Trolleybuses in St. Gallen

St. Gallen trolleybus system
St. Gallen trolleybus system
	VBSG Hess bi-articulated trolleybus no. 189, in 2012.
Operation
Locale	St. Gallen, Switzerland
Open	18 July 1950
Status	Open
Routes	4
Operator(s)	Verkehrsbetriebe St.Gallen [ de ] (VBSG)
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC
Statistics
Route length	22.6 km (14.0 mi)
Overview
	Legend
	This diagram: view ; talk ; edit ;
Website	http://www.vbsg.ch Verkehrsbetriebe der Stadt St. Gallen VBS (in German)

Last updated October 30, 2024

The St. Gallen trolleybus system (Alemannic German : Trolleybussystem St. Gallen) forms part of the public transport network of St. Gallen, the capital city of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

History

In the 1950s, the trolleybus system gradually replaced the St. Gallen tramway network [ de ]. The last tram ran on 30 September 1957. The individual trolleybus line sections went into service as follows:

18 July 1950	Bahnhof–Riethüsli	Line 5	Tramway replacement
15 November 1950	Bahnhof–Heiligkreuz	Line 3	Tramway replacement
1 October 1957	Stocken–Erlachstrasse–Bahnhof–Neudorf	Line 1	Tramway replacement
1968	Neudorf–Stephanshorn	Line 1	New connection
1970	Bahnhof–Rotmonten	Line 5	Motorbus replacement
1 April 1989	Stocken–Bahnhof Winkeln	Line 1	Motorbus replacement
September 1991	Neudorf–Guggeien	Line 1	Motorbus replacement
28 September 1996	Erlachstrasse–Wolfganghof	Line 1	Motorbus replacement
28 May 2000	Bahnhof Winkeln–Winkeln (500 metres)	Line 1	New connection

Lines

The present system is made up of the following lines:

1	Winkeln–Erlachstrasse–Bahnhof–Neudorf–Stephanshorn	Business days at 12-minute intervals	Operated by seven vehicle runs (or duties)
3	Bahnhof–Heiligkreuz	Business days at 7.5-minute intervals	Operated by four vehicle runs
4	Wolfganghof–Erlachstrasse–Bahnhof–Neudorf–Guggeien	Business days at 12-minute intervals	Operated by four vehicle runs
5	Riethüsli–Bahnhof–Rotmonten	Business days at 10-minute intervals	Operated by four vehicle runs

To this day, the Trogenerbahn (Trogen Railway) runs through the inner city between the station and Brühltor on the rails of the former tramway, and thus parallel to the trolleybuses. The two modes of transport still share a common electrical substation. In the relevant section of the common route, the overhead wire voltage is only 600 V DC, as is the rest of the trolleybus system. By contrast, the remainder of the Trogenerbahn route was energised at 1,000 V DC. It now forms part of the Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway and the section that was energised at 1,000 V DC, is now energised at 1,500 V DC.

In Riethüsli, the terminus of Line 5, there is an interchange station for changing between the trolleybus system and the electrically operated Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway. Before the opening of the Ruckhalde Tunnel and rerouting of the line in 2018, the two systems used common overhead catenary poles at that station and suspension wires for about 300 m (980 ft), but were electrically isolated from each other.

Line 4 has existed only since 9 December 2007.^[2] Previously, line 1 had had three different termini from 1991, and four from 1996.

Fleet

Retired fleet

Fleet nos.	Quantity	Built	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	Configuration	Notes
101–118	18	1950	Saurer	BBC		Rigid (two-axle)	Rebodied later; see 131–148
119–130	12	1957–58	Saurer	BBC	4 TP	Rigid (two-axle)	Withdrawn 1991–92
131–148	18	1968–75	Saurer	BBC		Rigid (two-axle)	Chassis ex-101–118 (not in sequence); withdrawn 1985^[3]–92
101–111	11	1984–85	Saurer / Hess	BBC-Sécheron	GT 560/620-25	Articulated	Withdrawn 2008^[4]
151–154, 156–168	17	1991–92	NAW / Hess	ABB	BGT 5-25	Articulated	No. 155 converted to bi-articulated and kept in service (see below); others withdrawn 2008–09^[5]

151–152 (to 1957) 301–302 (from 1957)	02	1953–54	Moser / Ramseier & Jenzer	none		Trailer	Withdrawn
303–327	25	1957	Moser / FFA	none		Trailer	Also hauled by motorbuses; withdrawn starting in 1985^[3]
328–339	12	1969–70	Hess / R&J^[3] or Moser	none		Trailer	Also hauled by motorbuses; withdrawn between 1985^[3] and 1992^[6]

The original group numbered 101–118, the fleet that opened the system in 1950, were rebodied by Hess between 1968 and 1975^[3]^[6] and fitted with a new backup battery. They were simultaneously renumbered as fleet nos. 131–148, but not in the same sequence. Trailer operations ended either in 1991^[7] or in March 1992.^[8]

Disposal abroad

In 1992, all twelve^[9] trolleybuses of the 1957–58 series were sold, together with the 1969–70 trailers, to the Warsaw trolleybus system in Poland, and were placed in service. That system was nevertheless closed soon afterwards, in 1995. One of the former St. Gallen/Warsaw trolleybuses (No. 128) was sold in 2001 to the Gdynia trolleybus system,^[10] also in Poland, where it later came into use as a heritage vehicle, renumbered 3300, operating service occasionally.^[11] By 2012, its original, St. Gallen fleet number of 128 had been restored.^[12]
Trolleybuses 142, 143, 144, 146 and 147 were sold in 1992 to the Valparaíso trolleybus system in Chile, but they were used in service there only briefly – most in 1992 only, with one (142) in sporadic use until 1995 or early 1996.^[13] Since 17 November 2008, ex-St. Gallen trolleybus no. 142 has been used there as a staff break room and souvenir sales outlet at the Barón terminus.^[4]^[14]
Nine type GT 560/620-25 Saurer/Hess trolleybuses (nos. 102–108, 110 and 111)^[4] were donated by the VBSG to the Plovdiv trolleybus system in Bulgaria in 2008 and 2009.
In 2010, the type BGT 5-25 trolleybuses were sold to the Sarajevo trolleybus system [ de ] in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Current fleet

A total of 25 trolleybuses are currently available for use on the St. Gallen system; a maximum of 21 are required simultaneously. The present fleet comprises 17 articulated buses and eight bi-articulated buses, all of which are of low-floor design:

Fleet nos.	Quantity	Built	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	Configuration
155	1	1991 / 2005	NAW / Hess	ABB	BGGT 5-25	bi-articulated
171–187	17	2008	Hess	Kiepe	BGT-N2C	articulated
188–194	7	2009	Hess	Kiepe	BGGT-N2C	bi-articulated

Fleet no. 155, which was originally a single-articulated, high-floor trolleybus, is an exceptional vehicle. Fourteen years after its entry into service, it was lengthened into a bi-articulated vehicle, by the addition of a second, low-floor, trailing segment. Simultaneously, its designation was changed from BGT 5–25 to BGGT 5-25.

Originally it was planned to carry out a similar conversion to eight^[15] or nine^[1] other vehicles of this type. However, due to technical problems with the prototype, it was decided instead to purchase the seven brand-new bi-articulated trolleybuses, nos. 188 to 194.

The bi-articulated vehicles provide a large proportion of the services on lines 1 and 4, although no. 155 runs solely on line 1. By contrast, only normal articulated trolleybuses are used on lines 3 and 5, except on one occasion when bi-articulated vehicles were used on line 3 during a special exhibition.

Related Research Articles

Trogen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The town is the seat of the canton's judicial authorities.

Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) is the main provider of public transport in the Swiss city of Lucerne. It operates some 92 buses and 74 trolleybuses on 25 daytime routes, as well as 5 overnight services and one funicular service.

Carrosserie HESS AG is a bus, trolleybus and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Bellach, Switzerland. Their products can be found operating in several countries, including the United States and Canada.

A bi-articulated bus or double-articulated bus and sometimes train-bus, tram-bus, trackless tram or double bendy bus is a type of high-capacity articulated bus with an extra axle and a second articulation joint, as well as extended length. Bi-articulated buses tend to be employed in high-frequency core routes or bus rapid transit schemes rather than in conventional bus routes.

Trolleybuses in Valparaíso, Chile, have provided a portion of the public transit service since 1952. The trolleybus system is the second-oldest in South America. The originally state-owned system has been privately owned since 1982, and since 1994 it has been Chile's only operational trolleybus system. Almost half of its vehicles were built in 1946–52 by the Pullman-Standard Company, and they are the oldest trolleybuses in regular service anywhere in the world. Those vehicles were collectively declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 2003. They helped the city gain its designation by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and have been called "a heritage sight in their own right" by at least one travel writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trolleybuses in Salzburg</span>

The Salzburg trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network serving Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg in Austria. Opened on 1 October 1940, it replaced the Salzburg tramway network.

The Lausanne trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of Lausanne, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. The system has been in operation since 1932 and is the third-oldest surviving trolleybus system in the world, after those of Shanghai and Philadelphia.

The Fribourg trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in Fribourg, capital of the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. The system also serves the neighbouring municipalities of Villars-sur-Glâne and Givisiez, using one line in each case.

The La Chaux-de-Fonds trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in La Chaux-de-Fonds, in the canton of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.

The Geneva trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the second largest trolleybus system in Switzerland, after the Lausanne system.

The Neuchâtel trolleybus system is part of the public transport network in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Opened in 1940, it gradually replaced the urban lines of the Neuchâtel tramway network.

The Neuchâtel tramway is a tramway forming part of the public transport system in Neuchâtel, a city in Switzerland.

The Lucerne trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of Lucerne, which is the capital city of the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Opened in 1941, the system had replaced the Lucerne tramway network by 1961.

The Bern trolleybus system is part of the public transport network of Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. Opened in 1940, it combines with the Bern S-Bahn, the Bern tramway network and Bern's urban motorbus network to form an integrated all-four style scheme.

The Zurich trolleybus system is part of the public transport network of Zurich, Switzerland. Opened in 1939, it combines the Zurich S-Bahn, the Zurich tramway network and Zurich's urban motorbus network to form an integrated all-four style scheme.

The Montreux/Vevey trolleybus system, also known as the Vevey–Villeneuve trolleybus line, forms part of the public transport network in Montreux and Vevey, in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It comprises a single 12.75 km (7.92 mi) long trolleybus route along the length of the Riviera vaudoise on the north shore of Lake Geneva.

The Schaffhausen trolleybus system is part of the public transport network of Schaffhausen, capital city of the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and the adjacent town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall in the same canton. It is also Switzerland's youngest and smallest such system. Its route, designated as line 1, connects among others Schaffhausen railway station with the Rhine Falls.

Appenzell Railways is a Swiss railway company with headquarters in Herisau. It operates a network of railways in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen and Thurgau.

The St. Gallen–Trogen railway, or Trogenerbahn (TB), is a 9.8 kilometres (6.1 mi) long railway line in Switzerland. It links the city of St. Gallen, in the canton of St. Gallen, with Speicher and Trogen, both in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Passenger service on the line now forms part of the St. Gallen S-Bahn, branded as the S21.

The Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway, also known as the Durchmesserlinie, is a metre gauge interurban tramway in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Ausserrhoden and the city of St. Gallen. It is the steepest adhesion railway in Switzerland with a gradient of up to 8.0% and forms part of the network of the Appenzell Railways (AB) and the St. Gallen S-Bahn. The line's two branches were completed in sections between 1889 and 1904 by the St. Gallen-Gais-Appenzell-Altstätten Railway and the Trogen Railway. The two lines were connected by the AB with a cross-city route in 2018.

References

Notes

1 2 Winterflood, Beat. "Mit dem lighTram wirtschaftlich zu mehr Kapazität" [Economically to greater capacity with the lighTram](PDF) (in German). Hess. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "Geschäftsbericht07" [Annual Report 07](PDF) (in German). City of St. Gallen . Retrieved 11 January 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
1 2 3 4 5 Der Stadtverkehr [ de ] magazine, April–May 1985, p. 199. EK-Verlag. ISSN 0038-9013.
1 2 3 Trolleybus Magazine No. 285 (May–June 2009), pp. 59 and 69. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 287 (September–October 2009), p. 123.
1 2 Trolleybus Magazine No. 194 (March–April 1994), p. 54.
↑ Lehmann, Jürgen. "Übersicht über die Obusbetriebe in der Schweiz, Stand 8/02" [Overview of the trolleybus systems in Switzerland, as at 8/02]. Obus in und um Deutschland (in German). Jürgen Lehmann. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 184 (July–August 1992), p. 103. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 187 (January–February 1993), p. 25.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 247 (January–February 2003), p. 21.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 269 (September–October 2006), p. 115.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 306 (November–December 2012), p. 146.
↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 212 (July–August 1997), pp. 42–43.
↑ Budach, D. (8 February 2010). "Valparaiso: Ganz neue Werwendung!" [Valparaiso: Whole new use!] (in German). TrolleyMotion. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
↑ "Leichtfüssig zu einem echten Tram?" [Tiptoeing towards a genuine tram?] (in German). VCS-St. Gallen / Appenzell. 27 June 2005. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2012.

External links

Media related to Trolleybuses in St. Gallen at Wikimedia Commons

"Trolleybus city: St. Gallen (Schweiz)". Trolleymotion.
St. Gallen database / photo gallery and St. Gallen trolleybus list at Urban Electric Transit – in various languages, including English.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[hess-1] 1 2 Winterflood, Beat. "Mit dem lighTram wirtschaftlich zu mehr Kapazität" [Economically to greater capacity with the lighTram](PDF) (in German). Hess. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.

[bericht-2] "Geschäftsbericht07" [Annual Report 07](PDF) (in German). City of St. Gallen . Retrieved 11 January 2012.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[sv-april85-3] 1 2 3 4 5 Der Stadtverkehr [ de ] magazine, April–May 1985, p. 199. EK-Verlag. ISSN 0038-9013.

[tm285-4] 1 2 3 Trolleybus Magazine No. 285 (May–June 2009), pp. 59 and 69. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.

[tm287-5] Trolleybus Magazine No. 287 (September–October 2009), p. 123.

[tm194-6] 1 2 Trolleybus Magazine No. 194 (March–April 1994), p. 54.

[lehmann-7] Lehmann, Jürgen. "Übersicht über die Obusbetriebe in der Schweiz, Stand 8/02" [Overview of the trolleybus systems in Switzerland, as at 8/02]. Obus in und um Deutschland (in German). Jürgen Lehmann. Retrieved 8 January 2012.

[tm184-8] Trolleybus Magazine No. 184 (July–August 1992), p. 103. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.

[tm187-9] Trolleybus Magazine No. 187 (January–February 1993), p. 25.

[tm247-10] Trolleybus Magazine No. 247 (January–February 2003), p. 21.

[tm269-11] Trolleybus Magazine No. 269 (September–October 2006), p. 115.

[tm306-12] Trolleybus Magazine No. 306 (November–December 2012), p. 146.

[tm212-13] Trolleybus Magazine No. 212 (July–August 1997), pp. 42–43.

[trolleymotion-14] Budach, D. (8 February 2010). "Valparaiso: Ganz neue Werwendung!" [Valparaiso: Whole new use!] (in German). TrolleyMotion. Retrieved 11 January 2012.

[ortsgruppe-15] "Leichtfüssig zu einem echten Tram?" [Tiptoeing towards a genuine tram?] (in German). VCS-St. Gallen / Appenzell. 27 June 2005. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]