The metre-gauge tram network in the Slovak capital Bratislava has been completely renovated in many places in recent years, and various new low-floor railcars from Skoda now form the basis of the fleet.
Since the 1960s, extensive new housing developments have been built on the south bank of the Danube using standardised prefabricated construction methods. These areas were (and still are) served by various bus lines, which attempt to cope with the rush of passengers, especially during rush hour, by running at short intervals. For a long time, there was talk of building a metro to the districts south of the Danube, but these plans ultimately could not be implemented in Bratislava, which is a fairly compact city. An attempt to connect the area to the tram network was finally made in 2016 with the commissioning of a new 2 km long line with three stops between Safárikovo nám. and Jungmannova, which now also crosses the Danube on a large bridge. However, this only connected a small part of the residential areas.
The extension from the previously temporary Jungmannova terminus with six new stops over 3.9 km to the Južné mesto terminus had been planned for a long time in order to provide better and more direct access to the Petržalka residential area and to significantly reduce bus traffic. Construction began in 2021/22 on the route, which is largely laid on grass tracks on its own right-of-way, partly away from the roads, and was largely completed in autumn 2024. But not quite: on 19 December 2024, an initial test run took place, but various defects in the construction were discovered. Discussions about responsibilities and accountability ensued – and delayed the opening several times.
But today, 27 July 2025, the time has come: trams on line 3 run through to the new terminus at Južné mesto – every 5 minutes on weekdays during the day, with even more frequent service in the morning rush hour, running every 2.5 minutes. Tram line 7 and bus lines 59 and 95 have been discontinued, line 192 has changed its route – and the residents of Petržalka finally have an attractive, fast public transport connection to the city centre!
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A network scheme can be found here:
https://www.urbanrail.net/eu/sk/bratislava/bratislava.htm
