First Electric Tram Introduced in Prague 132 Years Ago

July 18, 1891 was one of the most important days not only in the history of Prague’s public transport.

The first Czech electric tram on Letná in Prague (Electric Railway on Letná in Prague) was put into operation. This line led from the upper terminal of the Letná funicular to the pavilion of the Jubilee Exhibition through Ovenecká street.

After two more years, this line was extended to the Governor’s Villa, a further distance of 1.4 km. In 1896, on 19 March, František Křižík opened a second, more important tram line, which lead from Florenc to Libeň and Vysočany, joining the industrial suburbs of Prague with its residential area in the center.

History

The horsecar trams started to operate on 23 September 1875 along the route Karlín – National Theater. The owner and the entrepreneur of this road was Eduard Otlet, from Belgium. This way lead to the theater, along Národní Třída street.

In 1876, the track was extended west of the National Theater, through the Újezd hub to the Smíchov Railway Station. In 1882 the network was extended to Vinohrady and Žižkov.

At that time, they were independent suburbs of Prague, but now they are incorporated into city. In 1883, the size of the entire network was 19.43 kilometers.

In a continuation of the rapid growth of Prague’s trams, another new lined was opened in 1897. This time it was a suburban route from Smíchov to Košíře. It was named “Hlaváčkova electric railway”.

Later, a new passenger railroad in Královské Vinohrady was opened. The Prague to Vinohrady stretch spanned 5.8 kilometers, had 17 stations, and passed through Nové město (New Town).

At another side of the city, thanks to the above-listed railway between Anděl and Smíchov, allowed Prague tram provides a one-seat-ride between Košíře and Vinohrady. Eventually, the municipal enterprise, Prague Transportation Company, was formed.

In 1898 the horse railway was bought by the company. Due to this, construction of new tracks started along with electrification of the existing tracks.

There are 142.4 km of tram tracks in Prague, with about 52 percent of the tracks running isolated. The rest run along the roads together with the cars. Trams in Prague carry over 360 million passengers a year. There are more than 930 trams and over 20 daytime routes.