Date of issue: 6 May 2011

In 1884 Debrecen was the first place in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy where steam-driven rail transport was introduced, and this provided the basis for building the tram network later. Construction works started in 1910 and transport began on 16 March 1911 on three existing lines, already used for steam or horse-drawn passenger vehicles, and a newly built tram line. The tram network developed, though with small hiccups, in spite of the outbreak of the First World War, the world economic crisis, inflation and a shortage of coal. After the Second World War, however, tram transport faced major problems. Bombing had caused serious damage in the city and there was a constant shortage of drivers and staff due to men being called up for military service. In the postwar period the town’s tram transport had to be rebuilt from scratch. After nationalisation, the company started buying secondhand vehicles from Budapest. Later the rolling stock was expanded by a Hungarian made articulated tram. This was followed by another twenty-eight, nine of which were manufactured in the company’s own workshop. The Debrecen Transport Company made a total of sixty-three trams in nine years for other provincial towns also suffering from a shortage of vehicles. In the first half of the 1970s all the branch lines of the tram network were closed and transport was restricted to one line, tram number 1. The early 1990s brought a major breakthrough when the company signed a contract for making a prototype articulated tram with six axles meeting the technical requirements of the age.  With the rapid spread of motorisation at the end of the 1990s, reforming public transport became more and more pressing. This was when the idea crystallised for a new tram line on a route where transport capacity could not be increased by other means. After long consultations and planning, Debrecen was the first city in Hungary to receive the approval of the European Commission for a proposed project, which was for the realisation of the city’s tram line number 2. (Source: dkv.hu) The picture side of the postcard marking the centenary of tram transport in Debrecen shows one of the city’s nostalgia trams with the famous Calvinist Great Church in the background. On the back of the card local trams illustrate the value imprint and the special postmark also employs the silhouette of a tram.

SO
Order code: 2011003090011 (mint) 2011003090012 (FDC)
Date of issue: 6 May 2011
Selling price on release: HUF 135
Number of copies issued: 5,000
Printing method: 4-colour offset
Printed by Állami Nyomda
Designed by Attila Elekes