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The Sofia tram network is a vital part of the
On 1 December 1898, the capital municipality gave concessions for building tram lines to French and Belgian companies . Construction took place for a little more than a year and the first tram line was inaugurated on 1 January 1901. Initially, the population was served by 25 motor cars and 10 trailers which covered six lines with a total length of and a gauge of .
Between 1901 and 1931, many motor cars and trailers were purchased from different European manufacturers. In 1931 Bulgaria started building their own carriages under the supervision of the engineer Teodosiy Kardalev. These were known as ''Kardalev's carriages''. In 1936 the first Bulgarian motor cars were produced under the brand DTO (Дирекция на трамваите и осветлението - Direktsia na tramvaite i osvetlenieto: ''Department for trams and lighting'', owned by Sofia municipality). Initially old frames were used for the production.''History of the Sofia tram'', Georgi Aleksandrov
, retrieved on 2009-10-04. In 1934 the first large tram depot was built in the Krasno selo district. In 1951 there was constructed a factory to build newer model tram cars. In 1951 the T4M-221 (Republic), which is considered the highest-quality Bulgarian tram, was produced in DTO. The T4M-221 is the first Bulgarian four-row tram. The "Republic" model was in production in 1951 and 1959, bearing the numbers 221 to 240. They also had trailers numbered 521-544. The motor cars, along with their trailers, mainly worked on line 5. They were assigned to the Krasno Selo tram depot (later Krasna Polyana). In 1981 motor car 240 and wagon 540 were rebuilt and put into operation for about a year. The 240 motor car and trailer 538 are still alive today and are expected to be restored. The original stock was 240 + 540, but 540 disappears from the Krasna Polyana depot in unexplained circumstances and again in unexpected circumstances, trailer 538 is found. The,,Republika" model was in operation until 1978. This tram manufacturer (known as Трамваен завод - Tramvaen zavod: ''Tram plant'') was named "Трамкар" (Tramkar: ''Tram car'') in 1990 and was a registered company Tramkar till 2008. Through 1959 it produced 155 ''DTO'' and ''Republika'' motors, the first fully Bulgarian-built trams. The last tram, T8M-900 was delivered in 1991 and is still in use. Since then the factory has been used to repair and renovate old trams. In 2017 the network was complemented with 28 second-hand Be 4/6 S "gherkin" trams partly donated from the BVB section of the tram network of Basel. The trams were constructed in 1990-91 and had
File:MAN-Siemens 1935.jpg, 1935 Siemens heritage tram
File:Trams in Sofia in 2006 02.jpg,
Sofia Urban Mobility Center: Urban Transport – Route network
{{coord missing, Bulgaria Transport in Sofia
public transportation system
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typica ...
of Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
, the capital of Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. It began operation on January 1, 1901. As of 2006, the tram system included approximately of narrow and standard gauge one-way track
Track or Tracks may refer to:
Routes or imprints
* Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity
* Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across
* Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...
. Most of the track is a narrow gauge (), with standard gauge () used on lines 20, 22 and 23 and accounting for approximately of the system's track length.
History
On 1 December 1898, the capital municipality gave concessions for building tram lines to French and Belgian companies . Construction took place for a little more than a year and the first tram line was inaugurated on 1 January 1901. Initially, the population was served by 25 motor cars and 10 trailers which covered six lines with a total length of and a gauge of .
Between 1901 and 1931, many motor cars and trailers were purchased from different European manufacturers. In 1931 Bulgaria started building their own carriages under the supervision of the engineer Teodosiy Kardalev. These were known as ''Kardalev's carriages''. In 1936 the first Bulgarian motor cars were produced under the brand DTO (Дирекция на трамваите и осветлението - Direktsia na tramvaite i osvetlenieto: ''Department for trams and lighting'', owned by Sofia municipality). Initially old frames were used for the production., retrieved on 2009-10-04. In 1934 the first large tram depot was built in the Krasno selo district. In 1951 there was constructed a factory to build newer model tram cars. In 1951 the T4M-221 (Republic), which is considered the highest-quality Bulgarian tram, was produced in DTO. The T4M-221 is the first Bulgarian four-row tram. The "Republic" model was in production in 1951 and 1959, bearing the numbers 221 to 240. They also had trailers numbered 521-544. The motor cars, along with their trailers, mainly worked on line 5. They were assigned to the Krasno Selo tram depot (later Krasna Polyana). In 1981 motor car 240 and wagon 540 were rebuilt and put into operation for about a year. The 240 motor car and trailer 538 are still alive today and are expected to be restored. The original stock was 240 + 540, but 540 disappears from the Krasna Polyana depot in unexplained circumstances and again in unexpected circumstances, trailer 538 is found. The,,Republika" model was in operation until 1978. This tram manufacturer (known as Трамваен завод - Tramvaen zavod: ''Tram plant'') was named "Трамкар" (Tramkar: ''Tram car'') in 1990 and was a registered company Tramkar till 2008. Through 1959 it produced 155 ''DTO'' and ''Republika'' motors, the first fully Bulgarian-built trams. The last tram, T8M-900 was delivered in 1991 and is still in use. Since then the factory has been used to repair and renovate old trams. In 2017 the network was complemented with 28 second-hand Be 4/6 S "gherkin" trams partly donated from the BVB section of the tram network of Basel. The trams were constructed in 1990-91 and had
low-floor
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...
sections inserted in their centre in 1997-99. They replaced older vehicles on lines 6, 8 and 12.
Sofia's first standard gauge tram line was opened in 1987. Until that time all lines were nominally metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, ...
, but actually constructed to a width of . Eight years later, in 1995, the second standard gauge line was finished. No other tram lines have been built since then, as Sofia has focused its efforts on the construction of its metro system
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
.
Lines
As of May 2022, the following lines operate:Gallery
Duewag
Düwag or Duewag, formerly Waggonfabrik Uerdingen, was a German manufacturer of rail vehicles. It was sold in 1999 to Siemens with the brand later retired.
History
Duewag was founded in March 1898 as Waggonfabrik Uerdingen in Uerdingen a ...
T4 - this tram type was in service between 1995 and 2017
File:Tatra T4 tram in Sofia.jpg, Tatra T4
T4 is the name of a tram produced by ČKD Tatra. It is the narrower variant of the Tatra T3 model. A large number of cars was supplied to the GDR, the USSR, Romania and the former Yugoslavia using names T4D, T4SU, T4R and T4YU, respectively. ...
tram in Sofia
File:Tram in Sofia near Russian monument 020.jpg, Inekon T8M-700IT
See also
* List of tram and light rail transit systems *Sofia Metro
The Sofia Metro ( bg, Софийски метрополитен, translit=Sofijski Metropoliten, also colloquially called ) is the rapid transit network servicing the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. It began operation on 28 January 1998. , the Sofi ...
* Sofia Public Transport
The public transport in Sofia consists of a comprehensive network of bus, trolleybus, tram and metro lines. It is overseen by the Sofia Urban Mobility Center, a municipal enterprise responsible for route planning, scheduling, fare collection and ti ...
* Trolleybuses in Sofia
References
External links
Sofia Urban Mobility Center: Urban Transport – Route network
{{coord missing, Bulgaria Transport in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
Narrow gauge railways in Bulgaria
Tram transport in Europe
1901 in rail transport