Trams in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg saw the arrival of street rail transport during the 1860s in form of horse-drawn rail carriages. The first, freight-only street railway track was opened in 1854 to serve one of the industrial city suburbs. In 1863, three passenger lines in the city centre came into operation. Several private companies were formed, and the horsecar network eventually expanded to 25 routes covering over 100 kilometres of track. Carrying over two million passengers a year, the street rail network in Saint Petersburg proved a successful commercial venture.

The first demonstration of an electric tram in Saint Petersburg occurred on August 22, 1880.[4][5] Fyodor Pirotsky, an engineer who demonstrated the tram to the public, hoped that the Horsecar Stock Company, which possessed a monopoly on all rail transportation in the city, would consider replacing traditional horse-drawn rail carriages with electric-powered ones. Despite the fact that all tests were successful, Pirotsky's proposal was dismissed on the grounds that equipping existing tram tracks for electric traction and purchasing or building compatible tram vehicles would be too expensive.

First scheduled tramway service in the city ran on ice covering the Neva river

Oldest Vasileostrovsky tram depot and Museum of electrical transport

In the winter of 1894, electric tramways came back to Saint Petersburg. This time, however, they ran on tracks over ice (during winter season) covering the Neva river. An electric public transit company was formed, and several routes crossing the river in various places began regular operation. Even though the Horsecar Stock Company still possessed absolute rights on city street railways, and hence filed a lawsuit against the electric tram operators, it eventually lost the case because the judge claimed that the horsecar company's monopolizing agreement with the city did not cover laying tracks on ice.

On September 3, 1902, the contract between the city administration and the horsecar company expired and the entire horsecar street rail system, including track, carriages, horses, maintenance buildings and other equipment, became property of the city of Saint Petersburg - on the condition that the city would pay for the takeover over the period of 12 years. Immediately following this, Saint Petersburg began planning out the future electric tramway network, which was due to replace the ageing horsecar one. A number of issues had to be resolved; in particular, the narrow-gauge horsecar tracks were to be replaced by the heavy rail-grade ones; the network had to be electrified, and new depots suitable for electric trams had to be constructed. The project was delegated to the American Westinghouse Electric Corporation. On September 29, 1907, the electric tramway network opened in Saint Petersburg.

During 1918–1921 development of the Petrograd tram network stalled due to the Civil War. In 1921 the tram deal was eventually improved and new lines were constructed. In 1922 the last line was electrified and tram movement was re-established in the old city center. The tram network then further developed as the first automated needles appeared, three tram parks and a few substations were built. Among the passenger lines, the city had cargo and service tram lines; every big company had its branch from the main tram lines. However, from 1936, the development of Leningrad trams practically stopped due to the introduction of the trolleybus.

Following the demise of the Soviet Union, the public transportation in Saint Petersburg has been continuously underfunded, resulting in poor maintenance and an unreliable service. A lot of existing tramway track has been demolished, and this trend continues up until today, which upsets both passengers and public transit enthusiasts. There are currently no officially proclaimed plans to abandon the network completely, although mass track removals, which started in 2000, still continue.

On the other hand, two new branch lines were opened in 1999 to connect recent residential developments in the northwest (Dolgoe Ozero, Komendantsky Aerodrom, Lakhtinsky Razliv) to the newly opened Staraya Derevnya station on the Saint Petersburg Metro. Following a change in 'Gorelectrotrans' management in September 2005, more than 20 additional km of unduplicated track was removed, including not only centrally located lines, but also a 3 km section in a suburban residential area. This removal seriously affected the system's logistical capabilities. There is a strong lobby for more removals from the road construction administration, which believes that decreasing tram traffic will give more freedom to automobile traffic.