The city’s streets were full of spectators as the first tram service ran through Gorzów on 2 July. During almost three years, the inhabitants of the western-polish city of Gorzów were missing their beloved tramway. On Thursday, 2 July 2020, trams returned to Gorzów streets as the city celebrated its’ 763rd city’s anniversary. After almost 3 years of interruption, service has been launched on 11.8 km long line 1. The inaugurational ride with the symbolic tram number 763 was attended by residents of Gorzów and guests invited by the mayor of the city. Tram journeys that day were free of charge for all passengers. The city’s representatives and residents are happy about the return of the tram, as can be seen in this video:
The tram ran over the Gorzów tracks for the last time on 30 September 2017. During the past three years, Gorzów’s tram line 1 underwent an extensive refurbishment. Both tracks and fleet have been almost entirely been replaced. Polish rolling stock manufacturer Pesa delivered 14 low-floor trams of the Twist product family. Twist for Gorzów has already gained recognition of experts who awarded him the title of “Good Design 2018” in terms of functionality and design in the 25th jubilee Competition, organized by the Institute of Industrial Design.
During the past years, 9 out of the remaining 18 former Kassel DUEWAG/ Credé/ Wegmann 6ZGTW/ 6EGTW trams have been refurbished with new interiors and the new green MZK livery which is also found on the low-floor trams. However, the 6ZGTW/ 6EGTW have not been seen yet in service during the first day of inauguration.
Apart from the infrastructure and fleet replacement, also the tram communication and signalling system has been replaced. Earlier this year and in preparation of the test drives, the city and the Municipal Transport Company MZK launched an information campaign to remind residents, mainly drivers, to pay particular attention to road signs and oncoming trams. MZK distributed leaflets with information about the rules of safety in traffic with trams. A video spot was also prepared, showing the consequences of a streetcar collision with a passenger car, which is broadcast in social media and before screenings in Gorzów cinemas. Posters showing the return of tram communication will appear on the rear windows of buses in Gorzów.
The project cost for infrastructure and new rolling stock has an total amount of 200 million PLN (ca. 50 million Euros) of which 99 million PLN (ca. 45.5 million Euros) have been financed by the European Union. In total, 6.5 km of tracks have been refurbished. The refurbishment of 2.6 km track of lines 2/3 to Piaski has been launched in 2020 and will be completed in mid-2021.
We reported about the finalisation of construction work and the testing phase here:
