Trams in Sarajevo
Encyclopedia
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
's oldest, consists of one line. It is 10.7 kilometres (6.6 mi) long, being an east-west link from the city centre district (Baščaršija
Bašcaršija
Baščaršija is Sarajevo's old bazaar and the historical and cultural center of the city. Baščaršija was built in the 15th century when Isa-Beg Isaković founded the town. The word Baščaršija derives from the Turkish language...
) to the suburb Ilidža
Ilidža
Ilidža is a town and municipality in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. It has a metro population of 157,654, making it the 7th largest city in the country. Ilidža is the chief suburb of Sarajevo. It is famous for the natural beauty of its surroundings and historical tradition dating back to...
. It has a 0.4 kilometre (0.248549094659923 mi) long detour to the city's railway station (Željeznička Stanica).
The system is run by JKP GRAS Sarajevo, who also operate trolley bus and bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
routes in the city.
History
SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
had the first full-time (dawn to dusk) tram line in Europe. Opened on New Years Day in 1885, it was the testing line for the tram in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and operated by horses. Originally built to 760mm narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
(Bosnian gauge), the present system in 1960 was upgraded to standard gauge
Standard gauge
The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
(1435 mm). The trams played a pivotal role in the growth of the city in the 20th century.
During the Siege of Sarajevo
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
in the mid 1990s, trackwork and numerous vehicles were badly damaged - these are once again operational though marks remain on some vehicles.
System
The route lies on the main boulevardBoulevard
A Boulevard is type of road, usually a wide, multi-lane arterial thoroughfare, divided with a median down the centre, and roadways along each side designed as slow travel and parking lanes and for bicycle and pedestrian usage, often with an above-average quality of landscaping and scenery...
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 Miljacska river on the street called Obala Kulina bana (formerly: Obala Vojvode Stepe Stepanovića). It proceeds to the terminus Baščaršija. The route then turns back toward Marin Dvor on the northern parallel road Maršala Tita.
Seven 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
Rolling stock
The fleet in use on the network are Tatra K2Tatra K2
The Tatra K2 was the first production articulated tramcar built by ČKD Tatra between 1966 and 1983, following the failure of the experimental K1 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...
articulated trams from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, delivered in the 1970s and early 1980s. Later these trams have been joined by more modern vehicles in recent times. In 2008, Amsterdam
Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf
The Gemeentelijk Vervoerbedrijf is the municipal transport company of Amsterdam. As of 2007, the GVB is an independent corporation wholly owned by the city of Amsterdam.-History:...
donated 16 old trams to Sarajevo.