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Trolleybus
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A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram or simply trolley) is an electrically powered bus that draws its electricity from a network of charged overhead wires (which are generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring loaded trolley poles. Two poles are needed, so that one can draw down the live current to power the motor and the other can complete the circuit by carrying the neutral current back to the network.
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Encyclopedia
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tram or simply trolley) is an electrically powered bus that draws its electricity from a network of charged overhead wires (which are generally suspended from roadside posts) using spring loaded trolley poles. Two poles are needed, so that one can draw down the live current to power the motor and the other can complete the circuit by carrying the neutral current back to the network. As the rubber tires on a bus do not conduct electricity the neutral current cannot pass directly to the ground via the wheels, whereas an electric tram (or streetcar) can use its steel wheels to take the current to ground via the tramway rail. There are trolleybuses in many cities around the world.
Background
The history of the trolleybus dates back to 29 April 1882, when Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens ran his "Elektromote" in a Berlin suburb. This experimental demonstration continued until 13 June 1882, after which there was little progress in Europe, although separate experiments were conducted in the USA. The next development was when Lombard Gérin operated an experimental line at the Paris Exhibition of 1900 after four years of trials. Max Schiemann made the biggest step when on 10 July 1901 the world's first passenger-carrying trolleybus operated at Bielathal (near Dresden), in Germany. Schiemann built and operated the Bielathal system, and is credited with developing the under-running trolley current collection system, with two horizontally parallel overhead wires and rigid trolleypoles spring-loaded to hold them up to the wires. Although the Bielathal system only operated until 1904, Schiemann had developed what is now the standard trolleybus current collection system. In the early days, however, there were a few different methods of current collection. The Cedes-Stoll system, designed by Carl Stoll, operated near Dresden between 1902 and 1904, and in Vienna. The Lloyd-Köhler or Bremen system was tried out in Bremen, and the Filovia was demonstrated near Milan.
Leeds and Bradford became the first cities to operate passenger-carrying trolleybuses in the United Kingdom on 20 June 1911. Bradford was also the last to operate trolleybuses in the UK, the system closing on 26 March 1972. The last rear-entrance trolleybus in Britain was also in Bradford and is now owned by the Bradford Trolleybus Association. Birmingham was the first to replace a tram route with trolleybuses, while Wolverhampton under the direction of Charles Owen Silvers was responsible for turning the "trackless tram" into the trolleybus. There were 50 trolleybus operations in the UK in total, London's being the largest. By the time trolleybuses arrived in Britain in 1911, the Schiemann system was well-established and was the most common, although the short-lived Stockport operation used the Lloyd-Kölher system and Keighley used the Cedes-Stoll system.
In the United States, some cities, led by the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation (BMT—New York), subscribed to the all-four concept of using buses, trolleybuses, trams (in US called streetcars or trolleys) and rapid transit subway and/or elevated lines (metros), as appropriate, for routes ranging from lightly-used to the heaviest trunk line. Buses and trolleybuses in particular were seen as entry systems that could later be upgraded to rail as appropriate. Although the BMT in Brooklyn built only one trolleybus line, other cities, notably San Francisco, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, built larger systems and still maintain "all-four". If one includes cable cars as another mode, San Francisco could be called "all-five", as its cable cars provide general transportation while also serving as a popular tourist attraction and the only moving National Historic Landmark in the United States.
A number of trolleybus lines in the United States came into existence when a tracked trolley/tram route did not have sufficient ridership to warrant track maintenance or reconstruction. In a similar manner, a proposed tram scheme in Leeds, United Kingdom, has now been changed to a trolleybus scheme to cut costs.
Design
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- Electrified line
- Destination or route sign
- Rear view mirror
- Headlights
- Boarding (entry) doors
- Direction (turning) wheels
- Exit doors
- Traction wheels
- Decorative elements
- Retractors/retrievers
- Puller rope
- Shoes
- Trolley pole(s)
- Pole storage hooks
- Trolley pole base and fairing/shroud
- Bus Number
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Advantages
Trolleybuses are advantageous on hilly routes, as electric power is more effective than diesel for climbing steep hills. Unlike combustion engines, electric motors draw power from a central plant and can be overloaded for several minutes without damage. San Francisco and Seattle, USA, both hilly, use trolleybuses partly for this reason, another being improved air quality. Given this acceleration and braking performance, trolleybuses easily outperform diesel buses on flat stretches as well.
Trolleybuses' rubber tires have better adhesion than trams' steel wheels on steel rails, giving them better hill-climbing capability and braking. Unlike rail vehicles (where side tracks are not available), an out-of-service vehicle can be moved to the side of the road and its trolley poles disconnected, allowing other vehicles to pass. Additionally, because they are not tracked, trolleybuses can pull over to the curb as a diesel bus does, eliminating boarding islands in the street.
Like other electric vehicles, trolleybuses are more environmentally friendly than fossil-fuel or hydrocarbon-based vehicles (petrol/gasoline, diesel, alcohol, etc.). However the power is not free, having to be produced at centralised power plants, with attendant transmission losses.
On the other hand, centrally-produced power is more efficient, not bound to a specific fuel source and more amenable to pollution control as a single-source supply than are individual vehicles with their own engines that exhaust noxious gases and particulates at street level. Moreover, some cities, like Calgary, Alberta, run their light rail networks using wind energy, which is effectively emission-free once the turbines are built and installed. A further advantage of trolleybuses is that they can generate electric power from kinetic energy while braking, a process known as regenerative braking.
Also, unlike buses or trams, trolleybuses are almost silent, lacking the noise of a diesel engine or wheels on rails. Such noise as there is tends to emanate from auxiliary systems such as power steering pumps and air conditioning. Early trolleybuses without these systems were even quieter, and in the UK at least were often referred to as the "Silent Service". The quietness did have its disadvantages though, with quite a number of pedestrians falling victim to what was also known as "the Silent Death".
Trolleybuses are specially favoured in locations where electricity is abundant and cheap. Examples of this are the extensive trolleybus systems in Vancouver, Canada and Seattle, USA, both of which draw hydroelectric power from the Columbia River and other Pacific river systems. Seattle benefits doubly, with steep gradients near the Downtown waterfront and on Queen Anne, First, and Capitol Hills. San Francisco also operates its trolleybus system using hydro power from the city-owned Hetch Hetchy generating plant.
Trolleybuses are used extensively in large European cities such as Athens, Belgrade, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Kiev, Lyon, Milan, Minsk, Moscow, Napoli, Riga, Saint Petersburg and Sofia, as well as smaller ones such as Arnhem, Bergen, Brest (Belarus), Coimbra, Gdynia, Lausanne, Limoges, Luzern, Parma, Piatra Neamt, Plzen, Prešov, Salzburg, Solingen, Szeged, Tallinn and Yalta.
Cities, especially those built on hills, have chosen trolleybuses over diesel buses because the electric motor can produce much more torque than a diesel engine. Moreover, the electric motor can be temporarily "overpowered", that is, more than the normal power can be obtained for a short period of time, e.g. when climbing a steep hill. Also, realising the advantages of these zero-emission vehicles, some other European cities have started to expand their systems again. Other cities such as Lecce will introduce new trolleybus systems.
In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the trolleybus system has survived because of the situation at Harvard Station, which holds an underground tunnel that was once used for trams. Despite a willingness to use buses, the tunnel at the time required left-side doors, and had fume concerns. Now, buses do run in the tunnel. However, the trolleybuses remain due to popular support.
Some have suggested that the trolleybus will become obsolete in a future hydrogen economy, but for this hydrogen economy needs to be a reality. On the other hand, direct electric transmission, as used in trolleybuses, is far more efficient (by a factor of two or more) than conversion of energy into hydrogen, transportation and storage of the hydrogen and its conversion back into electricity by fuel cells.
On the other hand, some trolleybuses can share overhead wires (to access electricity) with tramways.
Disadvantages
Re-routings, temporary or permanent, are not usually readily available outside of "downtown" areas where the buses may be re-routed via adjacent business area streets where other trolleybus routes operate. This problem was highlighted in Vancouver in early 2008 when an explosion closed Broadway, a heavily used trolley route. Because of the closure, all trolleys using Broadway were forced to detour several kilometers off their route in order to stay on the wires, leaving major portions of their routes unserved and leaving the buses well off schedule. Dewirements sometimes occur, leaving the bus stranded without power, although these events are relatively rare on systems with well-maintained overhead wire, hangers, fittings and "contact shoes". With the introduction of hybrid designs the trolleybus is no longer tied to its overhead trolley wires. Increasingly systems, such as Muni in San Francisco, TransLink in Vancouver, as well as Beijing's trolleybus operator, have circumvented this problem by installing battery packs on their trolleybuses to allow them to drive short to considerably long distances away from the wires. Also Supercapacitors may be used to drive small distances without connections to the grid. Boston is using dual-mode buses on its new Silver Line that run on overhead electricity on a fixed right of way and then transition to city streets using diesel power. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where five trolleybus lines (trackless trolley locally preferred) have been suspended for partial reconstruction, new trolleybuses on order will have the capacity to operate short distances off the overhead wires through the use of a small diesel engine. In Athens, Greece, which has an extensive trolleybus system, in 2003-04 all trolleybuses were replaced with new vehicles that are equipped with a diesel engine that enables them to run off-line for a considerable distance.
Limitations in the creation of power lines also limits the use of trolleybuses, and further restrictions may also apply where taller vehicles may need to share the route, preventing the installation of overhead lines. Nevertheless, installation is faster and less expensive than a tramway system.
Trolleybuses can pass one another in regular service, if two separate sets of wires with a switch are provided, or if the buses are battery-equipped.
Trolleybuses generally are implemented only when they confer one of the advantages listed above, due to the high cost of their infrastructure compared to the diesel bus. With increasing diesel fuel costs and particlulate matter and NOx emissions problems in many cities, trolleybuses yet may be seen as the best suited relief for many cities, either as the primary transit mode or as a supplement to rapid transit and commuter rail networks.
While at one time many cities operated this mode of transport, it is relatively uncommon today in North America, though it is still a common form of transport in many European, Russian, Brazilian and Chinese cities, generally occupying the niche between street railways (trams) and diesel-powered buses.
Some trolleybus systems have been criticised for aesthetic reasons, with city residents complaining that the jumble of overhead wires was unsightly. Intersections often have a "webbed ceiling" appearance, due to multiple crossing and converging sets of line wires.
As trolleybuses are electric, they produce very little noise compared with a diesel- or petrol-engined vehicle and it is easy for pedestrians and other motorists to miss them when crossing streets, and risk being struck. For this reason, in Australia, treolleybuses were known as "whispering death".
Trolleybus wire switch
Trolleybus wire switches (referred to as "frogs" in some countries) are a standard piece of equipment in places where a trolleybus line forks or branches into two. A switch may be either in a "straight through" or "turnout" position; it normally remains in the "straight through" position unless it has been triggered, and reverts to it after a few seconds. Triggering is often caused by a pair of contacts or electromagnets, with one attached to each trolleybus wire, located close to but before the switch itself.
Multiple branches may be handled by installing more than one switch. For example, to provide straight-through, left-turn or right-turn branches at an intersection, one switch is installed some distance from the intersection to choose a line over the left-turn lane, and another switch is mounted close to the intersection to choose between straight through and a right turn. [This would be the arrangement in countries such as the US, where traffic directionality is right-handed; in left-handed traffic countries such as Britain and New Zealand, the switch some distance from the intersection would be used to access the right-turn lanes, and the switch close to the intersection would be for the left-turn fork instead.]
Three common types of switch exist: Power-on/Power-off (the picture of a switch above is of this type), Selectric, and Fahslabend.
A Power-on/Power-off switch is triggered if the trolleybus is drawing power from the overhead wires, usually by accelerating, when the poles pass over the contacts. (The contacts are lined up on the wires in this case.) If no power is drawn (ie. the bus 'coasts' through the switch) the switch does not activate. Some trolley buses, such as those in Vancouver, British Columbia have a "power-coast" toggle switch next to the driver which, dependent on what the driver desires, either causes the bus to draw power or completely halts all power draw from the overhead wires. This allows the driver to activate a switch by hand and allows a switch to be selected in situations which would otherwise be impossible, such as activating a switch while braking, or accelerating through a switch without activating it.
A Selectric switch has a similar design, but the contacts on the wires are not lined up but skewed, often at a 45-degree angle. This skew means that a bus going straight through will not trigger the switch, but a bus attempting a sharp turn (usually a right turn in countries with right-handed traffic) will cause its poles to meet the wires in a matching skew with one pole ahead of the other, which will trigger the switch.
For a Fahslabend switch, the bus's turn indicator (or a separate driver-controlled switch) causes a coded radio signal to be sent from a transmitter mounted on the bus (often attached to one of the trolley poles). The corresponding receiver is attached to the switch directly, and will cause it to trigger if the correct code is received. This has the advantage that the driver does not need to be accelerating the bus (as with a Power-on/Power-off switch) or trying to make a sharp turn (as with a Selectric switch). As a result, some cities operating trolleybuses have replaced other trolleybus switch types with this type of switch.
Trolleybus makers
Current
Defunct or no longer making trolleybuses
- Alfa Romeo, Italy
- AM General, USA
- AnsaldoBreda (and predecessors Ansaldo Trasporti and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie), Italy
- Antonov Aircraft Factory, Kiev, Ukraine
- Associated Equipment Company, UK
- British United Traction, UK
- Chavdar, Bulgaria
- Crossley Motors, UK
- Daimler Motor Company, UK
- Dennis Specialist Vehicles, UK
- Electric Transit, Inc., USA-based joint venture
- Fiat (subsidiary Irisbus is still manufacturing trolleybuses), Italy
- FBW, Switzerland
- Gräf & Stift, Austria
- Guy Motors, UK
- Henschel. Germany
- Hispano-Suiza, Spain
- Ikarus, Hungary
- J.G. Brill, USA
- Lancia, Italy
- Leyland Motors, UK
- Marmon-Herrington, USA
- MASA (Mexicana de Autobuses SA) - now part of Volvo, Mexico
- NAW, Switzerland
- Neoplan USA
- Pegaso, Spain
- Pullman Standard, USA
- Richard Garrett & Sons, UK
- Rocar, Romania
- Saurer, Switzerland
- St. Louis Car Company, USA
- Sunbeam, UK
- Tushino Mechanical Plant, Russia
- Twin Coach, USA
- Vetra, France
- Yaroslavl motor plant, Russia
Trolleybuses in former USSR countries
The first trolley vehicle in Russia was built in Saint Petersburg in 1902 at Frese machine-building factory. It utilised a carriage-type current receiver like the early von Siemens prototypes. There was no attempt to organize passenger or cargo services at this time.
The first operational trolleybus service was introduced in 1933 in Moscow. In Soviet cities with underground metropolitan railways, trolleybus systems were intended to replace tramcars. In reality such plans were partially performed in the 1950s rather than in the 1930s. The first Soviet-made passenger trolleybus LK-1 was named after Politburo member Lazar Kaganovich. It was a dangerous and unreliable vehicle, quickly replaced by more advanced YaTB vehicles. These cars, both passenger and cargo, were the mainstay of the Soviet trolley fleet before the World War II. At this time new trolleybus systems were opened in Leningrad, Kiev, and a few other major Soviet cities.
During World War II, new trolleybus systems were opened in the Soviet Union. The need for mass transit in cities away from the front was urgent, but construction of tram lines was too expensive and time-consuming. Buses were largely mobilised to the Red Army as staff and medical vehicles. The remains of the bus fleet quickly stalled due to fuel shortages. The trolleybuses proved a good solution. Some vehicles, wires and other equipment were evacuated from Moscow in 1941; these materials were used for erecting new lines and systems in other cities. In the front-line city of Leningrad, trolleybus service ceased operations in November 1941 and was not restored until the end of the war. City trams were relaunched in April 1942 and performed without interruption under siege conditions. This restored Soviet plans of mass transit development in the form of co-existence of subways, trams, and trolleys.
The postwar period saw an explosion of development and expansion of trolleybus systems in the Soviet Union. Many cities and towns introduced passenger and cargo trolleybus services, sometimes interfering with tram operations. One of the most notable of these new trolleybus systems was the Crimean Trolleybus, currently the world's longest trolleybus line. Production at the time was limited to the monopoly Zavod imeni Uritskogo (ZiU, named after Moisei Uritsky). It produced thousands of MTB-82, ZiU-5, and ZiU-9 passenger trolleybuses for domestic purposes and for export. ZiU-5s and ZiU-9s were sold to Greece, Colombia, Argentina and Eastern Bloc countries. Three ZiU-9 cars were on loan in 1973 for testing purposes in Helsinki, Finland.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to insufficient funding for many municipal trolleybus systems, but they proved more resilient than municipal tram or bus operations. There is only one closed trolleybus system in Shakhty within the area of modern Russia (whose operations ceased in October 2007). The suspended trolleybus operations from October 2006 in Archangelsk were reactivated in December 2007. The trolleybus system in Grozny was completely destroyed in the First Chechen War. Reconstruction is in planning. There is also one system with uncertain futures, in Voronezh. In other cities the development of trolleybus passenger services continues. Two new systems were introduced in Moscow suburbs Khimki and Vidnoe in the second half of the 1990s. ZiU, now named Trolza, has lost its monopoly in producing trolley vehicles. Today a number of domestic factories offer trolleybuses for the Russian market.
List of Low-floor trolleybuses
- Belkommunmash: AKSM 221, AKSM 321, AKSM 420
- Busscar: Urbanuss Pluss
- Carrosserie Hess
- Eurotrolley 3
- Swisstrolley 3
- lighTram 3
- Designline
- Ikarus: 411T, 412T, 435T
- Irisbus: Civis, Cristalis
- Lviv Bus Factory
- MAN/Kiepe NG
- MAZ: 103T, 203T
- Neoplan
- N6014/6108/6110/6114/6121
- Electroliner: N6216/N6221/N6321
- New Flyer Industries: E40LFR, E60LFR
- Solaris
- Škoda: 21Tr, 22Tr, 24Tr, 25Tr
- TrolZa: Megapolis
- Van Hool: A300T, AG300T
- Jelcz
Use and preservation
Worldwide, there are currently around 340 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses are operated as part of the public transport services, and almost 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past. For complete lists of trolleybus systems by location, with dates of opening and (where applicable) closure, see List of trolleybus systems and the related lists indexed there.
Following are summary notes about current and past trolleybus operation in some countries.
Argentina
Trolleybuses are currently in use in Mendoza, Rosario and Córdoba. See also List of trolleybus systems.
Australia
Australia has no remaining operating trolleybuses. Examples of Australian Trolleybuses are preserved in the Brisbane Tramway Museum, Sydney Tramway Museum, Powerhouse Museum (Sydney), the Australian Electric Transport Museum at Adelaide (South Australia), the Perth Electric Tramway Society Museum, and at the Tasmanian Transport Museum in Hobart. Some of these trolleybuses are in operating condition, but there are no wired roadways to operate them on.
Austria
The largest trolleybus system in Austria is situated in Salzburg, with 8 lines (7 lines during school holidays) and 80 trolleybuses operating from 6 am to midnight. The system was introduced in 1940 and has been expanded during recent years. A second trolleybus system with 4 lines and 19 vehicles exists in Linz. After years of uncertainty the further existence of the system is guaranteed by the operator. The trolleybuses in Innsbruck went out of service in 2007 because of an expected expansion of the light rail system. A trolleybus system with two routes existed in Kapfenberg until 2002. Other towns like Klagenfurt and Graz closed their trolleybus systems in the '60s.
Belarus
AKSM-420 in Minsk in 2007]]
The trolleybus system in Minsk (since 1952) is the second largest in the world. Trolleybuses also work in Brest, Vitebsk, Gomel, Grodno, Mogilev and Babruysk (since 1978).
Belgium
The only trolleybus service in the country is in Ghent, the capital of the province of East Flanders. Here, articulated trolleybuses operate line 3, which crosses the city from east to west, passing through the historic Korenmarkt and past St Bavo's cathedral. The system was originally built as a demonstrator to promote exports, which were subsequently, due to colonial ties, made to Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After a period of closure due to roadworks in the early 21st century, Flemish public transport undertaking De Lijn announced in February 2008 that the system is to be closed. The intention is to replace the trolleybuses with hybrid diesel-electric buses, but there may be an interim period of operation by conventional diesel buses. In the long term De Lijn would like to see trams on the route.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Trolleybuses are currently used only in the capital city Sarajevo. Operation and maintenance is done by the company GRAS (City transportation). Currently there are seven lines (101-107) operating in the city. Lines which will again connect Sarajevo and its suburb Vogošca will be reconstructed in the near future.
Brazil
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Brazil.
In Brazil, trolleybuses are currently in use only in Santos and in two systems in Săo Paulo: SPTrans, at the central and eastern region, and EMTU, at the suburbs and the cities of Santo André, Săo Bernardo do Campo, Mauá and Diadema. In Săo Paulo, two trolleybuses are preserved and exhibited at the SPTrans (Săo Paulo Transportation Authority) Museum Gaetano Ferrola. Another five trolleybuses built by CMTC and Villares between 1958 and 1965 are awaiting restoration in the SPTrans garage at Santa Rita. An original trolleybus built in the United States by ACF Brill in 1948 was restored in 1999 and currently can be seen riding in special celebrations, as occurred in the city's 454-year anniversary celebration on 25 January 2008.
Bulgaria
Trolleybus networks operate in the towns of Sofia (since 1941), Plovdiv (1955), Pleven (1985), Varna (1986), Kazanlak (1987 - 1999), Stara Zagora (1988), Ruse (1988), Sliven (1988), Vratsa (1988), Pernik (1989), Veliko Tarnovo 1990, Gabrovo 1990, Haskovo 1990, Burgas 1991, Pazardzik 1993. Millions of people use this transportation daily.
The most developed system in terms of density is in the city of Pleven (population 120,000). 14 trolleybus lines operate in Pleven at total network and only one bus line. The largest system is in Sofia (population 1.2 million): .
Canada
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Canada.
Trolleybuses are currently used in Edmonton and Vancouver. Edmonton's city government proposed retiring its aging fleet but public opinion was against it. On 18 June 2008, city council voted 7-6 in favour of phasing out the trolley system in 2009 and 2010. Vancouver's aging trolley fleet was recently replaced with newer models, one of which was loaned to the Edmonton Transit System in 2007/8. Trolleybuses in Hamilton, where they were referred to as "trolley coaches", were used from 1951 until 1992, when they were replaced by diesel and natural gas powered buses. Toronto maintained a sizable fleet of trolleybuses from 1922 through 1927, and again from 1947 through 1993, when they were replaced with diesel buses.
Chile
Valparaíso, one of the largest cities of Chile and with a historic quarter declared a world heritage site by UNESCO, has the only trolleybus service still working in that country, managed by a private company, Trolebuses de Chile S.A. (formerly Empresa de Transportes Colectivos Eléctricos). The two available routes have the 8- prefix of Valparaíso's new metropolitan mass transit system, as routes 801 and 802, but currently (since September 2007) only route 802 is in operation. The fleet is a remarkable mix of old American, Swiss and Chinese vehicles, making an attractive appeal for tourism. The most famous vehicles are the Pullman-Standards, built in 1946-52, which are the oldest trolleybuses still in service anywhere in the world. They were declared national monuments in 2003 and can still be found working in the streets. The company has faced fierce competition from other, non-electric bus operators, and almost faced bankruptcy several times in the past; however, many Valparaíso inhabitants feel an emotional link to the service, and tend to vigorously defend the maintenance of this privately funded company.
China
- See also: List of trolleybus systems.
Trolleybuses are in use in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Xi'an as well as other locations. Beijing's trolleybus system, the most extensive in China, is served by trolleybuses that have the capability to run for considerable distances on battery power without the overhead wire. In Shanghai, new "supercapacitator" electric buses have been ordered to replace certain trolleybus routes. These "supercapacitator" vehicles charge at terminals and run off of stored electric power.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic has 13 currently operating trolleybus systems, in towns both large and small, and in the past trolleybuses also operated in three other cities. See List of trolleybus systems for details.
There also was a trolleybus testing track, running between the towns of Ostrov nad Ohri and Jáchymov, taking advantage of steep gradients between these towns. It was never used for regular passenger transport, but only for testing trolleybuses made at the Škoda factory in Ostrov. The line was dismantled in 2004, following the cessation of production in this factory.
Ecuador
A distinctive and heavily used trolleybus system opened in Quito in stages in 1995-96. The single-corridor Quito trolleybus system, named "El Trole", is a high-capacity design, featuring dedicated trolleybus-only lanes over almost its entire length and with boarding taking place exclusively at high-platform stations, through all three vehicle doorways simultaneously, akin to modern-day light-rail transit systems (or electrified Bus Rapid Transit). The initial fleet of 54 articulated trolleybuses was expanded to 113 vehicles in 1999-2000. The headway is as short as 90 seconds in peak periods, and average daily patronage now exceeds 250,000 passengers. Extensions to the route were opened in 2000 and 2008, and it is now about in length. Five different overlapping trolleybus services are operated along the corridor. The system inspired the design of a new trolleybus system in Mérida, Venezuela, the first stage of which opened in 2007.
Estonia
Trolleybuses are in use in Tallinn. The first trolleybus line in Tallinn was opened on 6 July 1965. At most there have been nine lines in use. One line was closed on 31 March 2000 with the overhead wires still remaining in place. There has been also talk about a tenth line but this has never been brought to reality. Currently there are eight actively used trolleybus lines in Tallinn.
Old Skoda 14Tr and 15Tr trolleybuses are constantly being replaced with newer low-floor Solaris/Ganz T12 and T18 models.
Finland
Two cities in Finland, Tampere and Helsinki, have had trolleybus systems.
In Tampere trolleybus operations begun in 1948 and ended in 1976. At most extensive seven trolleybus lines were trafficked in the city. Following the end of trolleybus operations, two trolleybuses were preserved in the collection of Tampereen kaupungin liikennelaitos. In Helsinki a single trolleybus line was operated 1949–1974. An attempt to restore trolleybus traffic in Helsinki was made in the late 1970s; this resulted in the acquisition of a prototype trolleybus that was used between 1979 and 1985. Three Helsinki trolleybuses have been preserved. Of these, number 605 is on display at the Helsinki tram museum.
France
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in France.
Trolleybuses are still widely used in Limoges, Lyon, Nancy and Saint-Étienne. These cities have expanded the use of this kind of transport. Among them Lyon is using Cristalis trolleybuses to build a "strong network" at small cost.
Preserved examples of older trolleybuses are kept at the Musée des Transports (AMTUIR) in Colombes.
Germany
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Germany.
Trolleybus networks operate in the towns of Eberswalde (near Berlin), Esslingen (near Stuttgart) and Solingen (near Düsseldorf). There had been over 60 trolleybus companies in the late 1950s, many having replaced under-used tram services.
Greece
Trolleybuses are in use in Athens. The network, which also serves the town of Piraeus, is one of the largest in Europe, with more than 350 trolleybuses. The entire fleet was replaced with new Neoplan and Van Hool trolleybuses from 2001 onward. The system is operated by ILPAP.
Hungary
In Hungary trolleybuses are used in Budapest, in Szeged and in Debrecen. In Budapest the entire fleet is operated by Budapesti Közlekedési Vállalat Zrt.
India
A small trolleybus system operated in Delhi from 1935 until about 1962. Elsewhere, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport of Mumbai, introduced trolleybuses in 1962, and abolished the system in 1971.
Italy
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Italy.
Trolleybuses were reintroduced in Rome in 2005, on a line running northeast from the Termini railway station along Via Nomentana. On the inner-city part of the route, power is supplied from batteries rather than overhead wires.
Trolleybuses are in use in Ancona, Bologna, Cagliari, Chieti, Genova, La Spezia, Milan, Modena, Naples, Parma, Rimini, Rome and San Remo, and a new system is under construction in Lecce. New systems have also been approved, and construction is to begin in 2009, in Avellino and Pescara. Work is under way to reopen the trolleybus system in Bari.
Latvia
Trolleybuses have been used in Riga since 1947. There are 20 trolleybus lines in Riga.
Lithuania
Trolleybuses have been used in Vilnius since 1956 and Kaunas since 1965. There are 20 lines in Vilnius and 17 lines in Kaunas.
Mexico
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos (STE) of Mexico City is currently one of the largest systems in North America. Trolleybuses from many northern cities including Montreal, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Dallas, Little Rock, Cleveland, New Orleans, Shreveport, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco found their way to Mexico City in the 1960s. Since 1981 more than 500 trolleybuses have been purchased new from Mexicana de Autobuses S.A. (MASA), fitted with electrical equipment by various suppliers (including Hitachi, Toshiba, Kiepe and Mitsubishi) for batches of vehicles ordered at different times. The size of the fleet in 2008 was around 400.
Guadalajara opened a trolleybus system in 1976 using ex-Chicago trolleybuses dating from 1951-52. The last of those vehicles were withdrawn in 1993, and since then the service has been provided entirely by MASA trolleybuses, most of which had been acquired new in 1982-85.
Nepal
Chinese-built trolleybuses were operated on a route from Kathmandu to Bhaktapur between 1975 and 2001. A limited trolleybus service was restarted in 2003, and there were plans to expand it, but these have not come to fruition. Trolleybus operation appears to have ended again, in 2008, but it is not known whether this cessation will be permanent.
The Netherlands
Trolleybuses are in use in Arnhem.
New Zealand
Wellington has the only remaining public transport trolleybus system in Australasia The current fleet of Volvo B58 trolleybuses are being phased out in favour of new Designline trolleybuses, which continue to operate as part of the city's public transport network. In Foxton and at the Ferrymead Heritage Park, located in Christchurch, preserved trolleybuses operate for the public on their own systems. The Ferrymead system has trolleybuses from every New Zealand city that operated trolleybuses.
North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)
Trolleybuses have operated in Pyongyang since 1962, with a large fleet serving several routes. Due to the closed nature of North Korea, the existence of trolleybus networks in other North Korean cities was generally unknown outside the country for many years, but it is now known that around 12 to 15 other cities also possess trolleybus systems, among them Chongjin and Nampho. A few other places have private, very small (in some cases using only one or two vehicles) trolleybus systems built exclusively for the purpose of transporting workers from a housing area to a nearby coal mine or other industrial site—or at least did at some time within recent years. Limited information reveals that the trolleybuses used in North Korea include both imported and locally made vehicles. Imported buses are from Europe (and Eastern Europe) and copied versions from China. There are a few local manufacturers of trolleybuses. There has never been a trolleybus system in South Korea.
Norway
In Bergen, Norway, trolleybuses have been in use since 1950.
Poland
Three Polish cities currently operate trolleybuses: Lublin, Tychy and Gdynia.
Portugal
Coimbra is the only city in Portugal that has this kind of transportation. They are operated by SMTUC a municipal service. The present fleet consists of about 20 units built by Salvador Caetano/EFACEC.
Romania
In addition to Bucharest, which has a large trolleybus system (more than 300 vehicles, serving 19 routes), trolleybuses run in Baia Mare, Brasov, Cluj, Constanta, Galati, Medias, Piatra Neamt, Ploiesti, Târgu Jiu, Sibiu, Timisoara and Vaslui. One "DAC 117 E" (1987) is preserved by the TRANSIRA Association.
Russian Federation
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Russia.
Trolleybus systems operate in 87 Russian cities, including the largest network in the world in Moscow.
Russian transport museums have a variety of historic trolleybuses made by local manufacturers. In Moscow vintage vehicles are only available to the public at transport-dedicated exhibitions and parades of old vehicles on various celebration days. In Saint Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod museum vehicles also may be hired for city excursions and parties.
Serbia
Four trolleybus lines exist in Belgrade. Three of them are basically a variation of the original line established shortly after World War II with Russian-made vehicles, with the same terminus in the heart of old downtown next to the Kalemegdan fortress and the extension of outlying terminals in three directions like a fork. The fourth is a completely independent line built perpendicular to the other three. It was constructed in the early 1980s.
Slovakia
The first trolleybus system on the territory of today's Slovakia connected Poprad with Starý Smokovec and was in service from 1904 until 1906. The second trolleybus system was built in 1909 in Bratislava, but served only until 1915. The route led to a hilly recreational area Zelezna studnicka and the cars' motors were fed by means of a special 4-wheel bogie, running on a pair of wires and connected to the vehicle by a cord. Trolleybuses in Bratislava were reintroduced in 1943, now with a modern, two-pole feeding. In 1962, trolleybus system was introduced in Presov. At the end of 1980s and the beginning of 1990s, three more towns introduced trolleybuses - Banská Bystrica (1989), Žilina (1994) and Košice (1993). All vehicles operating in Slovakia were made by Škoda.
Spain
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Spain.
Trolleybuses ran from 1962 to 1969 in Castellón de la Plana and until 1989 in Pontevedra. They returned to Castellón de la Plana in 2007 with a new line installation that went into operation 25 June 2008. The Irisbus Civis vehicles are optically guided and are capable of switching to diesel engine power for turning in front of the Parque Ribalto.
Sweden
In Landskrona, a single trolleybus route connects the railway station and the wharf area. The system opened in 2003 and employs just three trolleybuses, making it one of the world's smallest existing trolleybus installations. Forty years earlier, trolleybus systems had existed in Göteborg and Stockholm, the latter having been a large system with 12 routes.
Switzerland
lighTram 3 in Zurich (24.7 m)]]
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Switzerland.
Trolleybuses are in use in several Swiss cities including: Lausanne (10 lines), Lucerne (7 lines), Geneva (6 lines), Zurich (6 lines), Berne (5 lines), St. Gallen (4 lines), Neuchâtel (4 lines), Winterthur (4 lines), Fribourg (3 lines), La Chaux-de-Fonds (3 lines), Biel (2 lines), Schaffhausen (1 line), Vevey-Montreux (1 line). The last trolleybus ran in Basel on 30 June 2008.
In Lausanne, the Association RétroBus preserves old trolleybuses (from 1932) and enables them to circulate in town, especially on summer weekends.
Ukraine
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in Ukraine.
Trolleybus systems run in more than 25 Ukrainian cities, including the intercity Crimean network, connecting Simferopol with the cities of Alushta and Yalta on the seashore. The Crimean trolleybus network also comprises the longest trolleybus route in the world, the route from Yalta to Simferopol, which is over 85 kilometers long. Trolleybuses running on this route are also the only ones in the world that require seat reservations.
United Kingdom
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in the United Kingdom.
Leeds Trolleybus is a proposed new trolleybus system in Leeds, England. Currently, no trolleybus systems remain in operation in the U.K., but more than 50 systems existed in the past, and a large number of trolleybuses have been preserved at British museums. The world's largest collection of preserved trolleybuses is at The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft in England. Examples are also preserved at the East Anglia Transport Museum and the Black Country Living Museum in England. The Bradford Trolleybus Association is currently restoring a Bradford Trolleybus 758, the last rear entrance trolleybus in Britain, which is kept at Sandtoft. The last trolleybuses in the United Kingdom ran in Bradford in 1972.
United States of America
- See also: List of trolleybus systems in the United States.
Current operations:
- Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Silver Line.
- Cambridge, Massachusetts, as part of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Part of SEPTA
- San Francisco, California, with extensive routes throughout the San Francisco Muni system
- Seattle, Washington King County Metro
- Dayton, Ohio, as part of the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority
- The Illinois Railway Museum in Union, maintains an historical collection of 17 trolleybuses from Chicago, Dayton, Cleveland, Des Moines, Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle and Milwaukee. Several of the preserved coaches provide regularly scheduled operations for visitors over the museum's 4/10 mile demonstration line.
- There are a number of historic trolleybuses in the collection of the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine. Most are only on display, but a few are in operating condition, and the museum has an approximately quarter-mile trolleybus line, on which operation currently only takes place on about two or three weekends each year
Gallery
See also
Books
- Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1973). Transit’s Stepchild, The Trolley Coach (Interurbans Special 58). Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 73-84356.
- Sebree, Mac; and Ward, Paul (1974). The Trolley Coach in North America (Interurbans Special 59). Los Angeles: Interurbans. LCCN 74-20367.
- Porter, Harry; and Worris, Stanley F.X. (1979). Trolleybus Bulletin No. 109: Databook II. North American Trackless Trolley Association (defunct).
- Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Trolleybooks (UK). ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
- Mick Leak (2006). The Story Of Britain's Last Rear Entrance Trolleybus In Public Service - Bradford 758. Published By The Bradford Trolleybus Association. Bradford. United Kingdom.
Periodicals
- Trolleybus Magazine (ISSN 0266-7452). National Trolleybus Association (UK). Bimonthly.
- Trackless, the quarterly magazine published by the Bradford Trolleybus Association for its members.
- Trolleybus, the monthly magazine of the British Trolleybus Society (UK).
Other sources
- , accessed January 30, 2004
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External links
- - Features photos of Trolleybuses in Vancouver & Edmonton (Canada), Wellington (New Zealand), Geneva (Switzerland), Rome (Italy) and Seattle (USA)
- MOTAT Trolley Bus collection. Auckland (New Zealand).
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