Perm tram celebrates its 95th anniversary
Photo by Polina KoryakovtsevaTram is a prioritised type of public transport in Perm. Due to steady work of the federal, regional and city authorities Perm has been supplied with 68 factory-new modern tram-cars over the last 5 years.
The first tram in Perm started its route on November 7, 1929. Distance of the first route was 13.2 km (8.2 miles), There were 11 tram-cars delivered from Moscow running en-route. Those were trams of series F (Fonarniy – “lantern-like”), named in such a way because of the roof superstructure made out of coloured glass panels resembling lantern. There was no heating and even no doors in those tram-cars and the suspension was very stiff. Nevertheless, the tramway in a moment became very popular among Perm citizens and during the first day 1300 passengers used it.
In our days this most eco-friendly type of public transport is still popular among citizens. Today Perm tram is one of the youngest tram fleets in the country. This year the average age of Perm tram decreased from 15.7 to 8.4 years. This happened due to renewal of rolling stock and removal of old KTM-5 and KTM-8 trams from operation.
In honour of the 95th anniversary the city authorities held a series of festive events throughout the year. In June the city hosted the first-ever "Tram Parade." A total of six passenger cars and four service cars participated in the festive parade.
In July, the quest "Puzzles of the Perm Tram" was launched. Participants of the game travelled on trams, solved riddles and took photos. In September, a tram stop was installed at one of the busiest roundabouts – "Station Perm-II." The stop's design evokes the look of the train station square from the mid-20th century. It features an image of the old "Perm II" station building and a tram train made up of KTM-1 and KTP-1 cars.
Nowadays streets of modern cities without a tram seem to be impossible. The main advantage of this type of transport is its carrying capacity. Tram cars have a lot of seats and do not depend on automobile traffic. New track-laying technologies let tram move silently, smoothly and fast, which makes the ride more comfortable and does not disturb residents of houses nearby.
Besides, tram is eco-friendly and economical. It does not generate emissions and consumes electricity only during acceleration. During braking tram is able to return electricity back into the electric power system. Steel wheels and rails allow a car to coast along for a long time without using electricity. In addition, tram cars and railroad track have a greater margin of safety, which allows them to serve much longer than buses and asphalt.