Dnipro Planning EUR-378-Million Modernization Of Tram Network

The city of Dnipro intends to rebuild most of its tram infrastructure and is actively seeking financial support from international investors. The city estimates the required investment at EUR 378.2 million.

Deputy Mayor of Dnipro Volodymyr Miller announced this at an international conference held as part of the ReBuild Ukraine conference in Warsaw (Poland) from 14 to 15 November.

In his address at the event, Miller presented several project concepts for the reconstruction and development of Dnipro, the first of which is the reconstruction of its tram tracks, a representative of the NGO Vision Zero, who attended the event, told the CFTS portal.

The deputy mayor of Dnipro presented the schematic layout of Dnipro’s tram tracks on the map of the city, with red lines marking the areas that need to be reconstructed.

"Unfortunately, this is how the existing network of tram tracks on which trams transport about 30 million passengers a year looks like. It makes no sense to buy new, modern trams without a modern track bed that would ensure safe and quiet movement of these new trams and, most importantly, not destroy these new trams," said the deputy mayor of Dnipro.

According to the concept presented by him, the city intends to rebuild 118.7 kilometers of tram lines, including tracks and overhead lines, as well as 7 traction substations. According to preliminary estimates, these works will cost EUR 378.2 million, and the project will take 10 years to complete.

City managers believe such investments will bring several positive results, including a reduction in the number of accidents and improvement in the safety of tram traffic; saving of passengers' time by increasing the speed of trams; reduction of operating costs because of the elimination of emergency repairs of tram tracks, overhead wires, and cable lines; improvement of the environmental situation in the city; ensuring the regularity and reliability of tram routes, etc.

The Dnipro tram system consists of 172 kilometers of 1524-mm-gauge tracks.

In the years before the full-scale Russian invasion, Dnipro was one of the leading buyers of rolling stock. In 2020, the city bought 35 used Tatra T4 trams from Leipzig. In 2021, it bought 20 similar trams from the German city. In the same year, the tender for delivery of 18 new trams to Dnipro for UAH 1.2 billion failed.