The Baku tramway network was a network of

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

ways forming part of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

system in Baku, now the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

, between 1889 and 2004.

History

Early tramways

The first tramway in Baku was a cable powered line, opened in 1887. It was used for passenger traffic and was later named "Chernogorodskaya" (Russian for "Black city" ). On 7 April (19 April) 1889, a

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, w ...

line was opened. The owner of that line took over the Chernogorodskaya line, and converted it to horsecar operation. Konka Baku

Some five months later, on 24 September (6 October) 1889, the horsecar tramway was supplemented by a steam tramway. However, the steam tramway did not last very long. Competition from the horsecar tramway made it unprofitable, and it was closed in about 1894 and transformed into another horsecar tramway. The Baku horsecar tramway was built to gauge. There were also freight tramways laid between various enterprises around the city. By the start of the 20th century, the horsecars were already unable to cope with growing volumes of passenger traffic in the oil industry centre of the Russian Empire. In 1903, the City Council received a proposal for the construction of a Baku electric tramway. For the next 20 years, the city bureaucracy created numerous commissions, and developed projects and budgets, until 1922, when the Council began planning the construction of an electric tramway network. Meanwhile, Baku continued to be served by horsecar trams until the horsecar network was closed on 1 October 1923.

Electric tramway

On 8 February 1924, an electric tramway was opened in Baku. The electric tramway network lasted until January 2004. In February 2012, the government of Azerbaijan announced that it is planning to restore the tramway in Baku after dismantling it only eight years before. A new tramway line will be laid along the seaside

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cl ...

Baku Boulevard Baku Boulevard ( az, Dənizkənarı Milli Park, also known as National Park) is a promenade established in 1909 which runs parallel to Baku's seafront. Its history goes back more than 100 years, to a time when Baku oil barons built their mansion ...

in central Baku as part of the "Baku White City" development project. Unlike the former tramway network, the new tramway network will be considerably shorter in length and it will not serve within the main road networks of Baku as was the case with the former tramway network; but it will instead run along the seaside promenade thus not mixing with the road traffic.

Lines

As of 1972, the electric tramway network's lines (with destinations in Russian) were as follows: * № 1 – Semashko Hospital — 1st and 5th microdistricts. * № 2 – Semashko Hospital — Musabekovo. * № 3 – Baku Passenger railway station — 8th km. * № 4 – Baku Passenger railway station — Lenin Textile Plant. * № 5 – Semashko Hospital — Vorovski township. * № 10 – Baku Passenger railway station — Inglab St. * № 12а – Baku Passenger railway station — Fabriciuss St. — Semashko Hospital — Bakikhanov street — Fizuli square — Baku Passenger railway station (circular route). * № 12б – Baku Passenger railway station — Fizuli square — Bakikhanov street – Semashko Hospital — Fabriciuss street — Baku Passenger railway station (circular route). * № 14 – Baku Passenger railway station — Chapayev street — Aga Nematulla street — Kolkhoz market. By the end of the 1980s, the network's lines (with destinations in Russian) had become: * № 1 – Khatai Metro station — 1st microdistrict. * № 2 – Railway station — Fabriciuss, Inglab and Chapayev streets' circle — Railway station (circular route). * № 3 – Railway station — Aurora Metro station (now Qara Qarayev). * № 4 – Railway station — Old Ahmadli. * № 5 – Vorovski township — Montin market. * № 6 – Khatai Metro station — Montin market. * № 7 – Railway station — Fabriciuss, Inglab and Chapayev streets' circle — Railway station (circular route). As of 2004, the only remaining line was line 6.

References

External links