Prague trams to return to Wencenlas Square

Wenceslas Square (Václavské nám) is a 750m boulevard in the centre of Praha (Prague) with the equestrian statue of Saint Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia at the top.  

 

Horse trams could be seen crossing the square from 1875 and along the boulevard from 1884.  

 

Electric trams appeared in 1899 and for many years the view of the trams passing the statue was one of the most iconic in Prague.  

 

The arrival of metro construction in 1976 disrupted tram traffic, and although normal operation resumed in 1978, the last tram ran here on 13 December 1980 and the tracks were lifted in 1982.  

 

In 1995 plans for tramway development showed trams would run again, but it was not until the 2002 floods that put much of the metro out of operation that serious discussion on restoring the trams started.  

 

An architectural competition in 2005 was won by an plan that showed the return of trams, but there were powerful voices in city hall opposed to this and the city council rejected the idea in 2012. 

 

After municipal elections in 2018, a change was finally approved in March 2021 and in September 2022 a tender for the construction of 600m of tram tracks was issued.  

 

On 3 November 2023 DPP selected Eurovia CS for a CZK 1.24bn contract to carry out the work between Spring 2024 and Spring 2027.  

 

It is interesting that the visuals of the new layout show coupled sets of T3 trams, although their withdrawal should be well underway by then.