Tatra KT4

Tatra KT4

KT4D in Erfurt
Manufacturer ČKD Tatra
Constructed 1977–97
Capacity 26–38 (Seated)
105–168 (Standing)
Specifications
Train length 18,100 mm (59 ft 4 5⁄8 in)
Width 2,200 mm (7 ft 2 5⁄8 in)
Height 3,100 mm (10 ft 2 in)
Doors 4
Articulated sections 1
Maximum speed 65 km/h (40 mph)
Weight 19.9 tonnes (19.6 long tons; 21.9 short tons)
Traction motors 4 x 40 kW (54 hp)
Electric system(s) (?)
Current collection method Pantograph
Bogies 2
Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge,
1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge,
1,524 mm (5 ft)

Tatra KT4 is the name of a four-axle type articulated tramcar developed by the Czech firm ČKD Tatra. The first pre-production vehicles entered service in Potsdam in 1975, with the first production vehicles in 1977. A total of 1,747 units were built, with initial deliveries to East Germany (DDR) and later to the USSR and SFR Yugoslavia. KT4 variants were built for both standard gauge and metre gauge tramways. Production of the KT4 tramcar was halted in 1991 due to worldwide economic and political changes at the time. Production was briefly resumed in 1997 to construct the last 20 units for Belgrade, Serbia.

Cab ride in Tatra KT4D

Since the start of the 1990s, many of the earliest production tramcars have gone through extensive refurbishment and rebuilding, including the replacement of folding doors and the installation of low-floor center sections.

History

[1] The KT4 was originally designed to demands set out by the needs of the GDR, who found bogie cars too expensive and needed a solution to their aging fleet of two-axle vehicles. The first steps into the KT4s design were made when ČKD Tatra modified a six-axle K2 tramcar, to a four-axle suspended articulation formation which later presented itself in the KT4. The KT4 has identical pedal control systems and bogies to the Tatra T3 bogie tramcar. As production continued, the design was improved, noted particularly in 1983 with the addition of thyristor control type TV3. The type is called KT4t.

Variations

Variations of the KT4 exist, though they are generally subtle and focused around seat layout and pantograph type.

KT4D

The KT4D model was delivered to the following GDR cities:

City Delivery years Number delivered
Berlin 1976–88 574
Brandenburg 1979–83 16
Cottbus 1978–90 65
Erfurt 1976–90 156
Frankfurt (Oder) 1987–90 34
Gera 1978–90 60
Görlitz 1987–90 11
Gotha 1981–82 6
Leipzig 1976 8
Potsdam 1974–87 45
Plauen 1976–88 45
Zwickau 1987–88 22
TOTAL 1974–90 1,042

In 1984, Leipzig handed over their eight trams to Berlin. Since the early 2000s, the Tatra tramcars in the former GDR are being replaced and sold to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Original KT4D

Modernised KT4D

Sold KT4Ds

KT4SU

The Soviet Union ordered the KT4SU for their meter-gauge tramways, the following cities received deliveries:

City Delivery years Number delivered
Yevpatoria 1987–90 18
Kaliningrad 1987–90 30
Liepāja 1983–88 22
Lviv 1976–88 145
Pyatigorsk 1988–90 25
Zhytomyr 1981–88 20
Tallinn 1980–88 74
Vinnytsia 1980–90 81
TOTAL 1976–90 415

KT4YU

The KT4YU is the Yugoslav variant of the tramcar, which were delivered to the now Serbian and Croatian capitals. The last KT4s ever produced were delivered to Belgrade in 1997. Those tramcars were equipped with IGBT modules and recouperative braking and named KT4M-YUB (where B stands for Belgrade to be distinguished from Zagreb model). In 2002, 30 Belgrade tramcars were modernized in Goša / Inekon, and marked as KT4-YUBM.

City Delivery years Number delivered
Belgrade 1980–97 220
Zagreb 1985–86 51
TOTAL 1980–97 271

Other variations of the KT4

A series of KT4 trams were also produced for Pyongyang, North Korea, but have subsequently had their articulation removed.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Source: The Development of The Modern Tram, by Brian Patton
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