Trams in Kyiv

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Ukrainian. (August 2013) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Ukrainian article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 436 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Ukrainian Wikipedia article at [[:uk:Київський трамвай]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|uk|Київський трамвай}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

The ČKD Tatra-T3SU tram cars are the most common tram cars seen in Kyiv. Here the tram cars are on the Kontraktova Square, with the roofs of St. Andrew's Church in the background.

The Kyiv Tram is a tram network which serves the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. The system was the first electric tramway in the former Russian Empire and the fourth one in Europe after the Berlin and the Budapest and Prague tramways. The Kyiv Tram system currently consists of 139.9 km (86.9 mi) of track,^[3] including 14 km (8.7 mi) two Rapid Tram lines, served by 21 routes with the use of 523 tram cars. However, the system is being neglected, the serviced track length is decreasing at a fast rate and is replaced by buses and trolleybuses.

The Kyiv Tram system is operated by the "Kyivpastrans" municipal company which also maintains bus, trolleybus and urban rail transport in Kyiv.

History[]

During the Russian Empire[]

Before 1886, projects for the construction of a horse-drawn tramway were planned. However, none of these plans had ever proceeded to the construction stage.^[4] In 1886, engineer Amand Struve's project was approved for construction. On July 30, 1891, the first horse-drawn tram wagon was set on a track. By August 1, the tram line stretched from the Tsar's Square to the Demiivska Square.^[4]

Soon after tram operations were started, many problems arose. The hilly terrain of Kyiv presented the largest problem. On Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street, a pair of horses was not enough to pull the trams uphill. Therefore, another two pairs of horses were added, which did not improve the situation. Thus, mechanizing the tram using a steam-powered engine was attempted as a solution to the problem. However, the steam engines produced a lot of noise, which scared the horses and people, and produced a lot of air pollution.^[4]

One of the earliest Kyiv tram wagons, constructed by the Struve brothers (1892), based on American designs.

The slew of problems experienced by the trams shocked Struve, who in 1890, had written a letter to the City Administration of Kyiv suggesting that for increased safety and easier use, the trams would need to be powered using electric motors.^[4] The administration of the service opposed this move since, in their opinion, the electric motors would interfere with the telephone and telegraph systems.^[4]

On May 3, 1892, the first two trams with electric motors arrived in Kyiv. They were built by the Struve brothers in a factory located near Moscow, based on American designs. On the same day, the engines were tested on the flat Sahaydachny Street, and once more, on May 8, on the track from Podil Street to Khreshchatyk Street.

In 1893, the money earned by these electric trams exceeded the cost to maintain the trams. Furthermore, the electric trams were used whenever the horse-drawn or steam-powered trams had difficulty. Nevertheless, the system's horse-drawn trams were in use until 1895, and the last steam-powered cars ran until 1904, when a diesel electric station, on the so-called Dachnaya (Dachna) line to Pushcha-Vodytsia was built. This station had lasted until the 1930s. These trams required very little power, which caused any electric trams, which used the line, to move so slowly that the passengers could get on and off the tram, while the tram remained in motion.

A long tram line, about 17 versts (18 kilometers) long, was laid from the Poshtova Square in the Podil neighborhood, across the Dnipro river on the Nicholas Bridge, through the Peredmostna and Nikolska Slobodka neighborhoods, and to the neighboring town of Brovary. The line was used until the mid-1930s, and was a one-way line with side-skirts for oncoming trams to drive into. This had made the trip even longer than it really was. The cost was 35 kopecks, a fair amount of money at the time.^[4] Nevertheless, the trams were always packed with passengers.

Belgian Pullman wagons, modernized by the Kyiv tram factory, were used throughout the 1930s

By 1893, the city's trams easily climbed the many steep streets of Kyiv, including the Proreznay (Prorezna), Karavayevskaya (Karavaievs’ka, now the Ploscha L’va Tolstoho Street) and even the Kruglouniversitetskaya (Kruhlouniversitets’ka) Streets. In 1893, the Elektrichestvo journal wrote:

If Kyiv's terrain had not been so unique, then it would have taken many years before electricity would have been used to power the trams.^[5]

— Elektrichestvo journal

A major problem of the tram drivers at the time was the rolling stock used. When the city's railroad stock holder Lazar Brodsky died, the stocks were transferred to the Belgian auction firm, and the tram system began running on the Belgian Pullman wagons, with soft, sail-type cloth seats. But neither these, nor the earlier seats on the German wagons, gave the tram drivers any comfort while standing in wind, rain, or snow, on the driver's platform on the tram.

During Soviet Ukraine[]

After the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War, reconstruction of the tram system began. The old and outdated tram wagons required restoration as the industry of the country could not manufacture new wagons. The train wagons' reconstruction was carried out in the main tram depot of the system, the Dombal Depot. From 1928 to 1932, 80 two-axle motor tram wagons and 65 regular train wagons were manufactured for Kyiv, and since 1932, the depot started producing four-axle tram wagons, due to Kyiv's geographical relief and climate. On the tram wagons, the conductors place was not warmed during the winter, however, was separated from the passenger part of the wagon.

On March 13, 1961, a major landslide hit the city's Podilske Tram Depot, burying it in clay sludge and killing most personnel on site. Additionally, dozens of people died in the tram cars and buses caught by the landslide and subsequent short circuit on the street intersection immediately next to the depot.

On December 30, 1978, the first high-speed tram line in the then Soviet Union was opened in Kyiv. It connected the Victory Square with the Pivdenna Borshchahivka housing estate.^[6] The same year Kyiv experienced the peak in tram routes development in its history. In 1978 the length of the lines reached 285 km, the fleet numbered 909 cars, and passenger traffic per year exceeded 396 million people.^[7]

Routes[]

As of May 25, 2020, the following routes are in effect:

Route	Schedule	Terminus	Terminus	Via	Notes
1	[1]	Mykhailyvska Borshchavihka	Starovokzalna station	Symyrenka Street — Koltsova Boulevard — Volodymyra Pokotyla Street — Lesya Kurbasa Avenue — Lyubomyra Huzara Avenue — Borshchahivska Street — Zhylianska Street	Forms part of the Pravoberezhna Line of the Kyiv Light Rail.
2		Mykhailyvska Borshchahivka	Kiltseva Road station	Symyrenka Street — Koltsova Boulevard — Volodymyra Pokotyla Street — Lesya Kurbasa Avenue	Temporarily suspended. Forms part of the Pravoberezhna Line of the Kyiv Light Rail.
3	[2]	Kiltseva Road station	Starovokzalna station	Lesya Kurbasa Avenue — Lyubomyra Huzara Avenue — Borshchahivska Street — Zhylianska Street	Forms part of the Pravoberezhna Line of the Kyiv Light Rail.
4	[3]	Troieshchyna-2 station	Myloslavska station	Onore de Balzaka Street	Forms part of the Livoberezhna Line of the Kyiv Light Rail. Works only on weekdays and in peak hours.
5	[4]	Troieshchyna-2 station	Serzha Lyfarya Street	Onore de Balzaka Street — Myloslavska Street — Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street	Forms part of the Livoberezhna Line of the Kyiv Light Rail.
8	[5]	Perova Boulevard	Pozniaky station	Suleymana Stalskoho Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Pavla Usenka Street] — Ivana Serhienka Street — Kharkivske Highway — Pryvokzalana Street — Yaltynska Street — Slavhorodska Street — Trostyanetska Street — Anny Akhmatovoyi Street — Petra Hryhorenka Avenue	Temporarily changed route during construction on Yuriya Haharina Avenue[8].
11	[6]	Yordanska Street	Kontraktova Square	Marshala Malynovskoho Street — Dorbyninska Street — Semena Sklyarenka Street — Kyrylivska Street — Shchekavitska Street (other direction: Olenivska Street) — Kostiantynivska Street (other direction: Mezhyhirska Street) — Spaska Street	Works only on weekdays.
12	[7]	14th Lane, Pushcha Vodytsya	Kontraktova Square	Mykoly Yunkerova Street — 5th Lane — Fedora Maksymenka Street — Lisna Highway — Pushcha Vodystka Street — Tarasa Shevchenka Square — Polyarna Street — Avtzavodska Street — Semena Sklyarenka Street — Kyrylivska Street — Shchekavitska Street (other direction: Olenivska Street) — Kostiantynivska Street (other direction: Mezhyhirska Street) — Spaska Street
14	[8]	Vidradnyi Avenue	Kontraktova Square	Vidradnyi Avenue — Vatslava Havela Boulevard — Mykoly Vasylenka Street — Dehtyarivska Street — Dmytrivska Street — Hlybochynska Street — Lower Val Street — Kostiantynivska Street (other direction: Mezhyhirska Street) — Spaska Street
15	[9]	Vidradnyi Avenue	Starovokzalna station	Vidradnyi Avenue — Vatslava Havela Boulevard — Mykoly Vasylenka Street — Dehtyarivska Street — Dmytrivska Street — Bulvarno-Kudryavska Street — Zhylyanska Street
16	[10]	Heroes of the Dnieper station	Kontraktova Square	Heroiv Dnipra Street — Zoi Haidai Street — Marshala Tymoshenko Street — Marshala Malynovskoho Street — Dorbyninska Street — Semena Sklyarenka Street — Kyrylivska Street — Shchekavitska Street (other direction: Olenivska Street) — Kostiantynivska Street (other direction: Mezhyhirska Street) — Spaska Street
17	[11]	Yordanska Street	14th Lane, Pushcha Vodytsia	Marshala Malynovskoho Street — Dorbyninska Street — Semena Sklyarenka Street  — Avtozavodksa Street — Polyarna Street — Tarasa Shevchenka Square — Pushcha Vodytska Street — Lisna Highway;— Fedora Maksymenka Street — 5th Lane — Mykoly Yunkerova Street
18	[12]	Kontraktova Square	Starovokzalna station	Spaska Street — Mezhyhirska Street (other direction: Kostyantynivska Street) — Lower Val Street (other direction: Upper Val Street) — Hlybochytska Street — Dmytrivska Street — Bulvarno-Kudryavska Street — Zhylyanska Street
19	[13]	Kontraktova Square	Tarasa Shevchenka Square	[Spaska Street — Mezhyhirska Street (other direction: Kostyantynivska Street) — Shekavytska Street (other direction: Olenivska Street) — Kyrylivska Street — Semena Sklyarenka Street — Avtozavodska Street — Polyarna Street
22	[14]	ZZBK	Perova Boulevard	Boryspilska Street — Pryvokzalna Street — Kharkivske Highway — Ivana Serhienka Street — Pavla Usenka Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Myropilska Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Suleymana Stalskoho Street
23		DVRZ	Alishera Navoyi Avenue	Almatynska Street — Prazka Street — Azerbaijanska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Myropilska Street	Temporarily suspended during construction on Almatynska Street. Works only on weekdays.
25	[15]	Pozniaky metro station	ZZBK	Anny Akhmatovoyi Street — Petra Hryhorenka Avenue — Trostyanetska Street — Slavhorodska Street — Yaltynska Street — Boryspilska Street	Works only on weekdays. One morning route.
28	[16]	Myloslavska Street	Darnytske Tram Depot	Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street — Teodora Drayzera Street — Mykoly Kybalchycha Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Pavla Usenka Street	Temporarily changed route during construction on Yuriya Haharina Avenue[8].
28D	[17]	Myloslavska Street	ZZBK	Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street — Teodora Drayzera Street — Mykoly Kybalchycha Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Pavla Usenka Street — Ivana Serhienka Street — Kharkivska Highway — Pryvokzalna Street — Boryspilska Street	One morning route.
29	[18]	Boryspilska station	Alishera Navoyi Avenue	Tashkentska Street — Kronstadtska Street — Slavhorodska Street — Yaltynska Street — Pryvokzalna Street — Kharkivske Highway — Ivana Serhienka Street — Pavla Usenka Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Myropilska Street —	Temporarily suspended during construction on Yuriya Haharina Avenue[8].
32		Lisova station	DVRZ	Popudrenka Street — Yuriya Haharina Avenue — Pavla Usenka Street — Ivana Serhienka Street — Prazka Street — Almatynska Street	Temporarily suspended during construction on Almatynska Street.
33		Serzha Lyfarya Street	DVRZ	Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street — Teodora Drayzera Street — Mykoly Kybalchycha Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Pavla Usenka Street — Ivana Serhienka Street — Prazka Street — Almatynska Street	Temporarily suspended during construction on Almatynska Street.
33K	[19]	Serzha Lyfarya Street	Darnytske Tram Depot	Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street — Teodora Drayzera Street — Mykoly Kybalchycha Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Pavla Usenka Street	Temporary route during construction on Amatynska Street[9].
35		Serzha Lyfarya Street	Lisova station	Mykoly Zakrevskoho Street — Teodora Drayzera Street — Mykoly Kybalchycha Street — Kurnatovskoho Street — Myropilska Street — Hnata Khotkevycha Street — Yuriya Haharina Avenue — Popudrenka Street	Temporarily suspended during construction on Yuriya Haharina Avenue[8].

Rolling stock[]

The Kyiv tram system uses many different tram cars and types, with some being designed in Moscow and manufactured in Riga, some being manufactured by the ČKD Tatra company in Prague, and with some being manufactured right in the city of Kyiv. The following data incorporates only some tram cars used by the system.

References[]

Notes

Footnotes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kiev tram.

• "Kyivpastrans" official web site (in Ukrainian and English)
• In memory of Kiev Trams – by Stefan Mashkevich (in English and Russian)
• noosphere.com.ua – Fast tram No.2 in Kyiv (in Russian)