Trams in Moscow

The Moscow tramway network, which is divided into two sub-networks, is a key element of the public transport system in Moscow, the capital city of Russia. Opened in 1872, it has been operated since 1958 until 2021 by Mosgortrans, a state-owned company.

Overview The two sub-networks had a combined total route length of , making the whole network the fourth largest in the world, after the networks in Melbourne, St. Petersburg and Berlin.

The tram is historically the second type of urban passenger transport in Moscow, the successor of the Konka (horse-driven tram). However, the presence in Moscow by the beginning of the 20th century horse-railways hindered the development of tram lines. For the laying of tram lines, it was necessary first to free the roads from horse tracks. In 1901, the council purchased the first competition of the Belgian joint-stock company. When, in 1903, came a period of redemption horse-drawn railway the second Belgian joint stock company, the Duma is not solved, as, according to N. I. Astrov: "In Russia we have not experienced builders and engineers". In November 1905, immediately after the events of October elected a new mayor Nikolai Guchkov. Its launching coincided with the revolutionary actions of workers of Moscow in November–December 1905. As soon as the life in the town had returned to normal, Nikolai Ivanovich ordered to proceed with the laying of tram tracks. In February 1907, construction finally began on Myasnitskaya Street, Sretenka Street and Lubyanka Street, from the Passion of the monastery Dmitrovka and further on down, to the Sretenka and Myasnitskaya. The first electric tram routes linked the outskirts of the Garden ring with the center of Moscow, and mainly repeated the routes of the konechnye.

18 May 1910 the city council on the proposal of N. I. Guchkov made a decision about carrying out in 1912 in Moscow, the congress of tram companies.

To the 1910 years the dense network of lines was observed in the western part of the centre with the formation of arcs on the Garden and Boulevard rings. In 1918 the total length of tram lines in the city amounted to In 1926 the length of track grew to in 1918, there were 475 cars, and in 1926 – 764. Average speed of trams increased from in 1918 to in 1926.

History of the network

The apogee of Moscow's tram network was in the early 1930s, when it served both rings (the Boulevard and the Garden) and all connecting streets, were laid and on the outskirts. In 1934, when the tram was the dominant mode of transport, 2.6 million of the city's population of 4 million used the tram every day. More radical changes took place in the 1940s, when trams were replaced by trolleybuses in the western part of the Boulevard Ring and removed from the Kremlin. With the development of the metro in the 1950s some of the lines leading to the suburbs were closed, and the carriage of freight ceased.

In 1958, the tram and trolleybus administration was merged with the passenger transport department to form the Department of Passenger Transport of Moscow (UPTM), which operated all three types of surface public transport: bus, trolleybus and tram.

In the 1960s and 1970s, tram lines were finally eliminated in the western part of the city and from the Garden Ring. However, new lines were laid in areas that were not served by the metro: Medvedkovo, Chertanovo, Perovo and Novogireevo. After the closure of the lines between Nizhnyaya Maslovka and Tikhvinovskaya streets in 1965 and on Bolshaya Gruzinskaya street in 1973, the lines operating from the Krasnaya Presnya tram depot in the north-west of the city was severed from the rest of the network. In the mid-1990s a new wave of line closures started, mainly on major highways near the city centre. In 1995, the company closed the line on Mira Avenue, then at the Nizhnyaya Maslovka due to the construction of the 3rd ring road. For the same reason in the early 2000s, the rails on Begovaya street, near the Ulitsa 1905 Goda metro station and on Dvintsev street were removed. In 2004, in connection with forthcoming reconstruction, the Leningradskiy avenue line was closed. In 2008 the lines on Lesnaya street and Volokolamskoe highway closed. Between 1989 and 2004 the length of the lines fell from 460 to (the high point in the 1940s was 560 km). In 1990 daily ridership was over 800,000, but by the late 1990s this had fallen to about 150,000 passengers. From 30 to 31 August 2013 in the framework of the experimental introduction of night routes of public transport route No. 3 is translated to round-the-clock work, however, as of May 2020, the route now is back to operating from 5:00 to 1:00.

The tram network has been expanded and modernized in recent years: 3 new lines are being built.

Tram network today As of 2021, Moscow has introduced open gangway trams beginning with service in the north-west of the city. These trains accommodate 110 passengers and have 18% more seats than those of the previous generation, as well as USB ports and media screens.

In August 2021, Moscow ended operations of the Czech-designed high-floor Tatra T3 trams, which had operated in the city since 1963.

In 2024, the testing of self-driving Vityaz-M version was launched. On 3rd of September 2025, the first fully self-operational tram in the world entered it's service on Line 10 in Strogino District, however, driver's presence was still required in case of emergency. By 2026, they entered service on other lines along with regular trams.

List of routes

А. Novokonnaya ploschad' (Square) – Chistyye prudy subway station

1. Moskvoretsky Market – Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya (Academic Yangel St.)

2. Kursky Railway Station – 3rd Vladimirskaya St.

3. Chistye prudy subway station – Chertanovskaya subway station

4. Bulvar Rokossovskovo subway station – Kursky Railway Station

6. Sokol subway station – Bratsevo

7. Bulvar Rokossovskovo subway station – Belorussky Rail Terminal

9. Belorussky Rail Terminal – MIIT (only in weekdays)

10. Shchukinskaya subway station – Ulitsa Kulakova (Kulakov St.)

11. Ostankino – Vostochnoye Izmaylovo

12. Vostochnoye Izmaylovo – Dubrovka MCC

13. Kalanchovskaya St. – Metrogorodok

14. Oktyabrskaya subway station – Universitet subway station

15. Sokol subway station – Tallinskaya Str.

16. Novodanilovsky Proezd (Drive) – Ulitsa Akademika Yangelya (Academic Yangel St.)

17. Ostankino – Medvedkovo

21. Tallinskaya St. – Schukinskaya subway station

23. Sokol subway station – Mikhalkovo

25. Ostankino – Sokolniki subway station

26. Oktyabrskaya subway station – Universitet subway station (through Cheryomushki)

27. Voikovskaya subway station – Dmitrovskaya subway station

28. Prospekt Marshala Zhukova (Avenue of marshal Zhukov) – Sokol subway station

29. Dmitrovskaya subway station – Mikhalkovo

30. Ulitsa Kulakova (Kulakov St.) – Mikhalkovo

31. Prospekt Marshala Zhukova (Avenue of marshal Zhukov) – Voikovskaya subway station

32. Kursky Railway Station – Partizanskaya subway station

36. Metrogorodok – Novogireyevo

37. Kalanchyovskaya St. – Novogireyevo

38. Cheryomushki – Proezd Entuziastov (Enthusiasts' drive)

39. Chistye prudy subway station – Universitet subway station

43. Ugreshskaya MCC – Sokolniki subway station

46. Bulvar Rokossovskovo subway station – Oktyabrskoe tram depot

47. Nagatino – Oktyabrskaya subway station

49. Nagatino – Novodanilovsky Proezd (Drive)

50. Proezd Entuziastov (Enthusiasts' drive) – Novoslobodskaya subway station

90. Sokolniki subway station – Paveletsky Railway Station (temporary route)

Rolling stock This table does not include vehicles on short term trials and does not include vehicles that are purely in museum service. +TramModificationIn service sinceOut of service sinceNumber in serviceRemarksPC TS 71-931 'Vityaz'71-931 'Vityaz-M'2016464Pesa Twist71-414 Fokstrot2014202370Built by UraltransmashUKVZ 71-623 -02201248PC TS 71-911EM 'Lyvonok'71-911EM 202140Tatra T3Tatra T3SU19630None in passenger service, only runs as work cars. 17 three door trams, 3 two door tramsTatra T3T 199320080Upgraded version, all later further upgraded into MTT*Tatra T3RF199920020Upgraded version, transferred to BrnoTatra-Reis199219990Upgraded version, some transferred to other cities, others further upgraded. Tatra KT3R20070Three section tram built from two ends of a T3 with a new middle section, currently out of serviceMTTCh200420210Upgraded by Moscow Tram Repair PlantMTTE200820210Upgraded by Moscow Tram Repair PlantMTTM200320210Upgraded by Moscow Tram Repair Plant, mostly modernised into MTTAMTTA200320210Upgraded by Moscow Tram Repair Plant, mostly transferred to other cities.UKVZ 71-61971-619K20000None currently actually in service including 1 each of museum and service vehicleKTMA20080Upgraded by Moscow Tram Repair Plant, none in service71-619AC200720210Mostly transferred to other cities.71-619KS20022019071-6211999Shortened 71-61971-619KT200520170Transferred to other cities.71-616199671-619 with foreign technology71-619A-01200920200Different motors when compared to 71-619A, transferred to other cities71-619A20070PTMZ 71-13471-134A200601 museum car.Luhanskteplovoz LT-5200301 museum carUKVZ 71-60871-608K199001 museum car71-608KM1994071-61719960training car71-608199820070UTM 71-40571-405-0820070UKVZ 71-6302006Alstom Citadis71-80120130Not in service.Pragoimex Vario LF20090GS-4196311 built by Kuibyshevskiy Tram and Trolleybus Repair Plant, 8 built by VARZBF19270F*19460Luhanskteplovoz LT-10199702-axle motor car19200built by SVARZ

Trams in Moscow

Bron en licentie