Bosnia-Hercegovina Trams & Trolleybuses - Sarajevo
Bosnia-Herzegovina
is
a fairly new state created from part of the former Yugoslavia.
It’s capital, Sarajevo, is now returning to
normal after the Balkans war that raged between 1992 and 1995.
There is still evidence of the war as some of
the buildings are yet to be rebuilt. The
current standard gauge tramway was opened in 1960. This replaced
a narrow gauge system. The current fleet is made up mostly of
Tatra
K2 AM6 cars, the earliest dating from 1973, but few survive from the
initial batch of 90, as many were lost in the hostilities. Some
have been rebuilt and modernised. After the war Vienna
supplied some SGP
cars, but these are now withdrawn, and some remain at the depot.
There are also some former Amsterdam trams of
which we see one running in service.
Sarajevo also has a trolleybus system operating mostly second-hand
vehicles, Solingen in Germany being one of the suppliers. At the
time of filming the system was vastly
reduced as new wires were being erected along some of the routes.
The trolleybuses tend to run in their former
liveries, some carrying overall advertisements.
GRAS is the operating company for all trams, trolleybuses and buses in
Sarajevo.
Our filming starts at
Obala Kulina Bana in Baščaršija, the old Turkish quarter which is the most
easterly part of the system. Here we see
the trams in bright sunlight against the backdrop of the recently restored city
hall building. We make our way along
this busy thoroughfare and go past the site of the assassination of Archduke
Ferdinand, the incident that caused the outbreak of the First World War in
1914. We now board Tatra K2, 261
for the long ride to Ilidža on route 6.
Ilidža is the most westerly part of the system where there is a shopping
centre and housing. We then board former
Bratislava Tatra K2 tram number 291, again on route 6, and alight at the
GRAS tram depot on Bulevar Meše Selimoviča.
There is a good deal of action for you to enjoy as this busy stop is
served by six different routes. Our next
location is the railway station forecourt where we see the replica of an 1895
tram, numbered 15, running a tourist service under the brand of Nostalgia. Further filming takes place at Halida
Kajtaza and Maršala Tita. We now turn
our attention to the trolleybuses and film these interesting vehicles at
Dobrinja terminal, Otoka terminal and along Gradačačka. Returning to the trams we do more filming
along Bulevar Meše Selimoviča and then return to Baščaršija to film along Mula
Mustafe Bašeskije where some of the damaged buildings can be seen. Maršala Tita is the site of the eternal
flame, which gives us the backdrop as night time falls for our night time
filming. We ride on Tatra K2, number 267 on route 1 to
the railway station and after some shots at Zmaja od Bosne we board Tatra K2 number 201 dating
from 1973 for our ride back to Baščaršija.
Our programme concludes with some still photographs from the camera of
Steve Kelly who visited Sarajevo in 2002, 2003 and 2006.
|
|
Filmed
: |
2014 |
|
|
Duration
: |
58 minutes (approx). |
|
|
Price
: |
Within UK - £16 |
|
Rest of world -
£18 |
|
|
Format
: |
DVD -R |
|
Picture Aspect 16:9 |
|
|
Order
Ref : |
D221 |