Sarajevo tramway network
Sarajevo tram
Sarajevo tram
Overview
LocaleBosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Transit typeTram
Number of lines6[1]
Number of stations28
Websitegras.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+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) Bosnian gauge until 1960
Minimum radius of curvature(?)
System map

Trams in Sarajevo are a part of the public transport system in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The system is run by KJKP GRAS Sarajevo, which also operates trolleybus and bus routes in the city.

As of 2010, the Sarajevo tram system consists of seven lines,[1][2] 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.

History

Sarajevo horse-drawn tram in 1885
Sarajevo electric tram 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. Originally built to 760 mm (2 ft 5+15⁄16 in) Bosnian gauge, the present system was upgraded to 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge in 1960. The trams played a pivotal role in the growth of the city in the 20th century.[3]

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
 Hrasnica
under construction
Ilidža  3   4   6 
 Kasindolska
 Energoinvest
 Stup
 
abandoned
Avaz
branch to
Dobrinja
Avaz
 Nedžarići  5 
 Alipašino polje
 RTV
Miljacka
Alipašin most
depôt
 Otoka
Čengić Vila
Čengić Vila  2 
Čengić Vila
Dolac Malta
Socijalno
Pofalići
Univerzitet
Muzeji
Željeznička
stanica
 1   4  Railways of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Tehnička škola
 Muzeji
Skenderija  6 
Skenderija
Park
Pošta
Banka
Drvenija
Katedrala
Latinska
ćuprija
Baščaršija  1   2 
Vijećnica
Baščaršija  3   5 

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 streetcars from Washington, renumbered in the 1-50 series. Another 21 more Washington PCCs followed in 1962, numbered 51-71. These 71 PCCs were built between 1941 and 1944 by the St. Louis Car Company. Between 1967 and 1969, 20 of these streetcars were reconstructed into ten articulated cars and renumbered 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 were joined by more modern vehicles in recent times. In 2008, Amsterdam donated 16 old trams to Sarajevo.

In September 2021, Stadler was awarded a contract to supply 15 Tango NF3 trams to the city.[5] The first vehicle was unveiled at the 15th Trako International Railway Fair on 20 September 2023.[6] The first tram arrived in December 2023, while the rest are expected to arrive by the summer of 2024.[7] An additional 10 new trams were also bought.[8]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tram transport in Sarajevo.

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tramvaj" [Tramway] (in Bosnian). KJKP GRAS d.o.o. 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "KJKP GRAS d.o.o." KJKP GRAS d.o.o. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "Neven Anđelić: O mitu da je Sarajevo imalo prvi tramvaj u Evropi". Radio Sarajevo. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. ↑ "GRAS Sarajevo". Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Sarajevo orders first new trams in decades". Railway Gazette International. 2 September 2021.
  6. ↑ "New-build tram for Sarajevo unveiled". Railway Gazette International. 20 September 2023.
  7. ↑ B.R. (14 December 2023). "U Sarajevo došao prvi od 15 novih tramvaja, nakon testiranja bit će pušten u redovan saobraćaj" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Ministar Šteta objasnio kako će funkcionisati noćni javni prijevoz u Sarajevu". hocu.ba (in Bosnian). 25 December 2023. Retrieved 25 December 2023.

Bibliography

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