The tram to catch in Prague …… travels with old friends

Now, I am reliably informed by my Prague chums that tram route 22 is the one for getting to see all of the city’s attractions.  It offers breath-taking views of the city as it runs through Hradčany, passing by the National Theatre and stopping at Prague Castle, Loreta and Strahov Monastery.

Prague tram car 8567 on the 22 route and a blue pal, 2024

So when I got this picture in the post I just had to explore the Timmy trams of Prague and on the way pick up a bit of the history.

According to my official Prague guide to public transport “tram network is 88,5 miles (142,4 km)-long and consists of 22 daytime tram lines and 9 night lines. Combining this means of transport with the metro, passengers will be able to travel anywhere in the city.

The first tram, which was pulled by horses, started running on 23 September 1875.

Due to the horsecar trams constantly derailing and the introduction of the first electric trams in Europe during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Prague inaugurated the first electric line in 1891. In 2012, over 324,2 million passengers had used the tram in Prague.

Daytime trams start running at 4:30 am approximately every 10 minutes until midnight. Night trams (numbers 51 to 59) run from midnight until 4:30 am every 30 - 40 minutes”.*

Catching a tram at Exchange Square, Manchester, 2024

And the picture and the story have now been added to my collection which crosses Europe, includes San Francisco and in time heaps more places.**

But at this point as you would expect I cannot resist mentioning the Simpson Topping project to tell the History of Greater Manchester by Tram.***

The first of the series is out now and covers that part of the East Didsbury line from Trafford Bar to East Didsbury.  

It costs just £4.99, just a tad more than the price of a "one day anytime travelcard” and explores each of the metro stops along the route, discovering a bit of the history of each, with fine original paintings by Peter Topping.

It is available from Chorlton Bookshop, and from us at www.pubbooks.co.uk

Our red friend and his blue companions passing through Prague, 2024

So after that outrageous piece of self-promotion, I will return to the Prague trams, with the odd snippet of travel information that apparently ten different companies operate along the same Prague line.

Which I suspect is a very heaven for anyone who collects tram numbers.

*civitatis Prague, https://www.introducingprague.com/tram

**Trams across the world, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Trams%20across%20the%20world

***A History of Greater Manchester by Tram, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/A%20new%20book%20on%20the%20History%20of%20Greater%20Manchester%20by%20Tram