Trams In Warsaw
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The Warsaw tram network is a The figure given in the source is of single track in passenger service. It is assumed that the length of all routes (nearly all of them being double track) is about half that figure. tram system serving a third of
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Poland, and serving half the city's population. It operates 726 cars, and is the second-largest system in the country (after the Silesian system). There are about 25 regular lines, forming a part of the city's integrated public transport system organized by the Warsaw Transport Authority. Since 1994, the system is operated by the municipally-owned company Tramwaje Warszawskie sp. z.o.o.


History


Horse tram

The history of tram transport in Warsaw dates back to 1866 when a long horse tram line was built to transport goods and passengers between the Vienna Railway Station and the Petersburg and
Terespol Terespol (; ) is a border town in eastern Poland on the border with Belarus. It lies on the border river Bug, directly opposite the city of Brest, Belarus. It has 5,794 inhabitants as of 2014. Overview Since 1999 Terespol has been within BiaÅ ...
railway stations across the
Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...
. This was in order to circumvent limitations imposed by Russian authorities, which prevented the construction of a railway bridge for strategic reasons. In 1880, a second line was constructed with the help of Belgian capital, this time intended as public transit within the city. The Belgian company quickly expanded its own lines, and in 1882 took over the line between the railway stations, which had lost most of its original purpose after a railway bridge was finally built in 1875. In 1899 the entire tram system, by then of tracks with 234 tram cars and 654 horses operating 17 lines, was purchased by the city. By 1903, plans were drafted to convert the system to electric trams, which was done by 1908.


Interbellum

The development mostly stagnated for the next 10 years with only a few short stretches built. After World War I, the network developed rapidly handling increased traffic and extending to the outskirts of the city with the network reaching the length of and 757 tram cars in 1939. In 1927, a privately owned
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
line called EKD (today Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa) was built, connecting several neighboring towns with the center of Warsaw using electric motor coaches similar to trams, only faster, larger and more massive, with frequent stops and tracks running along the streets in city; however the system was incompatible with the Warsaw trams as it used
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
tracks while the city network still used
Russian gauge Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
left from Russian times. In 1925, the company operating the Warsaw trams decided to construct an underground system. Preliminary boring started, but the work was suspended because of the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
; the idea resurfaced in 1938, but was again buried with the outbreak of World War II.


Second half of the 20th century

The tram system remained operational, although gradually deteriorating, during most of the
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
occupation until the
Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...
in 1944, after which all the infrastructure was systematically destroyed. After the war it was rebuilt relatively fast. As the system was practically built from scratch the occasion was used to convert it to standard gauge. During the 1950s and 1960s, the network was extended to newly built districts of soviet style panel houses and industrial plants and newer trams based on the design of Presidents' Conference Committee were introduced. Due to the city's lack of a metro system and restriction on car ownership, the tram system remained the backbone of Warsaw's transport system. In the 1960s, however, a political decision was made to increase the dependency on oil imported from Russia, while Polish coal was to be exported to Western Europe in exchange for
hard currency In macroeconomics, hard currency, safe-haven currency, or strong currency is any globally traded currency that serves as a reliable and stable store of value. Factors contributing to a currency's ''hard'' status might include the stability and ...
; as a result, newly developed districts were connected with the city center by buses rather than trams, and some of the existing tracks were closed.


Present situation

After 1989, the tram system in Warsaw initially received little investment with a large part of the city's budget spent on the construction of the first
Warsaw Metro The Warsaw Metro () is a rapid transit underground system serving the Poland, Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south M1 (Warsaw), M1 line which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sou ...
line. However, since 2005, the situation has been changing with the purchase of new rolling stock, modernization of key tram lines, and deployment of a
passenger information system A passenger information system, or passenger information display system, is an automated system for supplying users of public transport with information about the nature and the state of a public transport service through visual, voice or other m ...
. Plans also include extension of the network and an "intelligent" traffic management system which is to prioritize trams at traffic lights. In August 2008, a tender for delivery of 186 low-floor, air-conditioned trams was launched, allowing for a dramatic overhaul of the look of the tramway system. In 2014 a first entirely new line since a quarter century was opened, connecting Tarchomin, a quickly growing remote residential district on the north-eastern outskirts of the city, with the existing tram network and the M1 metro line. The route underwent further expansion with the latest long segment finished in September 2021 after multiple delays. More new lines are being planned: one with of new tracks to Gocław, and another to the eastern parts of the
Białołęka Białołęka (, lit. ''White Meadow'') is one of 18 districts of Warsaw, located in the northern part of the city. Until October 27, 2002 Białołęka was a gmina. According to the Central Statistical Office data, the district's area is and ...
district. The construction of a new tram route to Wilanów was launched in August 2022 and was completed in October 2024. It is unclear when work will start on the line to Gocław.


Rolling stock


Tram depots


Historic fleet

Sources:


Tickets

There is a single fare system for every mode of transportation. Tickets can be purchased at ticket machines and newsagents all over the city, as well as using a mobile app.


Route list

This is a list of Warsaw Tramway lines. As of 2015, there were several track closures all over the tramway system, due to the construction of the second metro line. This list shows tram lines operating as of 26 October 2024 and the routes they operate on as of the same date. The standard headway is every 8 minutes during peak hours and every 12 minutes off-peak, but the trams on lines 1, 9, 17, 31, and 33 run every 4–6 minutes. Line 2 has the most frequent service with trams running every 2 minutes during peak hours.


Tram loops/termini


See also

*
List of town tramway systems in Poland This is a list of town tramway systems in Poland. It includes all tram systems in Poland, past and present; cities with currently operating systems, and those systems themselves, are indicated in bold and blue background colored rows. Those tram ...
*
Warsaw Metro The Warsaw Metro () is a rapid transit underground system serving the Poland, Polish capital Warsaw. It currently consists of two lines, the north–south M1 (Warsaw), M1 line which links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and sou ...
* ZarzÄ…d Transportu Miejskiego w Warszawie


Notes


References


External links

*
Warsaw Transport Authority – network mapsTramwar – a private website about trams in Warsaw
{{coord missing, Masovian Voivodeship
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 ...
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...