Trolleybuses in Winterthur

Winterthur trolleybus system

A Mercedes-Benz O405 GTZ trolleybus at
Winterthur Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
Operation
Locale Winterthur, Switzerland
Open 1938 (1938)
Status Open
Routes 3
Operator(s) Stadtbus Winterthur
Overview
Website Stadtbus Winterthur (German)

The Winterthur trolleybus system (Alemannic German: Trolleybus System Winterthur) forms part of the public transport network that serves Winterthur, in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland.

Opened on 28 December 1938, the system gradually replaced the Winterthur tramway network.

History

The individual line sections of the Winterthur trolleybus system went into operation as follows:

28 December 1938 Hauptbahnhof–Wülflingen Lindenplatz (3.1 km) Line 2 Tram replacement
24 July 1941 Hauptbahnhof–Seen (4.2 km) Line 2 Tram replacement
26 April 1948 Hauptbahnhof–Rosenberg Line 3 Bus replacement
6 October 1951 Hauptbahnhof–Oberwinterthur Bahnhof (2.9 km) Line 1 Tram replacement
3 November 1951 Hauptbahnhof–Zentrum Töss (1.8 km) Line 1 Tram replacement
4 October 1960 Wülflingen Lindenplatz–Wülflingen Line 2 New connection
4 October 1960 Hauptbahnhof–Breite–Hauptbahnhof Line 3 Bus replacement
2 June 1965 Zentrum Töss–Töss Line 1 New connection
16 June 1982 Oberwinterthur Bahnhof–Oberwinterthur Line 1 New connection
26 October 1991 Hauptbahnhof–Oberseen Line 6 Bus replacement
6 April 2011 Friedhof / Schachenweg–Rosenberg Line 3 New connection

With the timetable change on 23 May 1982, the Rosenberg line (line 3) was separated from the Breite line (a new line 4). The latter line, which operated as a circle line, was converted back into a diesel bus service on 28 May 1995, and the last remaining traces of its overhead wires disappeared at the end of January 2010.

Meanwhile, in December 2006, lines 3 and 6 were merged into the present line 3.

Lines

The present system is made up of the following lines, all of them cross-city routes:

1 Töss–Hauptbahnhof–Oberwinterthur In rush hour at 6-minute intervals, with 10 trolleybuses.
2 Wülflingen–Hauptbahnhof–Seen In rush hour at 6-minute intervals, with 11 trolleybuses.
3 Rosenberg–Hauptbahnhof–Oberseen In rush hour at 7.5-minute intervals, with 10 trolleybuses.

Fleet

Evolution

The Winterthur trolleybus system was operated initially by conventional length, two-axle vehicles. In 1957, the first five articulated trolleybuses were ordered. They entered service in 1959.

In 1997, Stadtbus Winterthur sold a few trolleybuses to the Romanian city of Timișoara. Other trolleybuses were sold in 1998 to the Bulgarian city of Ruse, and, a year later, to Burgas, also in Bulgaria.

In March 2004, an order for 10 articulated trolleybuses was placed with Solaris Bus & Coach. In November 2005, the first trolleybus in this order was delivered. By the end of 2005, all had entered service; they replaced the Saurer trolleybuses nos. 122-131.

Current fleet

Numbers Quantity Manufacturer Electrical
equipment 		Model Low-floor Year built
101–124 24 Hess Kiepe BGT-N2C yes 2010 - 2013
171–180 10 Solaris Cegelec Trollino 18 yes 2004 / 2005

See also

References

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