Koleje mezi městy: Tramvajová dráha Chomutov–Jirkov v perspektivě urbanistického a demografického vývoje
Tracks Between Cities: The Chomutov–Jirkov Tramway System in the Perspective of Urban and Demographic Development

Summary/Abstract: The study presents the project of an unrealized tramway line between Chomutov and Jirkov, planned between 1978 and 1991, within the context of the specific urban and demographic development of the North Bohemian region. Based on previously unpublished archival sources, the paper elucidates how state interests in brown coal mining caused a radical transformation of the settlement structure into an unsuitable linear city. The intended introduction of a tram systém at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s was therefore not merely a technical solution to the collapse of bus transport; it also became a key tool of spatial policy aimed at ensuring the functionality of a vast agglomeration of housing estates. Furthermore, the study details the development of various design stages, which had to respond effectively to difficult terrain, grade-separated crossings, and plans involving the demolition of Chomutov’s historical center. The final part of the work sheds light on the reasons for the project’s definitive abandonment after 1989. Alongside official negligence and the ineffective coordination of pre-1989 planning, a decisive role was played by social changes that, in the new political climate, prioritized the more economically efficient trolleybus system.

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