Modern and historical public transport in Pilsen

Modern and historical public transportation in Pilsen

Our excursion today leads us to Pilsen, Czech Republic. The city is located in western Bohemia. It was founded in 1295. The distance from Prague is about one hour. It is easily accessible by car (highway Prague – Nuremberg), by train (direct trains Prague – Munich several times per day) or by bus. With approx. 175 000 inhabitants it ranks number four in the Czech Republic. It is famous because of the St. Bartholomew cathedral with highest tower in the country, as hometown of Skoda factories and especially as the birth place of the unique beer Pilsner Urquell. However, our steps do not lead to the brewery. Instead, we will discover public transportation in Pilsen.

There is a lot to see and discover – both modern roling stock as well as historical vehicles in excellent shape. The public transportation in Pilsen is based on three fundamental types of vehicles:

– tram

– bus

– trolleybus

This is quite unique mix and only few other cities in Czech Republic have a comparable network of public transportation. Basically only metro (subway) is missing. Obviously, the size of Pilsen city does not justify the need for metro.

Modern trams and trolleybuses use lot of power electronics and electric drives. These drives differ a bit from industrial drives. However, there are also many things in common and that is the reason of our excursion. Modern traction drive shall be energy efficient, reliable, with low maintenance and space saving.

In fact, there is another very good reason to look closer at the Pilsen City Transport Company (Plzeňské městské dopravní podniky, a.s.). The company has a unique collection of historic rolling stock. These vehicles are used for special occasions such as Liberty Day, Historical weekend etc. They can also be rent for private events (see further below).

History of public transportation in Pilsen

The predecessor of today’s Pilsen City Transport Company was founded in 1896, i.e. more than 120 years ago. Frantisek Krizik, famous Czech engineer and entrepreneur (also called ‘Czech Edison’), played a key role in the history of public transportation in Pilsen. He designed the first electric tram. Moreover, he built up a company operating the tram lines as well as hydro power plant to supply the trams with electric power. Other participants in the project were Skoda company [3] and Vaclav Brozik & son. The company exists in today’s form since 1998. It is fully owned by the city of Pilsen.

Historical vehicles

The company offers rental service of historical vehicles [2]. The jewel is the historical tram No. 18 “Křižík & Brožík” built in year 1899.

For detail information please click here or contact us through the contact form an the bottom.

If you are looking for a team event, original present or you are a fan of historic vehicles you shall not miss this opportunity! All details including pricing is available on the website:

https://en.pmdp.cz/services/rental-of-historical-vehicles/