The Ukraine has been in the new for all the wrong reasons in 2022 with images of trams destroyed during the conflict with Russia having been across global media as just some of the many distressing photos seen. Over the next few weeks “Around the World in Trams” heads to the Ukraine in much more peaceful times with a selection of images taken by Donald Brooks during a stay in February 1994.
Donald’s visit was in February 1994 and although the aim of the trip was primarily to see the last gasp of ex-Soviet steam on Ukrainian railways he also took the opportunity to explore the tramways of Lviv, the primary city of western Ukraine. Trams first started to run in the city in 1880 with a horse tram route (the first tramway in Ukraine) and although Kyiv then introduced the first electric trams in the country, Lviv wasn’t far behind with a line built by Siemens und Halske opening in 1894.
By the time of this visit in 1994 – exactly 100 years since that first electric tramway opened – there were 76km of route length over seven lines with 224 trams available from a fleet of 238. This consisted of just two different types – 83 Tatra T-4 built between 1973 and 1979 (10 of which were second-hand from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad) and 155 Tatra KT-4 built between 1976 and 1988.
Over the next few weeks we will be seeing the best of this tram system as it was in February 1994 with all the photos showing what seems to be a typical Eastern European tram system in the 1990s, not too long after the lifting of the so-called Iron Curtain.
These first three views are all taken from the Hotel Suputnyk of the Knyahyni Olhy turning circle at the southern terminus of route 3, roughly 5kms from the city centre. Today this terminus is known as Aqvapark and the route ran (and still runs) to a city centre square then called Ploshcha Galytska but now Ploshcha Soborna. In 1994 the route was worked exclusively by T-4 cars in pairs.
Photo number one shows 861 and a sister car, both built in 1977, running round the terminal loop. In the distance is another T-4 set on its way back to the city and Gotha works car 002 on a loopline.
We then see a similar photo but this time its 868 and 870, two of the last six T-4s built for Lviv in 1979.
The final shot features the terminus looking like a Lowry scene after a fresh fall of snow. In the early morning the T-4s heading for the city centre have attracted considerably more passengers than the bus, which may be on a connecting route out of town.
All Photographs by Donald Brooks
Very atmospheric photos.
For future reference, Ukrainians prefer their country to be referred to as just “Ukraine” not “the Ukraine”, because that was how it was referred to when it was part of the USSR.
I caught the tram to this terminus in 2013.
If i remember correctly it looks like there were abandoned works past the turning circle for an extension of the route
I also recall the only modern tram was on route 9a from the bus and rail stations into the city centre
There was also some lines closed for reconstruction