railway station in the city center to Winogrady, Piątków, Morasko and the village of Owińska outside the city limits, with several branches. Ultimately however the project was limited to only a 6 kilometer line in the northern part of the city, joining the existing network in the city center. The construction work commenced in 1975, progressed very slowly, finally stalling at 60% in 1990, after the fall of communism. Construction resumed in 1993, and the entire project was ready by the end of 1996. The line opened on February 1, 1997. Travel times between the northern districts and the center decreased from about 40 minutes to some 10–15 minutes. This, combined with limited and paid parking space in the center, contributed to the huge success of the line, with overcrowding at peak times. The tracks originally served three routes, in 1999, a fourth one was added, reaching the limits of the lines capacity with trams run every 2.5 minutes at peak times. As the line has not been fitted with a train protection system, smaller intervals are not allowed for safety reasons. The trams suffered from vandalism and from a lack of security. These problems, however, diminished when surveillance cameras were installed. The project has had a very positive impact on the communities it serves, making them more attractive for investors, and stopping depopulation. Some institutions and companies served by the tram, listed by station, include: (those marked by a plus (+) have moved in the general area after the opening of the line): Słowiańska (green) — student dormitories, Courts of Law (+) Al. Solidarności (previously Serbska; yellow) — 3 supermarkets (+), a large office building (+) Lechicka/Poznań Plaza (previously Lechicka; blue) — a supermarket (+), Poznań Plaza shopping mall (+) Kurpińskiego (orange) — a bank (+), a small supermarket, a clinic Szymanowskiego (red) — a supermarket (+), and a large development of modern apartment blocks Osiedle Jana III Sobieskiego (terminus) — Adam Mickiewicz University campus In 2011 work began on a previously cut 2 kilometer long extension of the line to the Poznań Główny railway station in the city center, sandwiched between the preexisting tram line running in the city streets and railway tracks. The extension was opened in 2013 with its own turning loop, which allows for operating longer trams sets that could partially alleviate congestion. Current lines Future development Similar fast tram networks exist in other parts