Castellón de la Plana trolleybus

The route in the inner city area

Route length:

Direction Grao: 7.765 km
Direction Universidad Jaume I: 8.2 km

		Note: the section covered with the auxiliary drive is shown in light blue, the electrified sections in dark blue.

		Universidad Jaume I.
		Arrabal Universitario
		Puente Siglo XXI
		Estación Intermodal
		Paseo Morella / Parque Ribalta

		Plaza Tetuán
		Avenida Rey Don Jaime
		Puerta del Sol
		Cardona Vives
		Plaza Borrull
		Avenida Mar / Ant. Asilo

		Avenida Mar / Calle Torreblanca
		Avenida Mar / Calle Columbretes
		Avenida Mar / Recinto Ferial
		Avenida del Mar / Autovía Puerto
		Avenida del Mar / Camino Donación
		Avenida del Mar / Patos
		Avenida del Mar / Instituto
		Grao

The trolleybus Castellón de la Plana is the only trolleybus operator in Spain ; the first and so far only line in the university town of Castellón de la Plana went into operation in 2008. It is run by the local transport company Autotransportes Colectivos Castellonenses SA , ACCSA for short . Nineteen years after the closure of the Pontevedra plant , which was closed in 1989, trolleybuses are now operating again in Spain.

A special feature of today's trolleybus operation in Castellón is the routing, which is predominantly based on its own routes, and the optical lane guidance based on the French CiVis system . Before it was introduced, the system was known locally as TVRCas - T ransporte en V ía Reservada de Cas tellón, but has been under the brand name TRAM since its inception . This abbreviation stands for TRA nsporte M etropolitano de la Plana.

Before that, there was already a small trolleybus operation in Castellón from 1962 with only four Pegaso cars , but this could not prevail over the competition from narrow-gauge railways and numerous diesel bus routes. It was therefore discontinued in 1969 after only seven years of operation.

history

opening

The only trolleybus line T1, to distinguish it from the conventional bus line 1 with the addition T for TRAM, was initially only 2.037 kilometers long when it opened on June 25, 2008 and served a total of five stops between Universidad Jaume I and Parque Ribalta . The trolleybus initially ran in rush hour every five minutes with three round trips. In the off- peak hours and during the semester break, only two laps were made every eight minutes. On the weekend, however, there was only one course every 15 or 30 minutes. The one-way trip took seven minutes. At the provisional terminus Parque Ribalta there was a roundabout as a turning loop , but it was not spanned by an overhead line . Therefore, the courses had to reverse there with their auxiliary drive . In addition, the terminal at the university was only approached during the lecture period, otherwise the cars initially ended one stop earlier and turned there with the auxiliary drive.

renewal

As a result of the euro crisis, the extension between Parque Ribalta and Grao only went into operation on December 20, 2014, since then the route has been 7.765 or 8.2 kilometers long, depending on the direction of travel, and comprises 19 stations. At the previous terminus Parque Ribalta, an electrified turning loop was created as part of the extension, which makes it easier for the amplifier courses that continue to end there to turn around.

In the area of the historic city center of Castellón, there has also been a 1.8 or 2.2 kilometer long catenary wireless section, which is passed with the auxiliary drive, since the extension. This is intended to avoid any visual impairment of the cityscape. The depot is located off the electrified route and can therefore only be reached with the auxiliary drive.

vehicles

When it opened, there were initially only three twelve-meter long three-door solo trolleybuses of the Cristalis type from the French manufacturer Irisbus with the road numbers 146 to 148, which were later given the new numbers 1, 2 and 3. For the extension to Grao, six Trollino 12 solo trolleybuses of the same length with the numbers 7-12 were also procured, supplied by the Polish manufacturer Solaris Bus & Coach and whose electrical equipment comes from Škoda from the Czech Republic.

The main difference between the two types is their auxiliary drive. While the older cars have an auxiliary diesel drive in accordance with the Euro 3 emissions standard , with which they are not allowed to drive on the catenary-free section in the city center, the younger cars have an additional traction battery that enables continuous emission-free operation. The Cristalis cars are therefore only used on the reinforcement courses between Universidad Jaume I and Parque Ribalta.