| Warsaw trolleybus system | |||||||||||||||
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 One of Warsaw's ex-St. Gallen trolleybuses, after its sale to the city of Gdynia | |||||||||||||||
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| Locale | Warsaw, Poland | ||||||||||||||
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A Warsaw trolleybus system formed part of the public transport network of Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, during two separate periods. The first trolleybus system was established in 1946 and lasted until 1973. [1] It had a maximum of 10 routes. The second system, comprising only one route, was in operation from 1983 until 1995. [1]
During World War II, most of the mass transit infrastructure in Warsaw was destroyed. The city was in need of a cheap and efficient transport network. In 1945, thirty secondhand trolleybuses, along with material for installation of overhead lines, were obtained from the Moscow trolleybus system, in the Soviet Union, and the first two lines in Warsaw opened on 5 January 1946. [1] [2] They operated from Plac Unii Lubelskiej to Warszawa Gdańska train station, and from the Łazienkowska depot to the city centre (ulica Piękna). In March 1946, another line was opened (Plac Saski–Bonifraterska), but was closed and replaced by trams in December. By 1955, five new trolleybus lines were opened and existing ones extended, covering mainly the city centre.
The first system's fleet had also included 15 French-built Vétra trolleybuses, purchased new in 1947, and 30 East German-built LOWA vehicles, received in 1952–53. [2] These were later supplanted by trolleybuses built by Škoda, in what was then Czechoslovakia. They included seven of model 7Tr, 45 of model 8Tr and 77 of model 9Tr, [3] though not all in service during the same periods.
1967 started a period of fast decline in both the number of trolleybuses and the trolleybus lines in Warsaw. The national government policy at the time was that as much Polish coal as possible be exported while the oil be imported at very low prices from the USSR. It was decided that electricity production should be decreased in order to save coal for export.[ citation needed ] The last trolleybus line (52) closed on 29 June 1973. [1] [2]
The last period of the Warsaw trolleybus history started in 1977, when it was decided that the existing vehicles should be used on a new line between Warsaw and the southern suburb of Piaseczno. An additional longer route to Piaseczno was planned, through Wilanów, Powsin and Konstancin-Jeziorna. However, economic conditions made construction of the latter line impossible, and only the former, on the direct route between Warsaw and Piaseczno, was opened. This single route, numbered 51, opened on 1 June 1983, returning trolleybus service to Warsaw. [1] [4] In the meantime, it had been decided to purchase new trolleybuses, and these came from Uritsky (ZIU), in Russia, model ZIU-682. These wore a red-and-cream paint scheme. [4] New trolleybuses were also purchased from the Polish manufacturer, Jelcz. Route 51 was 12.5 km (7.8 mi) long, and the depot (garage) was located only about 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the outer end of the line. [4]
After 1989 it became apparent that the ZIU trolleybuses were in need of replacement, and that the cost of running a single line was very high. In 1992, additional trolleybuses were acquired secondhand from the St. Gallen trolleybus system, in Switzerland. These comprised St. Gallen trolleybuses 119–130, [5] built in 1957–58 by Saurer, and a number of passenger trailers, built in 1969–70. These entered service in 1992, with new fleet numbers but keeping their green-and-cream St. Gallen livery. The ZIU trolleybuses were withdrawn in 1993. [6] By 1995, the 1957 Saurer trolleybuses had become "among the oldest trolleybuses still in service anywhere in the world". [7]
In 1995, the Warsaw City Council decided to discontinue the service. The final day of operation was 31 August 1995. [1] [8] The trolleybus depot at Iwiczna, in Piaseczno, was closed, [9] and the vehicles were placed in storage. The decision was taken to reduce costs. The depot had been designed for 300 vehicles but was only being used by 39 (counting trailers). [9] In July 2000, what had been an indefinite closure was made permanent. The remaining vehicles were sold to Gdynia and Lublin, and to various museums.
The Boston-area trolleybussystem forms part of the public transportation network serving Greater Boston in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It opened on April 11, 1936, and since 1964 has been operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). It currently includes two physically isolated networks: one serving the towns of Cambridge, Belmont, and Watertown, the other – the Silver Line (Waterfront) – located in the city of Boston proper. Prior to 1964, several additional trolleybus lines were in operation in Boston proper. Measured by fleet size, the system was the third-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak, with only the Chicago and Atlanta systems having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463.
Electric Transit, Inc. (ETI) was a joint venture between the Škoda group in the Czech Republic and AAI Corporation in the United States which made trolleybuses for the Dayton and San Francisco trolleybus systems, constructing a total of 330 trolleybuses. ETI was formed in 1994, and ownership was divided as 65% by Škoda and 35% by AAI. The latter was a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation. Up to that time, Škoda had built more than 12,000 trolleybuses since 1935, but none for cities outside Europe and Asia. The ETI joint venture was dissolved in 2004, shortly after an unsuccessful bid to supply trolleybuses to Vancouver.
Franz Brozincevic & Cie (FBW) was a Swiss maker of trucks, motorbuses and trolleybuses, founded by Croatian-born engineer and constructor Franjo (Franz) Brozinčević (1874-1933), active between 1922 and 1985 and based in Wetzikon, canton of Zürich.
Servicio de Transportes Eléctricos de la Ciudad de México (STE) is a public transport agency responsible for the operation of all trolleybus and light rail services in Mexico City. As its name implies, its routes use only electrically powered vehicles. It was created on 31 December 1946 and is owned by the Mexico City government. STE is overseen by a broader Federal District authority, Secretaría de Transportes y Vialidad, which also regulates the city's other public transport authorities, including Sistema de Transporte Colectivo, Red de Transporte de Pasajeros del Distrito Federal and Metrobús, as well as other forms of transportation in the district. STE's passenger vehicle fleet consists exclusively of trolleybuses, light rail, and aerial lift vehicles, and in 2007 its network carried 88 million passengers, of which 67 million were on trolleybus services and 21 million on light rail.
Trolleybuses in Naples provide a portion of the public transport service in the city and comune of Naples, in the region of Campania, southern Italy. Two independent trolleybus systems are in operation, both publicly owned. That of Azienda Napoletana Mobilità (ANM) opened in 1940, whereas the smaller trolleybus network of Compagnia Trasporti Pubblici di Napoli (CTP) opened in 1964. As of 2021, the ANM system has five routes – one of which are temporarily suspended – and the CTP has one. Worldwide, Naples is one of only two metropolitan areas possessing two independent trolleybus systems as of 2011, the other being São Paulo, Brazil.
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 two-thirds 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.
The Izmir trolleybus system formed part of the public transport network in the city of Izmir, Turkey, from 1954 to 1992. Operated by ESHOT, the system was one of four trolleybus systems to have existed in Turkey, along with ones in Ankara, Istanbul, and Malayta. Prior to the opening of the Malatya system, in 2015, the Izmir system had been the last surviving trolleybus system in Turkey at the time of its closure in 1992. Trolleybuses operated mainly in Konak, with lines to Buca, Balçova and Tepecik.
The Vancouver trolley bus system forms part of the TransLink public transport network serving Metro Vancouver in the Canadian province of British Columbia. In operation since 1948, the system presently comprises 13 routes and is managed by the Coast Mountain Bus Company, a subsidiary of TransLink. It uses a fleet of 262 trolley buses, of which 74 are articulated vehicles.
The Dayton trolleybus system forms part of the public transportation network serving Dayton, in the state of Ohio, United States. Opened on April 23, 1933, it presently comprises five lines, and is operated by the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority, with a fleet of 45 trolleybuses.
The Ashgabat trolleybus system formed part of the public transport network in Ashgabat, the capital city of Turkmenistan. It was the only trolleybus system ever in that country.
The Urgench trolleybus system links Urgench, the capital city of Khorezm Province in western Uzbekistan, with the neighbouring city of Khiva. Since the closure of the Tashkent trolleybus system in 2010, it has been Uzbekistan's only trolleybus system.
The Santos trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network in Santos, a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Opened on 12 August 1963, it presently comprises only one line, and, along with the two São Paulo metropolitan area trolleybus systems, is one of only three trolleybus systems still operating in Brazil.
The Mendoza trolleybus system is part of the public transport network in Mendoza, the capital city of Mendoza Province, Argentina. It is owned by the provincial government.
The Rosario trolleybus system is part of the public transport network in Rosario, the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.
The Tehran trolleybus system serves Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Opened in 1992, it is the only trolleybus system ever to have existed in Iran. At its maximum extent, the system had five routes, served by at least 65 trolleybuses. The system closed in 2013, but reopened in 2016 with one route and a fleet of around 30 modernised Škoda 15Tr.
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 St. Gallen trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network of St. Gallen, the capital city of the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
As of 2012 there were around 300 cities or metropolitan areas where trolleybuses were operated, and more than 500 additional trolleybus systems have existed in the past. For complete lists of trolleybus systems by location, with dates of opening and closure, see List of trolleybus systems and the related lists indexed there.
The Ganja trolleybus system was a system of trolleybuses forming part of the public transport arrangements in Ganja, the second most populous city in Azerbaijan, for most of the second half of the 20th century.
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