Košice tram network () serves the city of

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 ...

in eastern

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

since its opening in 1895. It is operated by ''Dopravný podnik mesta Košice, a. s''. The network uses a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

metre gauge. The system launched with horse trams in 1891 and trams in the city have been electrically powered since 1913. Rolling stock consists of 111 tram vehicles and trams operate on sixteen lines over approximately of track. Eight of these lines operate in the city of

with the other eight rapid tram lines serving

city center and the

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

plant in

located approximately away from city centre.

History

Early years

On 14 November 1891, the first section of the horse railway was put into operation from the railway station through the Main Street to the Economic School (now Poliklinika Sever). Between 1895 and 1913, seven new steam locomotives were put into operation. The dual operation of horse and steam traction proved to be unreliable by that time. The network was electrified in 1913. In 1964, the fast line to the Eastern Slovak IronWorks (now U. S. Steel Košice) was put into operation with a length of 13 km. Since 1979 until newer rolling stock entered the network, three-car T3 sets have been operated on the high-speed line which was unique to the territory of

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 ...

. Each train set thus was almost 45 meters long.

Post-communism

After the 1989 revolution, the transport company was transferred from the state to the city, which resulted in organizational changes of transport and the extension of tram line intervals. Three of the nine inner-city lines were cancelled (lines 1, 5 and 8). No new lines were launched since 1990, and only the most necessary investments were made. After 1989, KT8D5 and

T6A5 Tatra T6A5 is a unidirectional high-floor Czech streetcar made for public transport in Europe and is one sub-type of T6 standard trams made by Czech light rail supplier Tatra ČKD in Prague. Five cities, namely Bratislava, Košice in Slovakia an ...

trams were delivered to Košice. Because they reduced traffic performance, the 40 KT8 vehicles supplied proved redundant and since 1992 some of them have been sold to

Miskolc Miskolc ( , ; ; Czech language, Czech and ; ; ; ) is a city in northeastern Hungary, known for its heavy industry. With a population of 161,265 as of 1 January 2014, Miskolc is the List of cities and towns in Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, ...

(10 units),

Strausberg Strausberg () is a Town#Germany, town in Brandenburg, in eastern Germany, located east of Berlin. With a population of about 27,000 it is the largest town in the district of Märkisch-Oderland. History Strausberg was founded ''circa'' 1240, and ...

(3 units) and

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

(4 units). On T6A5 trams, automatic coupling heads have been replaced with classic Prague type coupling heads (identical to the type on T3 vehicles). Between 2003 and 2009, eight KT8D5 trams were retrofitted with a medium low-floor and several T3 trams have also been upgraded with electronic panels, new interiors and fresh coating. In April 2011, the first units of low-floor Vario LF trams were delivered to Košice.

Recent times

In 2014, Košice received investment from the EU Cohesion Fund for modernization of its network. Between 2014 and 2018, 46 brand new partially low-floor Vario LF2+ trams were delivered to Košice. Repairs and modernizations of tracks were done in phases; phase 1 between 2014 and 2015, phase 2 in 2015 with phase 3 repairs undertaken between 2016 and 2018. Due to reconstruction of the Bardejovská tram depot, 27 trams were moved to railway sidings at U.S. Steel for longterm storage in March 2022.

Routes

Regular services

Eight regular services feature on the Košice tram network. Regular services travel with 10 minute intervals in the morning rush hour, 15 minutes in between morning and afternoon, 12 minutes in the afternoon rush hour and 20 minute intervals in the evening.

Rapid tram services

Eight rapid tram line rotate between Košice's districts and the

plant in Košice.

Rolling Stock

References

Bibliography

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External links

Steel tramway pole in Košice reminder of city's transportation history
{{Urban public transport in Slovakia 600 V DC railway electrification Transport in Košice