La Spezia trolleybus

La Spezia trolleybus
A trolleybus on line 3
Basic information
Country	Italy
city	La Spezia
opening	1906
operator	ATC Esercizio
Infrastructure
Route length	24.8 km
Depots	Canaletto
business
Lines	two
vehicles	7 Solaris Trollino 12
statistics
Passengers	2.2 million per year

The La Spezia trolleybus is an electrically operated means of transport in the Ligurian port city of La Spezia in Italy . The 24.8 km long network consists of two lines and is operated by the ATC Esercizio transport company, transporting 2.2 million passengers annually.

Lines

The trolleybus network consists of two lines:

line	route
1	Pegazzano - Via Chiodo - Comune - Canaletto - Bragarina
3	Chiappa - Stazione Centrale - Via Chiodo - Comune - Stazione Migliarina - Canaletto

history

Trolleybus 203 of the type Fiat 668 Viberti in 1958

Between 1906 and 1909 La Spezia owned one of the first trolleybus networks in Italy. The route, mainly used for tests, ran from the city center to Fezzano. Vehicles of the type Omnibus Turrinelli were used , which were classified under the numbers 31 to 34.

After the Second World War , a more modern network was established in 1951.

In 1966 a total of three lines were operated, with 1 and 3 serving the same route in different directions. Starting from the respective endpoints in the south-west, the loop through Migliarina and Canaletto in the north-east was reached by means of a long branch drive, so that the center was crossed twice in each direction of travel.

line	route	annotation
1	Chiappa → Stazione Centrale → Via Chiodo → Stazione Migliarina → Canaletto → Via Chiodo → Pegazzano
2	Cadimare - Marola - Via Chiodo - Canaletto - Pagliari - Muggiano	Discontinued in 1978
3	Pegazzano → Via Chiodo → Canaletto → Stazione Migliarina → Via Chiodo → Stazione Centrale → Chiappa

In 1978 trolleybus line 2 was discontinued, which resulted in the switch to buses between Cadimare and Muggiano.

In 1998, after more than 30 years, the loop through Migliarina and Canaletto was split up and line 1 from Canaletto to Bragarina was extended. Since then, line 3, coming from Stazione Migliarina, has ended in the Canaletto block loop.

In 2005, electrical operations on line 3 had to be suspended due to construction work on Corso Nazionale and Piazzale Ferro. As a result, trolleybus operations reached a historic low with just three trips on line 1 every 20 minutes.

On March 30, 2007, the new Palaspezia turning loop was put into operation in the northeast of the network. As a result, the trolleybuses drove on line 1 between May 12, 2007 and September 11, 2008 alternately to Bragarina and Palaspezia. At the same time, a ten-minute cycle was introduced. Between September 12, 2008 and March 31, 2011, only the branch to Bragarina was served every twelve minutes, which required six cars. From April 1, 2011, Line 1 was given a significantly thinner timetable, with only three laps every 20 minutes.

In 2012, electrical operation was discontinued for around two years, as extensive renovation work is planned for the current trolleybus depot. The trolleybuses have to move to another depot without a contact line connection. Due to their weak battery emergency drive system , they can only be moved at walking pace without overhead lines, which makes it impossible to use them during the construction phase.

On March 20, 2014, electrical operation was resumed on both trolleybus routes.

depot

The trolleybus depot is located in Canaletto to the east of the block loop used by both lines and is connected with an approximately 100-meter-long service line through Via Don Giovanni Bosco .

vehicles

Before the temporary cessation of operations, the car park consisted of 14 solo cars of the type Breda 4001.12 , five of which were last used regularly. In 2014, on the occasion of the reopening, seven new Trollino 12 trolleybuses from the Polish manufacturer Solaris went into operation; their electrical equipment was supplied by Vossloh Kiepe . There is also the option of an additional car.

Numbers	piece	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	Art	Construction year	annotation	image
801-814	14th	Breda		4001.12	Solo car	1988	Cars 803 to 807, 809 and 812 to 814 were parked last, now all of them have been taken out of service
815-822	07th	Solaris	Vossloh Kiepe	Solaris Trollino 12	Solo car	2014

Web links

Commons : La Spezia trolleybus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Website of the operator ATC Esercizio (Italian / English)
• Trolleybus La Spezia on Trolleymotion

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Two years pause until new trolley buses arrive  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.trolleymotion.ch  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 3, 2015 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. 
3. ↑ Eight trolleybuses are being equipped by Vossloh-Kiepe  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on www.trolleymotion.ch  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.