The Tatra K2 was the first production articulated tramcar

Tramcar

The Tramcar is a trackless train service running on the Boardwalk in the Cape May County, New Jersey communities of Wildwood and North Wildwood. The service, which began on June 11, 1949, takes passengers along the two-mile long Wildwood boardwalk...

 built by ČKD Tatra between 1966 and 1983, following the failure of the experimental K1

Tatra K1

The Tatra K1 was an experimental tramcar developed by ČKD Tatra between 1964 and 1965. Previous Tatra units had been concerned primarily with gaining maximum capacity in a single tramcar, and Tatra sought to correct this through the development of its first articulated tramcar, the result being...

 which never entered production. It was noted that the main problem with the K1 was with the new electrical equipment, and therefore the same electrical equipment of the T3

Tatra T3

The T3 is a type of tramcar produced by Tatra. During its period of production, between 1960 and 1989, 13,991 multiple units and 122 sidecars were sold worldwide, mostly in Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union...

 was incorporated into the new K2. The prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

 entered service in 1966 as Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 tramcar number 7000, where it spent only a short spell before being transferred to Most

Most

Most is the capital city of the Most District, situated between the Czech Central Mountains and the Ore Mountains, approximately northwest of Prague along the Bílina River and southwest of Ústí nad Labem.-Etymology:...

, and then again moved to Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

. Production of the K2 on a mass scale started the same year, and many examples remain in service to this day, albeit most having been extensively modernised. The modernisation of the K2 fleet in Brno, the biggest customer of the type, included the complete re-modelling of the front end, and the upgrading of their electronic equipment. These modernised examples were labeled K2R, whereby the 'R' stands for 'reconstructed'.

K2SU

The K2SU was the version of the K2 which went on sale in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, also in 1966. Production of the type ended prematurely in 1969 as the vehicles were not well suited to the comparatively heavy traffic in Russian cities. Nevertheless, a total of 246 of the type entered service. The only K2SU to remain in active service was in Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg

Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...

 were it was retained as an historic vehicle until 1998.

K2YU

Sarajevo

Sarajevo

Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....

 was the only city in the former Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....

 to receive the K2, where it was labeled the K2YU. The only differences with the original K2 were in very minor details.
There were also sold 15 K2YU trams to Brno and 3 to Bratislava.

Production

A total of 567 units entered service in the following cities:

	City	Year	K2	K2SU	K2YU	Total
	Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...	1969-1983	86	0	3	89
	Brno Brno Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...	1967-1983	117	0	15	132
	Kharkiv Kharkiv Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...	1968-1969	0	35	0	35
	Moscow Moscow Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...	1967-1969	0	60	0	60
	Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...	1966-1969	0	36	0	36
	Ostrava Ostrava Ostrava is the third largest city in the Czech Republic and the second largest urban agglomeration after Prague. Located close to the Polish border, it is also the administrative center of the Moravian-Silesian Region and of the Municipality with Extended Competence. Ostrava was candidate for the...	1966-1983	10	0	0	10
	Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don -History:The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak...	1968	0	5	0	5
	Samara Samara, Russia Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...	1967-1969	0	35	0	35
	Sarajevo Sarajevo Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....	1973-1983	0	0	90	90
	Tula Tula, Russia Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...	1968-1969	0	20	0	20
	Ufa Ufa -Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...	1968-1969	0	35	0	35
	Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District with a population of 1,350,136 , making it Russia's...	1967-1969	0	20	0	20
		Total	213	246	108	567