Trams in Prague
tram system
The Prague tramway network is the largest tram network in the Czech Republic, consisting of 144 km (89 mi) of standard gauge (1,435 mm) track, 691 tram vehicles and 26 daytime routes, 2 historical and 9 night routes with a total route length of 518 km (322 mi). It is operated by Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy a.s., a company owned by the city of Prague. The network is a part of Prague Integrated Transport, the city's integrated public transport system.
Prague's first horsecar tram line was opened in 1875, and the first electric tram ran in 1891. Expansion plans were scaled down since the 1970s with the introduction of Prague Metro; however, trams still serve a crucial transit and tourist element serving Prague's city centre as well as Prague's suburbs.
The Prague tram system (including the Petřín funicular) served 373.4 million passengers in 2018, the highest number in the world after Budapest. Rolling stock for the network consists solely of trams built locally – mainly classic Tatra trams and low-floor Škoda stock.
History
Beginnings
Horse trams
In 1873, Bernhard Kollmann and Zdeněk Kinský founded the Anglo-Czech Tramway Company. On 5 March 1873, the company received a concession to build and operate a horse-drawn street railway using a horse-drawn tram. Financial reasons meant the plan was eventually not implemented.
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