The Lviv tramway network () is an electric tram system in Lviv, Ukraine. It is one of two tram systems in Western Ukraine (the other one is in Vinnytsia), and the largest narrow-gauge tram system in Ukraine.
From 1880 to 1908, the trams used a horse-drawn system, converting to an electric system after 1894. It was the first in the territory of modern Ukraine to have a system of horse-drawn trams, or any type of tram, as well as the second one after the Kyiv trams to use electricity.
The tram system reached its peak on the eve of World War II, when it was the city's main transport system; from the middle of the 20th century it gradually lost its position. In 2010, the trams accounted for 24.4% of passenger traffic in the city. As of January 1, 2022, there were 8 routes in the system, operated by the utility "LKP Lvivelectrotrans". In 2021, 24,678,300 paying passengers (including 2,785,623 students) used the tram and trolleybus services. In 2021, trams made 3.79 million vehicle-km of journeys. The length of the tracks and contact network is 81.85 km (2022), and the route network is 99.1 km (2022).
In January 2024, 1 243 959LCE "Lvivavtodor" response to an information inquiry. passengers were transported by eight tram routes.
It is planned that in the future the tram will become a primary mode of transport in Lviv.
History
Horse-tram The first time the possibility of a horse-drawn tram in Lviv was discussed was in the late 1860s. In 1870, a project for the construction of a horse-drawn tram in Lviv was developed by two British firms but was rejected by the Lviv City Council. However, in 1878, when it became clear that without public transport the city could not thrive, the city council announced a competition for the construction of tramways. Applications were filed by Belgian and Trieste tram companies. The commission created by the magistrate preferred the Trieste Tramway Company ("Societa Triestina Tramway" ), and a contract was signed on February 1, 1879. After this initial step and after 25 years of operation, the tram network became the property of the city. On May 21, a construction plan was approved.
On November 25, 1879, a trial trip took place. Here is a description from November 27 of that year found in "Lvivska Gazeta" : "The horse-drawn tram at noon began a trial trip from its depot on the street Gorodets-Yanivska to the Customs Square and in the opposite direction. For this purpose three wagons left the depot: one is open during the summer, the second one with one salon, and the third one – a passenger, divided into two classes. The tests were fairly smooth, but a little late due to the fact that the workers did not finish cleaning the track from ice and snow in time ... » The first tram in Ukraine was opened in Lviv on May 3, 1880. After May 5, payment for travel was introduced. The newspaper "Dilo" wrote on this subject: "The Lviv tram started on May 5 the along the correct route shown on tickets from the Mitna Square to Ferdinand's barracks. Every 9 minutes the carriage leaves the barracks. Five cars will ride 19 times a day, so 95 passengers can be seated at the stations where the car is stopped. Initially, all tram cars were packed every day in a row. In the end, most sat down out of curiosity » There were two lines functioning (the main railway station – Gorodotska Street, the Customs Square and the main railway station – Podzamcze ), which transported an average of 1,867,000 passengers per year. In 1889, there were 105 horses and 37 passenger and 3 freight cars made in the Austrian city of Graz. They were dark brown with white inscriptions reading "Lviv Tram" (), decorated with a red border. In the summer, each wagon was pulled by a couple of horses, but on the streets of Gorodotska and Shevchenko, the wagons were pulled by three horses when ascending, and one when descending (accordingly, the fare was also different). When snow fell, the number of horses was increased to four. The average speed was 6.4 km / h. The paths were oak, with a width of 1000 mm. The staff numbered 70 people.
In 1905, negotiations began on the issue of a municipal-operated horse-drawn tram, the possibility of which was foreseen after 25 years of exploitation. The contract for the purchase of the city network was signed on July 8, 1906, but the transfer of property extended for 11 months.
Steam Tram In 1888 the Society of Lviv-Bełżec Railways submitted a project for the construction of a steam tram to the Lviv magistracy. The Bełżec railroad had a station in Lviv on the site of the modern station of Klepariv – then it was the outskirts of the city – which was not connected by public transport to the center, which became an obstacle for rail passengers; therefore the construction of the steam tram was designed primarily for them. According to the project, construction of two lines was foreseen: the first one was to go from the station of Klepariv to the station of Pidzamche by the streets of Shevchenko, Rappoport, Dzherelna, Pid Dubom and Turetska. The second one was to go from the station of Klepariv to the streets of Shevchenko and Zaliznychna, past Chernivtsi station, the streets of Bandera, Nechuia-Levitskoho, Vitovsky, Franko and Lychakivsky to the Lychakiv station. The idea of a steam tram had become widely publicized in Lviv, but the project of the Lviv-Bełżec Railroad Association did not find support from city officials.
The second time the construction of a steam tram in Lviv was raised in 1892–93. Then the Mortgage Joint-Stock Bank of Lviv offered the city council a concession for laying the line from the Church of St. Anne's Shevchenko Street to Yaniv, but this project was not implemented.
Origin of the Electric Tram In 1893, the Lviv Magistrate announced a tender for the construction of electric tram lines and 400 hp (300 kW) power plants, since the horse-drawn tram was no longer able to cope with the area's growing transportation needs. It was won by the German firm Siemens & Halske, which obliged after two years of demands from the city council. On March 23, 1893, the project budget was approved amounting to 880,000 crowns. Construction of the electric tram line began in September 1893. By May 15, 1894, the Lviv newspaper "Dilo" wrote: "A trial ride of an electric tram in Lviv took place at night between 1 and 2 am and two cars, which also had electric lighting. The ride was very effective, because from under the wheels and on the sheaves of wires appeared electrical light ... On that late night a large number of interesting things occurred ... » On May 31, 1894, the regular route of the electric tram was opened in Lviv, being the second in Ukraine and the fourth in Austria-Hungary. The length of the lines were 8.3 km. The following routes were performed (current street names are given): " – Stepan Bandera street – (main station) " , " Liberty Avenue – Ivan Franko Street – Stryisky Park " and " Freedom Avenue – Lychakivska Street – Lychakiv ". The opening was timed to the 1894 General National Exhibition in Lviv, held in Stryi Park.
There was a mixed reception to the emergence of an electric tram in Lviv. The wives of Lviv's horse-driven tram workers, who lived on Lychak, bombarded the first electric tram with tomatoes and rotten eggs. According to Ilkam Lemkom, "some Miss Skorobetska, the wife of the driver who lost his job, wrote in a respectable Lviv newspaper that she had, "made a proposal to the tram physically impossible to execute, with appropriate gestures." In simpler language, this meant that the woman, having thrown her skirt and leaning back to the tramway, urged him to kiss her in one place."
In 1896, the city bought a network of electric trams and a power plant for 1,680,000 crowns.
Prior to the First World War In 1907, the Ministry of Railways of the Austrian Empire allowed conversion of the horse-drawn trams to use electric traction. Thus, the following routes were opened, beginning with Liberty Avenue: Bogdan Khmelnytsky to Pidzamche, Zelena to Lychakivskyi cemetery, Shevchenko to Klepariv, Gorodotsky to the train station, and Zamarstynivska to Zamarstyniv. Horse-drawn operations ended December 29, 1908. The horses were sold, and the cars reworked to function as trailers of the electric trams.
In 1907 a line was created for the "New World" (an area in Lviv), after which property prices in the then-most prestigious district of the city fell by half. In 1908, trams extended to the Zhovkva tollhouse, in 1910, to the High Castle and to Snopkiv, and in 1914, to the station "Lychakiv". In the spring of 1914, the length of tram lines reached 24.4 km. The directions were marked with two Latin letters – the first letters of the names of the final stops in Polish. The stops had the following notation: D – main station () H – Liberty Avenue (stop called "Hetman Street" – the name of the then Avenue Liberty, ) J – Klepariv (the stop was called "Yanovska Street" – the then name of the street Shevchenko, ) K – Sofiyivka (the stop was called "Kilinsky Park" – the then name of Stryisky Park, ) L – New World (the stop was called "29 November Street" – then the name of the street Konovalets; for the day the November Uprising started) Ł – Lychakiv () P or G – Pidzamche (Gavrilovka, ) Ż – Zhovkva tollhouse () U – High Castle (the stop was called "Street of the Union of Lublin" – the then name of the street Hutsulskoy, ) Z – Zamarstyniv ()
First World War and Interwar Period
In September 1914, Russian troops entered Lviv. During their stay in the city (until June 22, 1915 ) the tram continued its work. At this time, a special guide was published in Russian on "Using the tram". During the battle for the city in the Ukrainian-Polish war in November 1918, the grid suffered significant damage, resulting in service stopping in May 1919.
From October 1, 1922, traffic in Lviv, as in all of Poland, was converted to right-hand drive. Work was thus carried out on the re-positioning of turning arrows. From the autumn of 1923, in connection with the general standardization throughout the republic, the routes of the trams were denoted by numbers.
In 1925, a line was laid to Bogdanivka and, the Kulish Street were laid for unloading the Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street. In 1929 the "Railway Station – Kyiv Street – Franko Street" line was opened. By 1933, the total length of the tram network along the street axis was 32.8 km. In the tram administration were 119 motor vehicles, 58 trailer cars, and 5 snow-removal cars. The tramway consisted of two depots, car repair workshops and two traction substations with a total capacity of 6540 kW.
Second World War On September 1, 1939, in air raid at the beginning of the German invasion of Poland, rails and a contact network on Gorodotsky Street were damaged as a result of bombardment. The movement of trams on this site was stopped. After mid-September service stopped throughout the city. The regular operation of trams was restored on September 25, 1939, after the occupation of Lviv by the Red Army. During the Soviet occupation, new plans were put into operation – extension of existing lines: connecting the streets on Gorodotska to the railway on Bogdanivka, the streets on Shevchenka to the railway, Zamarstynivska Street to Gorodnytsky Street, as well as the Lychakivska Street to the Pasichna Street.
During the German occupation, the Lviv tram continued to operate. However, on some routes, wagons with the words "Only for the Germans" could be seen and other cars were created with separate seats for the Germans, separated by a chain. Between 1940 and 1941 there were car-repair workshops, which during the period of occupation, rebuilt three cars on motor and 9 cars – on a trailer. It is known that during the occupation of the tram was used for military purposes, in particular, trailer carriages were made for the purpose of carrying prisoners.
Soviet Period