Prague marks 50 years of local metro with this retro tram design

The commemorative vehicle will also feature the authentic interior from the 1970s

9 May 1974 saw the official launch of Prague’s metro (back then the capital of Czechoslovakia), featuring a single line between Kačerov and Sokolovská (now Florenc) stations. Since then, it has grown to three lines and 61 stations transporting more than 1.5 million commuters daily.

The Czech capital is already preparing to celebrate the semicentennial anniversary and one of the first initiatives was the launch of a commemorative tram designed to look like the original metro train from the 1970s – both inside and out.

A trip down memory lane for Prague metro users

Given that many of the current residents of Prague were around to witness the original metro inauguration, the capital’s public transport authority DPP has decided to gift them with a bit of a nostalgic feeling by designing one of the local trams to look like a metro car from the 1970s.

It debuted on line 23 last Friday and it will run every other day for those interested to experience the interior of the original Soviet-era Ečs metro car. Apparently, the tram itself also dates back to the retro era - being a Tatra T3SUCS model, manufactured in the ČKD Tatra Smíchov factory in 1986.

The immersive experience will be supplemented by tram stop announcements akin to the ones in the Prague metro system. In addition, there will be information panels with the Prague metro’s history for passengers to read while travelling.

In addition to the commemorative tram, various events are planned over the next three months to celebrate Prague's metro milestone, culminating in a 50th-anniversary ribbon cutting at Kačerov station on 9 May 2024.