Trams in Kaliningrad
| Trams in Kaliningrad (since 1945) Trams in Königsberg (1881-1945) | |
|---|---|
A Tatra T4 under the Brandenburg Gate, before 2012 when restoration work started on The Gate | |
A Tatra KT4 tram in Kaliningrad | |
The network in 2023 | |
| Overview | |
| Locale | Kaliningrad, Russia |
| Transit type | Tram network |
| Number of lines | 15 (maximum extent 1937) 2 (2013) |
| Number of stations | 44 (2013) |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 26 May 1881 (horse trams) 31 May 1895 (electric trams) |
| Ended operation | 1901 (horse trams) |
| Operator(s) | Kaliningrad-GorTrans |
| Number of vehicles | 52 (2012) |
| Technical | |
| System length | 102 km (63 mi) (1937) 21.5 km (13.4 mi) (2013) |
| Track gauge | one-meter (since 1895) |
The Kaliningrad Tram network is the most westerly urban tram network in Russia, and the only surviving tram network in the Kaliningrad Oblast, the administrative district that approximately corresponds with the northern part of what was, until 1945, East Prussia.
Electrified progressively between 1895 and 1901, it is the earliest electric tram network within the current territory of Russia. It is also one of only two Russian tram networks still using a one-meter gauge. (The other serves Pyatigorsk.)
Königsberg's tram network reached its greatest extent in 1937, at which time it was organised into 15 routes with a total length of 102 km (63 mi). During many decades of Kaliningrad's history as a German and then a Russian city, the trams have been an important element in the city's overall public transport provision, although in recent years the trams have lost out to the powerfully promoted share taxi businesses in the city: on some routes trams have been replaced by trolley buses.