The Łódź tram system is a tramway network located in Łódź, Poland that has been in operation since 1898.

The system is operated by MPK Łódź Sp. z.o.o. There are 24 tramlines with a total line length of . The system operates on (narrow gauge) track.

History

By the 1890s, Łódź was a large industrial city with over 300,000 inhabitants characterized by the textile industry, and a lack of wide streets, ring roads or a reliable public transport system. All passenger and freight traffic was concentrated in the city center, especially on Piotrkowska Street. Up to one thousand cabs and carriages drove around the city centre. Both the city government and local industrialists wanted to provide a solution to this situation, and therefore took up the construction of a tram line through the city centre. In 1883, the first attempt to build a horse tram was made, which in the end was abandoned. The project was tendered, but ultimately, never completed.Systems Factfile No 192 Łódź, Poland Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1030 October 2023 pages 393-397

A project with electric trams was then started, which would carry passengers by day and cargo by night. The Electric Railway Consortium Lodz (KEL) won a tender for construction the line. Julius Kunitzer signed the contract in St Petersburg in front of Nicholas II on behalf of the KEL. He was backed by the German company AEG, which then started construction in the summer of 1897.

Trams in Łódź made their first appearance on 23 December 1898. Łódź was the first city to have electric trams in what was then Congress Poland. Initially, there were two fairly short tram lines that both served the city centre area; by February 1899 their number was doubled. In 1901, the first suburban tram lines started – the Pabianice and Zgierz lines. Both of these initiatives were the result of the activities of private companies in which German manufacturers dominated.

The experiment with electric trams in Łódź fared even better than expected. Trams quickly paid off the cost of line construction, and the project brought considerable profits to its shareholders, whereas traffic in the center of the city decreased. Between 1910 and 1931, suburban tram lines connected many important places around the city. In the first half of the 1990s, some of those lines were closed down.

After World War II, the network of suburban and urban trams was nationalized and transferred to the (MPK Łódź), which, as the city expanded, expanded the number and length of both urban and suburban lines. Currently MPK operates 18 urban and 5 regional (or suburban) lines. The longest of these is number 46, which has a length of and is the longest tram line in Poland.

While Łódź is acknowledged to be the first city in Poland to have a fully electrified tram system, it is less well known that unusually Łódź once boasted a small cemetery where tram drivers were buried. Sadly, nothing remains of this graveyard, which was situated on Lindley Street near the aptly named Tram Street (ul. Tramwajowa). Today, the cemetery plot where old tram drivers would have been laid to rest is occupied by the Lodz University Press and a language school.

In 2008, a teenager, described by his teachers as an "electronic genius", was arrested after using a remote control device he had assembled to cause several derailments and other accidents in the Łódź tramway system.

Lines

There are 24 lines on the network; 1 line is currently not in operation (as of August 2026).

Lines are divided into colours based on their routes.

Color Route1Kilińskiego street10A1117Politechniki street18New City Centre (Narutowicza street)41Suburban lines46Suspended lines

Tram Line Stops Notes1Dw. Łódź Chojny↔ Doły23/222Dw. Łódź Dąbrowa ↔ Kochanówka353Widzew Augustów ↔ R. Powstańców 1863r.36/354Dw. Łódź Dąbrowa ↔ Helenówek36/375Teofilów ↔ Chojny Kurczaki 37/356Chojny Kurczaki ↔ Doły267Cm. Zarzew ↔ Cm. Ogrodowa24/23Temporary stub terminus at Cm. Ogrodowa. 8Cm. Zarzew ↔ Teofilów33/349Olechów ↔ Dw. Łódź Fabryczna 22Runs on a part of the E-W route, and on Kopcińskiego & Narutowicza streets. 10AWidzew Augustów ↔ Retkinia2510BOlechów ↔ Retkinia3211Chocianowice IKEA ↔ Helenówek3812Stoki ↔ Retkinia29/30Stops at Stoki loop in Retkinia direction.13Dąbrowa Niższa ↔ Teofilów28/2914Dw. Łódź Dąbrowa ↔ Karolew (Retkinia)20/25Extended to Retkinia on weekends and holidays, ends at Karolew otherwise.15Chojny Kurczaki ↔ Stoki35/3616pl. Niepodległości ↔ Kochanówka27Runs along Politechniki, and Włókniarzy streets.17Chocianowice Ikea ↔ Telefoniczna Zajezdnia33/3418Retkinia ↔ Telefoniczna Zajezdnia26Runs on weekdays only.19Helenówek-Pętla ↔ Chojny Kurczaki36Runs on weekdays only.41Pl. Niepodległości ↔ Pabianice Wiejska3043Włókniarzy/Legionów ↔ Konstantynów Łódzki Plac Wolności17Temporary stub terminus at Włókniarzy/Legionów45Telefoniczna Zajezdnia ↔ Zgierz Plac Kilińskiego31/3246Stoki ↔ Ozorków Cegielniana55Suspended in 2018 due to bad condition of the tracks. Currently no plans of rebuilding the line.

Types of vehicles The following table shows the vehicles used for tram communication in Łódź (as at 19 November 2025).

Tramway type Number Picture Moderus Gamma LF 06 AC30 Pesa Swing 122NaL34 PESA Tramicus 122N10 Bombardier Cityrunner15 Düwag M8CN18 Konstal 805N62 Konstal 805Na 130 Konstal 805Na6 34 AEG/Adtranz GT6M-ZR14 total353

References

Bibliography

External links MPK Łódź homepage, in English