Wednesday, September 4, 2019

MPK Wroclaw- Technology and history together

Wroclaw has a population of around 630,000 and a metropolitan area of over a million, making it Poland's fourth largest city. It is also one of the country's main cities for manufacturing industries, banking and cultural centres. Named the European Capital of Culture in 2016, Wroclaw is consistently moving up the ranks among European tourist destinations.

This city is highly accessible for pedestrians and cyclists and its historic centre can be explored on foot. However, interesting destinations located somewhat further away make public transport a great way for tourists and locals alike to get around the city.

Few people know that 142 years have gone by between Wroclaw's first tram system and the modern system used today. The city's history with this mode of transport dates back to before World War II. Then, a private businessman from the area thought this type of passenger transport could be a good business opportunity. Shortly thereafter he was awarded the concession to transport people in a vehicle that is now considered a major tourist attraction: horse-drawn trams.

Trams came back to the Wroclaw’s streets after WWII and have grown consistently since the first modern tram line was started 1945. The city's tram network consists of 23 lines, covering 258 Km. The trams are run by more than 600 conductors, who train and compete each year to be the best in their field.

The network is overseen by the public transport operator, MPK Wroclaw. This operator provides the citizens of Wroclaw with over 300 buses and 200 trams. Travel is now managed by an automatic ticket system, providing transport to over 200 million passengers a year.

MPK Wroclaw continues to embrace cutting-edge technology and is set to become pioneer in conductor training. The experience built up in Warsaw with LANDER vehicle simulators has been extended to the Wroclaw region. As of now, training will be reinforced with the use of a driving simulator tailored to the reality of the operation in Wroclaw. LANDER has simulated a scenario of 12 Km, with the possibility of encountering risk and complex driving situations in a safe environment. All this is with the operator's most modern fleet, the Moderus Beta MF 24 AC tram.

We hope that Wroclaw will continue combining technology with tradition as successfully as it has done until now, and that we at LANDER will be able to partner it on this history-filled adventure.