Trams in Sarajevo

The Sarajevo tram network is one of Europe's oldest, having originally served as the test line for Vienna's trams.[2] As of 2010, the Sarajevo tram system consists of seven lines,[1][3] running along a single route with a 0.4 kilometres (0.25 mi)-long branch to the city's main railway station (Željeznička Stanica). It primarily serves as an east-west link from the city centre (Baščaršija) to the western suburb of Ilidža.

Sarajevo tramway network
Sarajevo tram
Overview
Locale Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Transit typeTram
Number of lines6[1]
Number of stations28
Websitewww.gras.ba
Operation
Began operation
  • 1885 (horse tram)[1]
  • 1895 (electric tram)
Operator(s)KJKP GRAS Sarajevo
Number of vehicles95[1]
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Old gauge760 mm (2 ft 5 1516 in) Bosnian gauge until 1960
Minimum radius of curvature(?)
System map

The system is run by KJKP GRAS Sarajevo, whic also operates trolleybus and bus routes in the city.

History

Sarajevo Tramway in 1901

Opened on New Year's Day in 1885, the Sarajevo tramway was the testing line for the tram in Vienna and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and operated by horses.[2] Originally built to 760 mm (2 ft 5 1516 in) Bosnian gauge, the present system was upgraded to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge in 1960. The trams played a pivotal role in the growth of the city in the 20th century.

During the Siege of Sarajevo of 1992-1995, trackwork and numerous vehicles were badly damaged. The tram operation stopped on April 15 1992, 9 days after the siege started, and resumed despite the dangers of the ongoing siege on April 15, 1994.[4] The vehicles are once again operational though marks remain on some vehicles.

System

Trams in Sarajevo
Ilidža
Kasindolska
Energoinvest
Stup
Avaz
Avaz
Nedžarići
Alipašino polje
RTV
Miljacka
Alipašin most
Depot
Otoka
Čengić vila
Čengić vila
Čengić vila
Dolac Malta
Socijalno
Pofalići
Univerzitet
To Mostar
Muzeji
Željeznička stanica
Tehnička škola
Muzeji
Skenderija
Skenderija
Park
Pošta
Banka
Drvenija
Katedrala
Latinska ćuprija
Vijećnica
Baščaršija

The route lies on the main boulevard of Sarajevo, which is named (from west to east) first Bulevar Meše Selimovića (formerly 6 Proleterske Brigade), from Vila Čengić then Zmaj od Bosne (formerly Vojvode Radomira Putnika). From the district Marijin Dvor it runs a loop in a counter-clockwise direction along the Miljacka river on the street called Obala Kulina bana (formerly: Obala Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića). It proceeds to the terminus Baščaršija. The route then turns back towards Marijin Dvor on the northern parallel road Maršala Tita.

Six routes are presently in operation on the system, often only a specific section of the track. Only route 3 operates the entire length.

  • Route 1: Željeznička stanica – Baščaršija
  • Route 2: Čengić Vila – Baščaršija
  • Route 3: Ilidža – Baščaršija
  • Route 4: Ilidža – Željeznička stanica
  • Route 5: Nedžarići – Baščaršija
  • Route 6: Ilidža – Skenderija
  • Route 7: Nedžarići – Skenderija (currently not running)

In the early 1990s, construction work started to expand the tram network from Nedžarići to Dobrinja, which was at the time served by a trolleybus system. Work stopped in 1992 when the siege started, which was also when most of the vehicles and infrastructure was damaged. At Nedžarići, it is possible to see tracks leading towards a planned, but never finished boulevard that would link towards Dobrinja. No work has been done in the said neighborhood to prepare access of trams there due to the start of the war, so these are the only traces of the planned extension.

Rolling stock

In 1958, Sarajevo bought 50 relatively modern PCC-cars from Washington, renumbered in the 1-50 series. 21 more PCC-cars from Washington followed in 1962, numbered 51-71. These 71 PCC-cars were built between 1941 and 1944 by the St. Louis Car Company. Between 1967 and 1969, 20 of these streetcars were transformed into 10 articulated cars series 100-109.

The fleet in use on the network are Tatra K2 articulated trams from the Czech Republic, delivered in the 1970s and early 1980s. Later these trams have been joined by more modern vehicles in recent times. In 2008, Amsterdam donated 16 old trams to Sarajevo.

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. "Tramvaj" [Tramway] (in Bosnian). KJKP GRAS d.o.o. 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  2. "Virtual City of Sarajevo". Retrieved 2013-09-11.
  3. "KJKP GRAS d.o.o." KJKP GRAS d.o.o. Retrieved 2015-05-13.
  4. "GRAS Sarajevo". Retrieved 2020-01-08.

Bibliography

  • Jan Čihák: Sarajevo Trams and Trolleybuses, ISBN 978-3-9503304-2-7, bahnmedien.at, Vienna/Austria
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