Corona stops trams too, and today is their 'birthday'

(Patria) - Along with electric lighting, on May 1, 1895, the first electric tram began circulating Sarajevo, replacing the then-horse-drawn tram. Today, so many years later, trams are standing still!

The coronavirus stopped them. Mario Nenadić, Prime Minister of Sarajevo Canton, previously stated that public city transport in KS could resume functioning after May 1st at a certain capacity, but there are still no precise indications as to when that might be. 

Back in 1895, the electric tram route ran from the railway station, located near today's "Bristol" hotel, to the Latin Bridge. The vehicles used were manufactured by the company "Siemens-Schuckert" and were the first trams produced in its facilities.

The first electric tram had two doors and could carry a total of 24 passengers. This tram had separate compartments for smokers and non-smokers, and initially, there were even separate compartments for men and women. Drivers and conductors had rules regarding dress code and hygiene maintenance.

However, citizens did not trust this electric machine, so initially, the tram mostly circulated half-empty. Nevertheless, by the following year, on September 6th, the electric tram recorded a record number of passengers – as many as 3,800, or almost 15 percent of Sarajevo's entire population.

The increased number of passengers necessitated significant changes in the traffic schedule, so instead of every 15 minutes, trams departed every ten minutes from the starting station. The track was extended to Vijećnica on December 1, 1897, and less than a year later, another line was put into operation, running along today's Titova Street to the Cathedral. Via Baščaršija in 1923, Obala and Titova Street were connected by rails, and a new depot was built behind the Tobacco Factory.