The Subotica tram system was a tram system in Subotica

Subotica

Subotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...

, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

. It was in operation from September 7, 1897 to April 2, 1974.

The first tram line went from the Sombor gate to the present day NAP gas station in Mali Bajmok over Rudic street, follogin Korz to Lake Palić

Palic Lake

The Palić lake is a lake situated from Subotica, near the town of Palić, in Serbia. It covers an area of . The average depth of the lake is .-History and development:...

. One tram from the system remains to this day, at the corner of Rudić street.

Origins

The Subotica tram, put into operation in 1897, ran on electricity from the start. While neighbouring cities' trams at this date were often still horse-drawn, this gave the Subotica system an advantage over municipalities including Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Novi Sad

Novi Sad

Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

, Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

, and Szeged

Szeged

' is the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county town of Csongrád county. The University of Szeged is one of the most distinguished universities in Hungary....

. Its existence was important to the citizens of Subotica, as well as tourists who came to visit.

Demise

Many tram systems in the former Yugoslavia closed in the 1950s. Subotica's system met the same fate, though later. Bus transport was seen as a cheaper alternative, and removing tramlines a way to free up space for cars. So, on the second of April, 1974, at 17:40, the tram was discontinued.

Future plans

There have been some efforts to investigate the reintroduction of the tram to the city. The city itself lacks funds to rebuild a system, so funding would have to come from other sources. Plans envisage the construction of a system of a similar length to the original one.

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