Prague's Pre Owned Streetcars Go For Export Sale!
Czech TV "actualne.cz" Report From 2008!
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English Transcript of the Above Video-Report:
Twenty of 30 years old trams in service by Prague Department of Transportation are being prepared for export shipment to Pyongyang in North Korea.
The model T3 tram was first introduced in 1962 and manufactured by CKD-Tatra in Prague ( (The T3 trams had become an iconic symbol for Prague and many other cities as there were about 24 0000 of them manufactured. T3 standards will always judge all future trams in use in Prague. ) )
PDP (Prague Transportation Authority) is selling 20 T3 Trams to Pyongyang in North Korea for an equivalent of $1 000 000 right now, and the ethics of such deal with the repressive regime is subject to a discussion in the report. Prague's pre-owned streetcars were shipped to North Korea first already in 1991.
Negotiations with other cities around the world are also currently under way. The tram has the weight of 16 Tons, and it is being loaded on a trailer for the trip to Gdansk and then by a boat to North Korea.
The scrapings costs are relatively high, and PDA prefers to recondition used trams and sell them for longer service elsewhere. The T3 trams will run maintenance free for next two years, like under heavy duty use prevailing in Prague. Prague's Transportation Authority expects that such a maintenance-free period can be extended much longer with a lighter use in other cities.
(Inekon provides modernization and refurbishment of T3 trams to prolong their life span for additional 20 years. T3 and other Czech trams were originally manufactured for an expected life of 40 years. Inekon Trams continues in such a tradition and all our newly manufactured trams have 40 life expectancy! )