Dnipro seeks €378 million to modernise tram infrastructure

The city of Dnipro intends to modernise most of its tram infrastructure. The city estimates the amount of investment required at €378.2 million. To this end, the city authorities are actively seeking international support. The announcement was made by Deputy Mayor of Dnipro Volodymyr Miller at an international conference as part of the Rebuild Ukraine forum held in Warsaw on 14-15 November 2023. The event was not broadcast online, but was attended by a representative of the NGO Vision Zero.

During his speech, Volodymyr Miller presented a number of project concepts for the restoration and development of Dnipro, the first of which was the reconstruction of tram sections.

The presentation slide shows a diagram of the tracks on the city map, with the areas in need of reconstruction marked in red.

"Unfortunately, this is how the existing tram infrastructure looks like, which ensures the movement of trams and carries about 28.5 million passengers per year. It makes no sense to buy new modern carriages without a modern rail system that would ensure safe and quiet movement of these new carriages and, most importantly, not destroy them," said Deputy Mayor of Dnipro Volodymyr Miller.

According to the presented concept, the city intends to reconstruct 118.66 km of tram lines, including tracks and contact network, as well as 7 traction substations. According to preliminary estimates, the cost of these works will be €378.2 million and the implementation period will be 10 years.

• reduction in the number of road traffic accidents and improvement of the level of safety in tram traffic;
• saving time for passengers by increasing the speed of trams;
• further development of the tram infrastructure and reduction of operating costs due to the absence of emergency repairs of tram carriages, contact network and cable lines;
• improvement of the environmental situation in the city and absence (reduction) of CO2 emissions;
• regularity and reliability of the city's tram routes;
• comfort for passengers and residents of nearby houses by reducing noise and vibration levels;
• energy savings.

In addition to the development of electric public transport, the deputy mayor presented other project concepts and investment proposals for the city, and invited potential international partners to cooperate. 

For reference. The electric transport system of Dnipro consists of 172 km of tram lines with a track width of 1524 mm, 39 traction substations, 1 tram and 2 trolleybus depots. Dnipro Electric Transport owns 254 passenger tram carriages, which serve 13 routes in 2023.