Pragoimex Vario LF | 1 | |
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Vario LF2 + | Pragoimex Vario LF2 + | 44 | |
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Škoda 15T | 40 (planned) | ||
| total | 113 (+153 planned) |
literature
- Gerhard Bauer: Trams in the Czech and Slovak Republics. From the horse tram to the Tatra carriage. The history of the tram company in words and pictures ; Verlag für Verkehrsliteratur Bauer, Dresden 1995, ISBN 3-9804303-0-8
Web links
- Site of DPMK (Slovak)
- DPMK annual balance sheet 2009 (Slovak; PDF; 3.6 MB)
- History of public transport on cassovia.sk (Slovak)
- Article about the accident on October 30, 1978 (Slovak)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of wagons 1–18 ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
