Prague is such a famous city that repeating its unique features is a waste of time. I will only say that the city’s chronicles accounts for more than a thousand years. Prague is twice the age of, for example, USA or Australia. Such wealth of history attracts tourists from all over the world. Just imagine, for every permanent resident there is minimum one guest the whole year round, whereas during holidays the number of citizens increases several times. And a vast number of people are always chaotically moving around the city. What is the secret of the transport system and why don’t we feel any discomfort on the roads of Prague?

The editorial of Krasivaja Zhizn magazine asked me to tell about Prague. The public transport system that provides a means of dealing with the flow of passengers. A means that is harmless for the environment. And to be more precise – the tramcars became the object of my attention. Every visitor of Prague remembers the phrase “Ukončete prosím výstup a nástup…” from the very first minutes. Weird and very funny. This phrase can be heard in every tram and in the subway, urging us to board or get off the train.

In 2005 the department of public transport and the city-dwellers celebrated 130 years of existence. 628 stops and a 533km network of tram track-lines appeared since 1875. The first horse-drawn trams were produced and launched on cross-town lines in the 19th century. At the time they were wooden comic wagons on rails, complete with a pair of horses and a conductor. The distance between the rails was 1000mm, afterwards it was 1435mm. At first the people of Prague resisted the innovations and were afraid of these strange facilities. To make it worse, the trams were not very comfortable as they got the client to the nearest stop and not to the place of destination. But gradually the surface rail transit became the essential part of the city-structure and a new question arose: what should it be like and what should the trams look like? From then onward trams begin their evolution as objects of transport design.

Minimum four models of different manufacturers can be seen on the city streets today. They are Skoda 14T and 16T, CKD (Tatra) T3, CKD (Tatra) T6. However some earlier models still remain. Having served their time on the roads of Prague, but not forgotten, they are turned into small and cozy cafes. A pair like that is parked right in the center on the Wenceslas Square. In whole the history of Czech railway coach building, from 1951 to 2007 (before that the model range was awfully manifold and nondurable) counts more than 37 objects of various designs.

The correlation of the positive and the negative makes the tram one of the most well-balanced and comfortable means of transport. The world’s megapolises are creating a mixture out of tram and subway; now the wagonage is going underground, then it emerges and travels the surface or cableways. Indeed, one can presume that this very means of transport will win the leadership in the cities of the future.