The T3 is a type of Czech tramcar produced by
ČKD Tatra. A late-2000s study conducted on the
Prague tram system has shown 98.9%
reliability, the best of the Prague tram system fleet. During its period of production between 1960 and 1999, 13,991 powered units and 122 unpowered trailers were sold worldwide.
It became the most dominant tramcar model in
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
countries, except for Poland, where locally produced trams from
Konstal factory are still the mainstay in tram systems there, and Hungary, where ČKD only made inroads to the country's tram market during the late 1970s. Together with Soviet
KTM-5 it is among the most produced trams, as of 2022, it is still the most widespread tram car in the world.
Types
T3
The design of the T3 had to meet difficult specifications. The cars needed to have the same capacity as its predecessor (the
Tatra T2), but be easier to build. Some of the things that were done to meet this goal were making the walls thinner, and fitting the cars with laminate seats instead of cushioned leatherette seats such as the T2 used. The T3 was delivered to all tramway companies in the former
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. It was most numerous in
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, where over 1,000 vehicles were delivered. The T3 still forms (mostly in various modernised versions) the backbone of the Czech tram fleet.
T3SU
(SU for
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
)
As with the T2SU, the first T3SU was delivered with the modification of removing the middle door and replacing it with seats. Later cars, however, were delivered with the third door in place. Again, the vehicles had a closed operator's compartment and were adapted for the harsh climate. Altogether 11,368 T3SU were delivered, making it the largest production of a single type of streetcar worldwide. But because so many of one type were made, their replacement by more modern cars was slow.
The T3SU was delivered from 1963, first to
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and later to 33 further Soviet cities.
T3SUCS
(SUCS for Soviet Union-modified
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
)
Originally, the production of the T3 was stopped in 1976 and focus shifted to newer vehicles. The Slovak city
Košice
Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest cit ...
, however, ordered two motor coaches as an exception. The production of the replacement type
KT8D5 was slated to begin in 1985, but this model was by then obsolete. Further production of the T3 would have been too expensive, so instead vehicles of the type T3SU were re-imported and adapted. The closed operator's cab was maintained, the vehicles had all three doors in place, and differed from the original T3 only in a few details.
T3SU Evolution

Over time, the T3SU has had minor changes in both exterior appearance and interior design.
Exterior details:
* <1966: Narrow passenger windows disappeared
* ~1969: Narrow window route designators
* 1980s: Illuminated route indicator on top
* ~1985: Oval turn indicator at the front became two rectangular lights. The same lamps began to be fitted to the rear
* 1983 onwards: Small grid in the forward section of the tram on the left side
* ~1985: Two small red lamps near the tramcar-to-tramcar "control circuit port", both front and rear
* Additional red horizontal lamps from behind
Interior:
* Early 1960s to early 1970s: Sofa-style seats
* Early 1970s to mid-1980s: "Toilet"-like seats
* 1977–1978: Cream-coloured saloon (repainted yellow/dark-blue)
T3D
(D for
Deutschland)
In
East Germany
East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
the first three T3D cars started operation in 1964 and the city of
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
got its first delivery in 1965. The cars were used in part due to their width of . They operated as single cars or as multiple units (motor+motor, motor+motor+trailer) and/or as mini trams (motor+trailer). The use of trailer cars was due to the use of original Czech T3 electrical equipment, which had enough power to support trailer cars. However, due to reduced available power, the maximum speed of the streetcar reached only 55 km/h instead of the usual .
Only German and Yugoslav networks had trailer cars. The car was designated as B3D and had the same body as the T3D. Today, only
Chemnitz
Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...
still maintains T3s as backups for regular service, which are designated as T3D-M (modified).
T3YU
(YU for
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
)
From 1967 onwards, vehicles supplied to Yugoslavia differed from the standard type T3 by having different
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a se ...
s and trucks. In addition, trailer cars were used, as in East Germany. Uncommonly, the network used
narrow-profile vehicles, two of which could be found in Czechoslovakia and one in the Soviet Union.
T3R
(R for
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
)
At the end of the 1960s, Romania ordered RA cars as part of an agreement in the
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, often abbreviated as Comecon ( ) or CMEA, was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc#List of states, Easter ...
. The first vehicles came in 1970 to the city of
Galați
Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...
and had different electrical equipment from the Czechoslovak vehicles, to use the network's 750 V DC voltage. Since the carbodies were built too wide for use elsewhere, they remained in Galați. Only 50 units were delivered. Romania then opted for the narrower
Tatra T4, which had more success, being still used in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
as of 2025.
A few more of the same type were manufactured in 1997.
T3RF
(RF for Russian Federation)
Four Tatra T3RF were the very last T3 trams built. They were made for Samara and
Izhevsk, but only Samara bought them. In 2002 the two others were sold to Brno and modernized.
Modernized Tatra-T3 trams
In most Czech cities and in some others such as
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
, Moscow,
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
, and
Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
, Tatra-T3 trams became very common. As a result, service and maintenance workers became very experienced at servicing them. This was one reason for modifying existing trams rather than replacing them with newer stock (the other being cost).
Modernization normally includes:
* Restoration of the car body
* Digital/Electronic destination sign installation
* Audio information system
* Installation of new
traction motor
A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, or electric multiple unit trains.
Traction (engineering), Traction motors are used in electrically powe ...
s
*
Thyristor
A thyristor (, from a combination of Greek language ''θύρα'', meaning "door" or "valve", and ''transistor'' ) is a solid-state semiconductor device which can be thought of as being a highly robust and switchable diode, allowing the passage ...
-controlled motor traction system
* Refurbishing of the interior, which varies by city and transport authority
* Pantograph replacement (depending on the transport authority)
More radical modernization includes insertion of a
low-floor section (e.g.,
Tatra K3R-NT).

Modernisations of Tatra T3:
* Tatra T3R.P – IGBT Transistors TV Progress
* Tatra T3G – TV-8 thyristors
* Tatra T3R.PLF – Body changes in the middle (low floor part)
* Tatra T3M.3 – electrical equipment TV-14
* Tatra T3M.2-DVC – added the ability to open doors by buttons for passengers
* Tatra T3.04
* Tatra T3R.PV
* Tatra T3R.PVO – Changed front and back mask, same electrical equipment as T3R.P
* Tatra T3R – Body changes and TV-8 thyristors
* Tatra K3R-NT – Adding two units, one low-floor and one high-floor (the low-floor unit goes in the middle of the tram)
See also
*
Lubricating tram 5572 – a maintenance tram based on the T3
References
External links
Tatra-Strassenbahnen(DE)
Volgograd metrotram: T3 showroomWeb3D world with Tatra T3 model
{{Authority control
Tatra trams
Tram vehicles of Croatia
Tram vehicles of the Czech Republic
Tatra T3D
Tram vehicles of Latvia
Tram vehicles of Romania
Tram vehicles of Russia
Tram vehicles of Ukraine
600 V DC multiple units