The

Avdiivka Avdiivka (, , is a city of regional significance in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. The city is in the center of the region, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city's population is officiall ...

tram opened August 23, 1965. Due to the ongoing

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

the transport system has not operated since 2015 despite attempts to restart operations (the last such attempt was in 2017). In 2010 it had 2 routes, 24.0 km and 25 rail cars.Inventory fleet of passenger tram cars on 01.01.2010. Official statistics. Avdiyivka. Site "Mіsky trucks"
/ref> It used mainly

multiple-unit A multiple-unit train or simply multiple unit (MU) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more carriages joined together, which when coupled to another multiple unit can be controlled by a single driver, with multiple-unit train contro ...

tram consists, with an average of 3-4 cars per set.

History

The first section of the tram line opened August 23, 1965. It was opened to connect the city with the Avdiivka Coke Plant. Still in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

no other tram line exists that was built to connect residential areas with a large industrial enterprise. The first stock used were the KTM/KTP-1 two-axle trams. In 1969 and 1972 the line was further extended. In the early

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

it was planned to extend the tram line to

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

, works to this end did start, but the project was never finished. In 1977 and 1978 the KTM-5 tram type replaced the KTM/KTP-1 type. In 1986 the tram line was extended to the village

Spartak Spartak may refer to: In sports *Spartak (sports society), an international fitness and sports society that unites some countries of the former Soviet Union In Russia *FC Spartak Moscow, a football club *FC Spartak Kostroma, a football club *PFC ...

, almost doubling the length of the line. In 2003 tram traffic to Spartak was permanently suspended. Avdiivka tram rails destroyed, august 2015

Although Avdiivka was already suffering from the

in June 2014 trams in Avdiivka continued to operate.Losing everything in Avdiivka

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...

(5 February 2017) After three trams were hit by artillery fire in January 2015 the tram line was completely dismantled. By late March 2015 tram traffic was completely stopped due to artillery bombardments and power failures. In 2016 a part of the tram line was reopened, but in January 2017 the tram line was permanently closed because of active fighting in Avdiivka. Currently the former tram line is served by a

shuttle bus A shuttle bus is a bus that travels a shorter route in comparison to most bus routes. Typically, shuttle buses travel in both directions between two points. Shuttle buses are designed to transport large groups of people who are all travellin ...

with the same number, "1".

References

External links

*
Avdiivka tram on the site "Trams and trolleybuses in the countries of the former Soviet Union»
{{Rail transport in Ukraine Tram transport in Ukraine

Defunct railroads