The Winterthur

trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...

system () forms part of the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

network that serves

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

, in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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: 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. With the timetable change on 15 Dezember 2024 Line 5 was fully electrified with IMC-Trolleybuses.

Lines

The present system is made up of the following lines:

Fleet

Evolution

The Winterthur trolleybus system was operated initially by conventional length, two-axle vehicles. In 1957, the first five

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...

trolleybuses were ordered. They entered service in 1959. In 1997, Stadtbus Winterthur sold a few trolleybuses to the Romanian city of

Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...

. Other trolleybuses were sold in 1998 to the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n city of Ruse, and, a year later, to

Burgas Burgas (, ), sometimes transliterated as Bourgas, is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fourth-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, an ...

, also in Bulgaria. In March 2004, an order for 10 articulated trolleybuses was placed with

Solaris Bus & Coach Solaris Bus & Coach sp z o.o. is a Polish manufacturer of public transport vehicles (buses, trolleybuses and trams), with its headquarters in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznań. It is a subsidiary of Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Construcciones ...

. In November 2005, the first trolleybus in this order was delivered. By the end of 2005, all had entered service; they replaced the

Saurer Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna (beginning in 1929) brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were ...

trolleybuses nos. 122–131.

Current fleet

File:Trolleybus Saurer in Timisoara.jpg, The former Winterthur

trolleybus 13 from 1960, here in 2005 in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. File:WV Winterthur 128.jpg, Saurer articulated trolleybus 128 from 1982 (since withdrawn), in Oberseen, 2005. File:Winterthur Solaris Trollino 18.jpg, A Solaris Trollino 18 articulated trolleybus in Töss. File:Trolleybus Winterthur.jpg, Swisstrolley 111, an example of the newest Winterthur trolleybus generation.

References

External links

Stadtbus Winterthur – history of public transport in Winterthur

Stadtbus Winterthur – trolleybus fleet

Winterthur public transport map
* * {{Urban public transport in Switzerland Transport in Winterthur

1938 establishments in Switzerland