The

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

system of

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, consists of two lines operated by

Uzbek Railways The Uzbekistan Railways () are the national rail carrier of Uzbekistan. The company owns and operates all railways within the country. It is a state-owned stock company, formed in 1994 to operate railways within Uzbekistan. As of March 2017, the ...

, with a total of 26 stops and a length of 11.4 kilometers. The modern,

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

system opened its first line in 2017, and is the first system to operate in Samarkand since the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era system was disestablished in 1973. Another two lines are planned for the future, for a total of four lines.

History

The first trams in Samarkand began operation in 1924 and were powered by steam. In 1947, the tram system transitioned from steam to electric power. A fleet of 30 vehicles served the system until 1973, when it was dismantled. The last of Samarkand's guided transport was disestablished in 2005, when the

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

system (operating from 1957) was removed. In 2016, Uzbek presidential candidate

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

promised for a new tram line to be constructed in Samarkand, and construction began upon his election. Despite complaints from the local population over the effects of construction on traffic and the demolition of buildings to make way for the tram, the project finished on schedule. The first system line began operation in March of 2017, with Mirziyoyev as its first rider. The system's original stock of Pragoimex VarioLF trams were taken from

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

; its tram project had been abandoned the year before. Later, Samarkand purchased 42 of these trams directly from Czech company Pragoimex. A second tram line opened the following year, along with eight new trams.

Current lines and future plans

Samarkand is currently served by two tram lines. The system has an average headway of seven to nine minutes, and one journey from end to end takes about twenty minutes on each line. Two more lines are in the planning phase; the four lines will total 34.8 km in length.

References

{{Reflist

History

Current lines and future plans

References

See also