Tatra KT4
Four-axle type articulated tramcar
title: "Tatra KT4" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["tatra-trams", "tram-vehicles-of-croatia", "tram-vehicles-of-estonia", "tram-vehicles-of-germany", "tram-vehicles-of-latvia", "tram-vehicles-of-serbia", "tram-vehicles-of-ukraine", "tram-vehicles-of-china", "train-related-introductions-in-1972"] description: "Four-axle type articulated tramcar" topic_path: "geography/germany" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatra_KT4" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Four-axle type articulated tramcar ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox tram"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Tatra KT4 |
| image | [[File:Tatra KT4SU no.1107 in Lviv, Ukraine, 9OCT19.jpg |
| caption | KT4SU in Lviv |
| manufacturer | ČKD Tatra |
| constructed | 1972–97 |
| numberbuilt | 1,747 |
| art-sections | 1 |
| trainlength | 18100 mm |
| width | 2200 mm |
| height | 3100 mm |
| weight | 19.9 t |
| capacity | 26–38 (Seated) |
| 105–168 (Standing) | |
| maxspeed | 65 km/h |
| doors | 4 |
| traction motors | 4 x 40 kW |
| bogies | 2 |
| collectionmethod | Pantograph |
| gauge | , |
| ::
| name = Tatra KT4 | image = [[File:Tatra KT4SU no.1107 in Lviv, Ukraine, 9OCT19.jpg|250px]] | caption = KT4SU in Lviv | manufacturer = ČKD Tatra | assembly = | constructed = 1972–97 | numberbuilt = 1,747 | designer = | predecessor = | successor = | art-sections = 1 | trainlength = 18100 mm | width = 2200 mm | height = 3100 mm | weight = 19.9 t | capacity = 26–38 (Seated) 105–168 (Standing) | maxspeed = 65 km/h | doors = 4 | floorheight = | poweroutput = | traction motors = 4 x 40 kW | steep gradient = | bogies = 2 | minimum curve = | collectionmethod = Pantograph | electricsystem = | gauge = ,
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Tatra_KT4D_Cabview_in_Oradea_(Autumn_Edition).webm" caption="Cab ride in Tatra KT4D"] ::
Since the start of the 1990s, many of the earliest production tramcars have gone through extensive refurbishment and rebuilding, including the replacement of folding doors and the installation of low-floor center sections.
The design of the tram, being without a bogie over the joint necessitates a scissor joint connecting both bogies such that the center of mass does not shift catastrophically, especially when turning.
History
The KT4 was originally designed to demands set out by the needs of the GDR, who found bogie cars too expensive and needed a solution to their aging fleet of two-axle vehicles. The first steps into the KT4s design were made when ČKD Tatra modified a six-axle K2 tramcar, to a four-axle suspended articulation formation which later presented itself in the KT4. The KT4 has identical pedal control systems and bogies to the Tatra T3 bogie tramcar. As production continued, the design was improved, noted particularly in 1983 with the addition of thyristor control type TV3. The type is called KT4t.
Variations
Variations of the KT4 exist, though they are generally subtle and focused around seat layout and pantograph type.
- KT4D – German model
- KT4Dt – German model with TV3 thyristor
- KT4SU – Soviet Union model
- KT4YU – Yugoslav model Note that there is no such thing as a KT4K. KT4 used in North Korea were not built by Tatra, instead built by the Shenyeng Passenger Vehicle Factory and named differently.
KT4D
The KT4D model was delivered to the following GDR cities: ::data[format=table]
| City | Delivery years | Number delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 1976–88 | 574 |
| Brandenburg | 1979–83 | 16 |
| Cottbus | 1978–90 | 65 |
| Erfurt | 1976–90 | 156 |
| Frankfurt (Oder) | 1987–90 | 34 |
| Gera | 1978–90 | 60 |
| Görlitz | 1987–90 | 11 |
| Gotha | 1981–82 | 6 |
| Leipzig | 1976 | 8 |
| Potsdam | 1974–87 | 45 |
| Plauen | 1976–88 | 45 |
| Zwickau | 1987–88 | 22 |
| TOTAL | 1974–90 | 1,042 |
| :: |
In 1984, Leipzig handed over their eight trams to Berlin. Since the early 2000s, the Tatra tramcars in the former GDR are being replaced and sold to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe.
Original KT4D
File:KT4D 001 (Prototyp).jpg|KT4D prototype in Potsdam File:Berlin, Tatra KT4.jpg|KT4D in Berlin File:Brandenburg an der Havel, Tatra KT4D (1).jpg|KT4D in Brandenburg/Havel File:Stadtbahn Erfurt Tw 471.jpg|KT4D in Erfurt File:Frankfurt (Oder), Tatra KT4.jpg|KT4D in Frankfurt (Oder) File:Straßenbahn Gera DDR Tatra Tram 320 and Trabant. Aug 1989.jpg|KT4D in Gera File:Gotha, Tatra KT4 (1).jpg|KT4D in Gotha File:Görlitz Tatra no. 6 July 1992.jpg|KT4D in Görlitz File:Plauen, Tatra KT4 (1).jpg|KT4D in Plauen File:Potsdam, Tatra KT4 (3).jpg|KT4D in Potsdam File:Clp 20100921 SRS Tw 22 Vogelsdorfer Straße.jpg|at SRS Tramways File:Zwickau, Tatra KT4.jpg|KT4D in Zwickau
Modernised KT4D
File:Clp 20080826 Tw 6159+6172 Blockdammweg.jpg|KT4Dm in Berlin File:205 Gleisdreieck.JPG|KT4Dm in Frankfurt/Oder File:139Polnocna wokolica.JPG|KTNF6 (KT4D rebuilt with a central low-floor segment) in Cottbus File:StraBaGera04.JPG|KTNF8 (another variant with central low-floor segment added) coupled with KT4Dm in Gera File:Uk gth-tw301 03 g.jpg|KT4D mod 301 in Gotha 2005 File:302+318Demiani.JPG|Both actual colors of KT4D in Görlitz File:208-Tunnel-08.10.07.jpg|Modernised KT4D in Plauen File:Potsdam Kt4Dm 156+256 am Platz der Einheit 2007.JPG|KT4Dm double in Potsdam File:SVZ Zwickau 942+937.jpg|KT4DC in Zwickau
Sold KT4Ds
File:Tram in Liepaja.JPG|Former Gera KT4D 239 in Liepāja, Latvia File:GalatiTramway20060716.jpg|Former Berlin KT4D 82 in Galaţi, Romania File:Tatra KT4DtM, Szczecin, Poland.jpg|Former Berlin KT4Dm in Szczecin, Poland File:Tatra KT4D tram in Tallinn, 2006.jpg|Former Cottbus KT4D in Tallinn, Estonia File:20191225_Tratra_Tram_Weimar.jpg|Former Erfurt KT4D in Weimar, Germany
Image:TramKaliningrad4.JPG|KT4SU in Kaliningrad File:KTNF6 Nr. 28 Schöneiche 2014.jpg|KTNF6 in Schöneiche File:Low-middle tram in Tallinn.JPG|KT6T (KTNF6) in Tallinn Tram 168 at Viru Stop Kesklinn Tallinn 26 July 2018.jpg|Renovated KT4 in Tallinn
KT4SU
The Soviet Union ordered the KT4SU for their meter-gauge tramways, the following cities received deliveries: ::data[format=table]
| City | Delivery years | Number delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Yevpatoria | 1987–90 | 18 |
| Kaliningrad | 1987–90 | 30 |
| Liepāja | 1983–88 | 22 |
| Lviv | 1976–88 | 145 |
| Pyatigorsk | 1988–90 | 25 |
| Zhytomyr | 1981–88 | 20 |
| Tallinn | 1980–90 | 74 |
| Vinnytsia | 1980–90 | 81 |
| TOTAL | 1976–90 | 415 |
| :: |
KT4YU
The KT4YU is the Yugoslav variant of the tramcar, which were delivered to the Serbian and Croatian capitals. The last KT4s ever produced were delivered to Belgrade in 1997. Those tramcars were equipped with IGBT modules and recuperative braking and named KT4M-YUB (where B stands for Belgrade to be distinguished from Zagreb model). In 2002, 30 Belgrade tramcars were modernized in Goša FOM / Inekon, and marked as KT4-YUBM. ::data[format=table]
| City | Delivery years | Number delivered |
|---|---|---|
| Belgrade | 1980–97 | 220 |
| Zagreb | 1985–86 | 51 |
| TOTAL | 1980–97 | 271 |
| :: |
File:Tatra_ČKD_Belgrade.jpg|Tatra KT4M-YU (1997) in Belgrade File:Tatra_KT4_YUB(elgrade).jpg|KT4-YUB in Belgrade File:BeogradTram.jpg|KT4YUBM in Belgrade File:Tatra_KT4M-YUB_.jpg|Tatra KT4M-YU (1997) in Belgrade File:Tatra_KT4_Belgrad.jpg|Tatra KT4-YU in Belgrade File:Tatra KT4 Zagreb.jpg|Tatra KT4YU in Zagreb File:Zagreb_tram_(24).jpg|Tatra KT4YU in Zagreb File:KT4_Zagreb.jpg|Tatra KT4YU in Zagreb File:Tranvía_13,_Zagreb,_Croacia,_2014-04-20,_DD_01.JPG|Tatra KT4YU in Zagreb File:TatraKT4YU333.jpg|Tatra KT4YU in Zagreb
Shenyang ST4
A series of KT4 trams were also produced for Pyongyang, North Korea by the Shenyeng Passenger Vehicle Factory in China named ST4, but have subsequently had their articulation removed due to structural defects of the joint. During their service, they were based at Songsin depot. These trams were fully withdrawn in 1999 and the bodies rebuilt into Chollima 971 articulated trolleybuses or Chollima 961 trolleybuses. Since then, some Chollima 971 trolleybuses were converted into Chollima 961 trolleybuses by removing the rear section. 150 trams were ordered, though only 51 vehicles are known to have been recorded.
These vehicle's main difference was its 2.5 meter wide body, four 45 kW traction motors, a maximum speed of 60 km/h, a seating capacity of 56 and standing capacity of 125. Its weight was also higher, at a net weight of 22.5 tons.
References
- Statistical Data, is duplicated from TatraWagen.de (In German)
References
- "Tatra Ahoi". Strassenbahn Magazin.
- "ST4有轨电车新型铰接转向运动机构的设计_爱学术".
- Source: The Development of The Modern Tram, by Brian Patton
- {{in lang. uk [https://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/2020/09/7/664779/ Course on protectionism: can localization save Ukrainian producers], [[Ukrayinska Pravda]] (7 September 2020)
- (April 1997). "对研制ST4型有轨电车的体会".
- "Shenfeng KT4 — Roster".
- "Chollima 971".
- "Shenyang ST4 — Roster".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::