KTM-1 is a Soviet-made two-axle tram with a metal body. KTP-1 is a two-axle trailer car to intended to work under KTM-1 traction. It was the first Soviet-made tram to be originally single ended, as well as designated to work on looped (not dead-end) lines. It was the first Soviet-made tram with wide four-segment folding doors and bigger passenger storage spaces. Doors were driven pneumatically.
KTM/KTP1 development began after World War II.[1] The production of experimental KTM/KTP-11 trams began in December 1947 in a tram manufacturing plant in Ust' Katavsk City. In the next year, the plant started serial production of the trams. Production lasted until 1961, when the plant switched to the production more modern KTM/KTP-2 trams.
The KTM/KTP1 operated in most Soviet cities. In the Russian Federation cities without the KTM/KTP-1 were Zlatoust, Kolomna, Kopeysk, Kursk, Leningrad, Noginsk, Smolensk, and Yekaterinburg.
KTM/KTP1 was a transitional stage between pre-war and post-war tram developments. Unlike the majority of pre-war trams, the КТМ/КТП-1 featured a solid metal body. But, like pre-war trams, they rode on two axles and were designed as motor-trailer pairs. Later, people refused to use two-axle trams and tram production changed so all new trams were equipped with bogies. The articulated trams, as well as multiple-unit systems came into use on high-use segments.
KTM/KTP-1 trams started to be removed from passenger service by the middle of the 1970s. In Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhia and Odessa, Ukraine, KTM/KTP1 were in service till 1986.[2]
The body of the tram is continuous welded metal. The frame and the coating are the main carrying elements. The doors are single segment, set on the right side only. The tram was designed for wide gauge tracks, as found in the USSR (1,524 mm (5 ft)). However, in Rostov-Na-Donu, KTM/KTP-1 were rebuilt for European rail gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)).