Hess lightTram trolley

Hess lighTram Trolley is a four-axle double joint - trolleybus . Initially, the type was often only referred to as Hess lighTram , which gradually changed after the introduction of the hybrid variant. The body and chassis are produced by the Swiss company Carrosserie Hess , the electrical equipment by the German company Vossloh Kiepe . The double articulated trolleybus with the official type designation BGGT-N2C for the lighTram 3 or BGGT-N2D for the lighTram 4, also called Megatrolley or Longo , forms with the hybrid-operated double articulated bus lighTram Hybrid , the simple articulated trolleybus Swisstrolley , the Duo-Bus NGT 204 F , the hybrid articulated Swiss hybrid and the diesel bus Swiss diesel and has not yet mass-produced Solotrolleybus Euro Trolley is a family of products.

precursor

The conversion of a Swistrolley 1 resulted in the first lighTram in 2003, which was in use in Geneva until 2016 with the number 721

Two lighTram prototypes based on older articulated trolleybuses already existed for the Geneva trolleybus and the St. Gallen trolleybus before series production began .

In autumn 2003, Transports publics genevois expanded its 709 type Swisstrolley 1 (built in 1993) in collaboration with Hess to include a third vehicle section. After the conversion, the double articulated trolleybus presented in 2004 had the new road number 721 and the new type designation lighTram 1. This loner was in use until 2016.

The transport authority of the city of St. Gallen supplemented end of 2005, the 1991-built high-floor NAW / Hess / ABB -vans 155 type BGT 5-25 by a low-floor trailer. Trial operation started at the beginning of 2006, the new type designation was BGGT 5-25. Originally, eight or nine other old construction vehicles were to be expanded into lighTrams in this way. Due to technical problems with the prototype, however, it was decided to purchase seven new light trams as an alternative (see below). The St. Gallen double-jointed trolley was also parked in 2016.

lighTram 3

Interior view of a St. Gallen light tram, in use on line 4

Technology and design

The lighTram 3 is 24.7 meters long, weighs 24.6 tons and is consistently low-floor . Of the four axles, including two in the front part and one in each joint part, the second and third are driven. In addition to the first, the fourth axle is also steerable. The lighTram is powered by two three-phase motors, which can feed the energy back into the network when braking . In the second lighTram series for Zurich, which will be delivered from 2012, a traction battery is used for the first time instead of the diesel-powered emergency unit.

The design of the lighTram 3 is largely derived from the Swisstrolley 3 offered at the same time. As with the articulated trolley, the double-articulated trolley type also received a facelift in the course of the series. In Zurich, individual stops had to be converted for the scheduled use of the lighTram.

Operations companies

The first production cars were delivered to Geneva from 2005. A total of 37 units of the lighTram 3 were manufactured for the cities of Geneva, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Zurich.

business	network	number	Years of construction	Numbers	commitment	Remarks	Picture [on / off ]
TPG	Geneva	10	2005-2006	781-790	Line 10	CO-BOLT 2 design, double-leaf front door
VBL	Lucerne	03	2006	231-233	Lines 1, 2 and 8	CO-BOLT 2 design, double-leaf front door
VBZ	Zurich	17th	2007-2008	61-77	Lines 31 and 32	Single-leaf front door
VBSG	St. Gallen	07th	2009	188-194	Lines 1 and 2	Double-leaf front door

lighTram 4

In 2012, the lighTram 4 was introduced analogous to the Swisstrolley 4. In addition to the new chassis design, an auxiliary battery drive was installed on a lighTram for the twelve cars for Zurich for the first time . This option was installed in all 23 lighTram4s. The base price of a lighTram in 2013 was 1,622,350 Swiss francs .

Operations companies

The 40 or lighTram 4 produced so far are spread across two cities:

business	network	number	Years of construction	Numbers	commitment	Remarks	Picture [on / off ]
VBZ	Zurich	12	2012	78-89	Lines 31 and 32	Single-leaf front door
VBZ	Zurich	02	2014	90-91	Lines 31 and 32	Single-leaf front door
VBL	Lucerne	09	2014	234-242	Lines 1, 2 and 8	Tram-like front, single-leaf front door
VBL	Lucerne	09	2016	401-409	Lines 1, 2 and 8	Tram-like front, single-leaf front door
VBL	Lucerne	08th	2017	410-417	Lines 1, 2 and 8	Tram-like front, single-leaf front door

For testing purposes, car 78 of the Zurich public transport company was on the trolleybus network in Salzburg at the beginning of October 2012 , where it also completed several passenger trips as an amplifier on line 3. This was followed by a further test run on the Linz trolleybus network from October 12 to 16 , where the vehicle was used on all four lines.

The lighTram 4 was also tested at SYTRAL in Lyon. In addition, the Lucerne car 236 stayed in France from May 30 to June 3, 2016, where trips were made on lines C2 and C3.

Another test in Salzburg took place between the end of September and mid-December 2017 with Lucerne car number 408, whereby the vehicle was used for passenger journeys on line 3 for a long time.

lighTram 5

The fifth generation of the lighTram trolley has been manufactured since 2018.

Operations companies

The 45 lighTram 5 produced or firmly ordered to date are spread across five cities:

business	network	number	Years of construction	Numbers	commitment	Remarks	Picture [on / off ]
SVB	Bern	7th	2018	41-47	Line 20	Delivery from August 2018
VBZ	Zurich	3	2018	92-94	Lines 31, 32	Commissioning September 2018
SVB	Bern	7th	2019	48-54	ordered	Forum post
VBL	Lucerne	5	2019	418-422	Lines 1, 2, 8	Press release (PDF)
TL	Lausanne	12	2020			Press release
VBSG	St. Gallen	11	2020		Lines 3, 4	Press release

Web links

Commons : Hess lighTram trolleybuses  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Information about lighTram 3 at www.hess-ag.ch

Individual evidence

1. ↑ VCS local group on «LighTram»: Light-footed to a real tram? ( Memento of the original from June 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ With the lighTram to more capacity economically ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 219 kB) 
3. ↑ Hess double articulated trolleybus "Longo 2" ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.stadt-zuerich.ch  
4. ↑ City council resolution : Transport companies, procurement of two additional double-articulated trolleybuses for line 31, approval of bound editions (PDF; 94 kB) at www.stadt-zuerich.ch
5. ↑ Hess AG receives an order worth millions from the city of Lucerne on www.solothurnerzeitung.ch
6. ↑ Salzburg - Lucerne greets Salzburg ( memento of the original from October 2, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. News from September 30, 2017 on www.trolleymotion.eu 
7. ↑ Blickpunkt Strassenbahn, issue 6/2017, page 131
8. ↑ Facebook post