Part 1 - Upper Silesia
The tramway system in Upper Silesia in Poland is operated by Tramwaje Slaskie, successor to various operators that have run the system since the horse and steam trams started operating in 1894-9. The system today connects the 13 cities in the region from Gliwice and Zabrze in the west, to Katowice, Chorzów and Bytom in the centre and north, to Sosnowiec, Zagórze and Myslovice in the east. Upper Silesia is a former heavy industry region which was developed in the 19th Century industrial revolution. Mining and steel making were the principal industries of the area and the tramway system was developed to serve the workers in these industries. The political upheavals of the 1st and 2nd World Wars made tramway operation difficult, but in 1945 Poland was re-established as a sovereign nation and rebuilding of the tramway could begin. There were closures between 1976 and 1986, and again in 2006-9, there has however been a new line to Zagórze, currently being extended and a great deal of track renewal and infrastructure modernisation in recent years.The tram fleet has been updated with new articulated, low floor trams since 2000, 75 of the Konstal 105N trams have been modernised and second hand trams from Frankfurt-am-Main and Vienna have been bought and modernised, although all the Viennese trams have now been withdrawn. More extensions are planned, and track renewal is progressing. There are currently 178km of track in operation of 28 routes with 4 depots: Bedzin, Katowice - Zawodzie, Bytom - Stroszeck and Gliwice, with main workshops at Chorzów Batory.

Part 2 - Kraków
The tramway system is operated by MPK Kraków, 25 routes are operated over a route trackage of 97km. There are around 380 trams in service which are housed in 2 depots: Podgórze and Howa Huta, there is a third depot, St. Lawrence, which houses some historic trams. There have been about 160 new low floor trams delivered since 2000, manufacturers include Stadler, Bombardier and Pesa. Second hand SGP/Lohner trams have come from Vienna, MPK Kraków have also modernised some trams by adding low floor sections. There are also about 60 Konstal 105N/Na bogie trams still in stock, the MPK also has a substantial museum fleet, some of which operate on a heritage route during the summer months. Several new routes and extensions are planned for the system.

Subtitles, no commentary, enjoy the sights and sounds of trams in Poland.

Produced by - Bob Hodges Transport DVD's
Running time - 70 Minutes
Format - 16:9 Widescreen PAL (UK)
DVD only
Released - December 2022