The Prague Transport Company (DPP) illuminated a fleet of Christmas-decorated vehicles in both yards of the Střešovice depot and, as is traditional, took them out in a special procession through the streets of Prague last week to mark the beginning of Advent.
There are several new features in DPP’s Christmas fleet this year; more vehicles are involved, more of them with full stickers. Some vehicles will have their premiere in the Christmas fleet, which this year consists of seven tram cars: 15T No. 9401, 14T No. 9170, two T3 No. 6921 and 7188, historic two-axle Ringhoffer tram No. 2210 with towing car 1419, iconic Mazačka No. 5572, as well as two buses SOR NB 12 No. 3731 and articulated SOR NB 18 ev. No. 6966. Both cars of the cable car to Petřín, including the upper station and the Public Transport Museum, are also decorated for Christmas.
“Our Christmas fleet has grown to eleven cars this year, one more than last year,” said Petr Witowski, Chairman of the Board and CEO of DPP. “For the first time, we included an articulated bus. One novelty will be the carols that will play in the Christmas-decorated tram 14T between the announcements of the stops. The Christmas fleet is our thank you to all passengers who use public transport in Prague, but also to our drivers, train drivers and other colleagues who participate in the flawless functioning of Prague public transport every day.”
Hundreds of visitors and public transport fans watched the illumination of the Christmas fleet at both yards of the Střešovice train yard, a tradition now in its eighth year. A Christmas procession of vehicles fully occupied by enthusiasts and families with children left the Střešovice depot at 5:30 pm, led by the historic two-axle Ringhoffer tram with a towing car along the route: Střešovice Depot – Hradčanská – Sparta – Strossmayerovo náměstí – Vltavská – Štvanice – Těšnov – Bílá labuť – Náměstí Republiky – Dlouhá třída – nab. E. Beneše – Malostranská – Malostranská (metro) – Mánesův most, where a joint photo shoot of all the vehicles took place.
Passengers can now ride the Christmas-decorated cable car to Petřín, and trams and buses are also in regular service. The Christmas-decorated tram 15T will run on line 15 and tram 14T on line 17. Current timetables are available on the DPP website.
In total, the vehicles are decorated with almost 60,000 Christmas lights, interior holiday decorations and also special winter and Christmas themed exterior decals. The partners and designers of this year’s Christmas decoration of DPP vehicles are the company DECOLED from Dobrovíz, near Prague, and the Secondary School of Transport (SPŠD). The Christmas decoration of this year’s DPP fleet began on 11 November 2023, with the participation of more than 20 DPP employees, SPŠD students, DECOLED company employees and DPP contractual partners.
