Trams in Saint Petersburg are a major mode of

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

in the city of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Saint Petersburg once had the second-largest

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

in the world, consisting of about of unduplicated track in the late 1980s. However, since 1995 the tramway network has declined sharply in size as major portions of track were removed, particularly in the city centre. Saint Petersburg lost its record to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. While it still had of length in 2002, by early 2007 the tram network's had declined to just over , and by the 2010s operated on just of network. The system is operated by ''Gorelektrotrans'' (), a municipal organization that operates St. Petersburg's 40 tram routes, as well as the city's network, and also by the private company TKK that runs the network in the eastern part of the city (green on the map).

History

Early days

Saint Petersburg saw the arrival of street

rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

during the 1860s in form of horse-drawn rail carriages. The first,

freight In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in ...

-only street railway track was opened in 1854 to serve one of the industrial city

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

s. In 1863, three passenger lines in the city centre came into operation. Several private companies were formed, and the horsecar network eventually expanded to 25 routes covering over 100 kilometres of track. Carrying over two million passengers a year, the street rail network in Saint Petersburg proved a successful commercial venture. The first demonstration of an

electric tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segment ...

in Saint Petersburg occurred on August 22, 1880.

Fyodor Pirotsky Fyodor Apollonovich Pirotsky (; – ), or Fedir Apollonovych Pirotskyy () was a Russian engineer of Ukrainian ancestry, inventor of the world's first railway electrification system and electric tram While the commercialization of his inventions ...

, an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who demonstrated the tram to the public, hoped that the ''Horsecar Stock Company'', which possessed a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

on all rail transportation in the city, would consider replacing traditional horse-drawn rail carriages with electric-powered ones. Despite the fact that all tests were successful, Pirotsky's proposal was dismissed on the grounds that equipping existing tram tracks for electric traction and purchasing or building compatible tram vehicles would be too expensive. In the winter of 1894, electric tramways came back to Saint Petersburg. This time, however, they ran on tracks over ice (during winter season) covering the

Neva The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth- ...

river. An electric

company was formed, and several routes crossing the river in various places began regular operation. Even though the ''Horsecar Stock Company'' still possessed absolute rights on city street railways, and hence filed a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

against the electric tram operators, it eventually lost the case because the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

claimed that the horsecar company's monopolizing agreement with the city did not cover laying tracks on ice.

Beginning of service

On September 3, 1902, the contract between the city administration and the horsecar company expired and the entire horsecar street rail system, including track, carriages, horses, maintenance buildings and other equipment, became property of the city of Saint Petersburg - on the condition that the city would pay for the takeover over the period of 12 years. Immediately following this, Saint Petersburg began planning out the future electric tramway network, which was due to replace the ageing horsecar one. A number of issues had to be resolved; in particular, the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

horsecar tracks were to be replaced by the heavy rail-grade ones; the network had to be electrified, and new depots suitable for electric trams had to be constructed. The project was delegated to the American

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...

. On September 29, 1907, the electric tramway network opened in Saint Petersburg.

World War II and Soviet era

During 1918–1921 development of the Petrograd tram network stalled due to the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. In 1921 the tram deal was eventually improved and new lines were constructed. In 1922 the last line was electrified and tram movement was re-established in the old city center. The tram network then further developed as the first automated needles appeared, three tram parks and a few substations were built. Among the passenger lines, the city had cargo and service tram lines; every big company had its branch from the main tram lines. However, from 1936, the development of Leningrad trams practically stopped due to the introduction of the trolleybus.

Post-Soviet Era

Following the demise of the Soviet Union, the public transportation in Saint Petersburg has been continuously underfunded, resulting in poor maintenance and an unreliable service. A lot of existing tramway track has been demolished, and this trend continues up until today, which upsets both passengers and public transit enthusiasts. There are currently no officially proclaimed plans to abandon the network completely, although mass track removals, which started in 2000, still continue. On the other hand, two new branch lines were opened in 1999 to connect recent residential developments in the northwest (Dolgoe Ozero, Komendantsky Aerodrom, Lakhtinsky Razliv) to the newly opened Staraya Derevnya station on the

Saint Petersburg Metro The Saint Petersburg Metro () is a rapid transit system in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Construction began in early 1941, but was put on hold due to World War II and the subsequent Siege of Leningrad, during which the constructed stations were used a ...

. Following a change in 'Gorelectrotrans' management in September 2005, more than 20 additional km of unduplicated track was removed, including not only centrally located lines, but also a 3 km section in a suburban residential area. This removal seriously affected the system's logistical capabilities. There is a strong lobby for more removals from the road construction administration, which believes that decreasing tram traffic will give more freedom to automobile traffic.

Current operations

, 41 tramway routes currently operate in Saint Petersburg. About one third of the tracks are operated with frequencies of 10 minutes and lower. Other sections are operated with frequencies of up to 30 minutes. The remaining lines through the city center have been more or less abandoned, carrying no passengers. Also, the fleet is still decreasing in size; by the autumn of 2006 there were about 950 cars, operating from 5 depots, most of which were the older four-axle type. About half the fleet is out-of-date, with new cars limited to 30 each year.

Rolling stock

Most of the tramway vehicles currently in use on the network were built locally by the PTMF, which was affiliated with the tramway system. Tram vehicles of the following series are currently in operation: * LM-68M (ЛМ-68М) — four-axle, three-door single cars, manufactured 1973 through 1988 by PTMF. * LVS-86 (ЛВС-86) and ''LVS-86M'' — six-axle, four-door articulated cars, manufactured 1987–1997 by PTMF. ''M'' designates the refurbished, modernized LVS-86 cars in use since 2003. * LVS-97 (ЛВС-97) — six-axle articulated cars, manufactured by PTMF since 1997. * LM-99 (ЛМ-99) — four-axle single cars, manufactured by PTMF since 1999. * LVS-2005 (ЛВС-2005) — six-axle articulated cars, manufactured by PTMF since 2005. * LM-2008 (ЛМ-2008) — four-axle cars, manufactured by PTMF since 2008. Former tram models include the '' LM-33 (ЛМ-33)'', '' LM-47 (ЛМ-47)'', and ''

LM-57 The LM-57 (Russian ''ЛМ-57'') is the Soviet motor four-axle tramcar. First prototype of this vehicle was built in 1957 (hence the 57 in the name) at the Leningrad Wagon Repair Plant (VARZ, ВАРЗ, Ленинградский Вагонорем� ...

(ЛМ-57)''. The ''KTM-5M3'' series, which was produced in the town of

Ust-Katav Ust-Katav () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Yuryuzan River. Population: Administrative and municipal status Within the subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions, framework ...

Chelyabinsk Oblast Chelyabinsk Oblast; , is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia in the Ural Mountains region, on the border of Europe and Asia. Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Chel ...

, Russia, was used in Saint Petersburg until 18 September 2007. PTMF is no longer in business. As a result, the system has since acquired some batches of cars from other builders to determine what will be best for fleet replacement in an ongoing basis. Between 1907 and late 1960s, the Saint Petersburg tramway network operated

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-built

Brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped during u ...

tram engines. Several cars of this series, as well as other model types built by PTMF but no longer in operation, are kept in working condition in a museum; all types of cars that ever operated in Saint Petersburg were demonstrated during a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

in 1997, on the occasion of the 90th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

of the tramway network. In 2006, a tram route number 0 was operated with museumcars by Retro Tram. The historical rolling stock was stored in the former Depot No. 2 on

Vasilyevsky island Vasilyevsky Island (, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva River, Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south and northeast ...

; however, this depot was closed for passenger services in January 2007.

Today in the museum

Museum offers the exhibition of the retro-transport to visit. Anyone can rent tramway or trolleybus by contacting the partner-compan
Event-TRAM.ru
They offer organized excursions and private events in different languages.

References

External links

Events in TRAMways (rent a tramway) – official website

Заказ событий в ТРАМвае – official website

Gorelektrotrans – official website

ПЕТЕРБУРЖЦЫ - ЗА ОБЩЕСТВЕННЫЙ ТРАНСПОРТ ГОРОД ДЛЯ ЛЮДЕЙ ИЛИ ГОРОД ДЛЯ АВТОМОБИЛЕЙ? БУДУЩЕЕ ЗАВИСИТ ОТ ТЕБЯ (Petersburgers - For Public Transport CITY FOR PEOPLE OR TOWN CAR? Future Depends on You)

History, photos and much more about Petersburg tramways

Tram Travels: Gorelektrotrans

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tramways In Saint Petersburg Transport in Saint Petersburg Electric railways in Russia 1907 establishments in the Russian Empire Petersburg