Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) will install air conditioning to all the trams Škoda 15T ForCity.

The air conditioning in the Škoda 15T ForCity will work in an almost automatic mode due to the manufacturer’s settings. The driver can only increase or decrease the passenger compartment temperature. Tram windows can be opened, but this will affect efficiency.

The total cost will exceed 400 million crowns.

In 2011, during the administration of then-mayor Tomáš Hudeček (TOP 09), the DPP started negotiations regarding the installation of air conditioning in the passenger compartment.

The tram, which is 31.4 m long and almost 2.5 m wide, has the capacity of 180 passengers – of which 61 are seated. Thanks to its ability to ride in arcs smoothly, the tram cuts travel time and speeds up traffic. This is also helped by six wide double-leaf doors which enable passengers to get on and off very quickly.

They are also 100% low-floor, offering problem-free transport for passengers with reduced mobility. This is in line with Prague’s strategic priority to ensure barrier-free access throughout the city’s public transport network by 2025.

At the moment, DPP is gradually launching the EMA system, which shall automatically, without the driver’s intervention, control selected functions of the vehicle, such as e.g. stops announcements, wheel and rail lubrication, reduction of speed to the prescribed value when riding in arcs or over crossings, display of the tram’s position at the underlying maps on an internal monitor for passengers, etc.

The very first tram line in Prague dates back to 1875 when a Belgian businessman built tracks for a horse-drawn tram. The line went from today’s Náměstí Republiky to the National Theatre. Horse-drawn trams were operating until 1925 when they were completely replaced by electric trams.