Started as a part of the German Empire in 1894, the system currently has 677 stops across 29 lines and serves the region’s population inhabited by more than two million people.

Silesian Trams is at the heart of a region known for its dense historical and current industrialisation (coal, coke, steel and other industries).

The network is spread over more than 50 kilometres (east-west axis) and covers twelve cities and towns in the Metropolis GZM of southern Poland: Katowice, the capital city of the region, Bytom, Chorzów, Mysłowice, Ruda Śląska, Siemianowice Śląskie, Świętochłowice, and Zabrze in Upper Silesia, as well as Będzin, Czeladź, Dąbrowa Górnicza, and Sosnowiec in the Dąbrowa Basin.

Rolling stock was modernized to include low-floor cars and multiple track sections were upgraded.

[2][3] Initially planned as a metre-gauge, the system was established by German Empire in 1894 as a unique 785 mm (2 ft 6+29⁄32 in) narrow gauge steam interurban railway.

[6] In 1913, a separate standard gauge system connecting Bytom with suburbs and villages west of the city was launched.

After World War I and the Silesian Uprisings, in 1922 the region (and the tram network) was divided between newly independent Poland and Germany, and international services appeared (the last one ran until 1937).

Between 1928 and 1936, most of the original narrow gauge network was converted to standard, which allowed a connection with the new system in Sosnowiec.

[8] During World War II, the German authorities decided to merge all the systems and administrations and they have remained as one united network to the present day (though the old boundaries are still easily traceable).

In 1951, the tram system was taken over by a state-owned company WPK Katowice and until the 1970s it was widely extended and partly modernised reaching its maximum length at the end of the 1970s (ca.

[9] Since the late 1960s, the classic rolling stock has been replaced by modern cars based on PCC streetcar technology.

Unfortunately, that did not improve the tramway service in the region – on the contrary, the condition of the tram company had been steadily deteriorating since the middle of the 1990s.

PKT started to operate on behalf of KZK GOP,[12] a Silesian interurban transport body.

In February 1998, an agreement was signed with the French-British concern GEC Alsthom (currently Alstom) for the delivery of Citadis 100 streetcars.

A sole shareholder company of the State Treasury - Tramwaje Śląskie - was created and it started its operation on 1 January 2003.

[15] Liquidation of the state-owned WPK Katowice back in 1991 caused an organizational mess: bus lines were financed by individual gminas across the region, the issue of subsidizing intercity connections was unclear and tram transport was limited by funds from the state budget.

Within the first stage of the project, the following investments were made: The contract for modernization and parts supply was signed on 30 July 2012.

Thanks to the favourable outcome of tenders and the resulting savings, Silesian Trams were able to enter the second stage of the project in which 15km of tracks were modernised, the traction network was reconstructed and 12 partially low-floor, bi-directional MF 16 AC BD Beta streetcars were delivered by Modertrans under a contract dated 27 November 2014.

On 20 March 2017, the implementation of first repair task from this project began, and on 11 December 2017 and 26 February 2018, agreements were signed to subsidize above investments with 491 million PLN under the OPI&E.

[23] On 28 April 2020, Silesian Trams signed a contract with a consortium of Eurovia Polska, KZN Rail and Nowak Mosty for the extension of line 15 deep into the Zagórze estate.

Chorzów Batory depot was subsequently renamed to ZUR (Tram Repair Facility, Polish: Zakład Usługowo Remontowy).