Trolleybus Leoben

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The Leoben trolleybus served the main lines of inner-city traffic from 1949 to 1973.

history

In the city of Leoben , the center of the Styrian iron industry, passenger traffic to the workplaces in the steelworks increased to such an extent that the existing bus connections were no longer sufficient. So it was decided, following the trend at the time, to connect Leoben with its Donawitz district and further with Trofaiach , where there was a powder factory, but also large housing estates, by a trolleybus operation. However, due to the difficulties in procuring the vehicles and electrical equipment caused by the war, the planned opening date in 1944 could not be kept.

The expansion of the route network only began a few years after the end of the war. On March 1, 1949, Stadtwerke Leoben opened the first line D with a length of six kilometers from Leoben main station through the city center to Donawitz and extended there on September 21, 1953 from the center of the village to the western end of the village. In the meantime, as early as December 20, 1952, line G, which branched off the main line in the city center and was three kilometers long, led south across the Mur to the Göß district. The third line L, which began operating on July 18, 1959, was the shortest with a length of two kilometers; it began at the main square and ended in Lerchenfeld at the main cemetery. A maximum of eight trolleybuses were in use. The 1969 timetable provided for a 30-minute cycle on lines D and G (later A and B); Line B was reinforced from Hauptplatz by Line C to a 15-minute cycle. The trolleybus had proven its efficiency even after the war; however, the network remained fully operational for just under four years.

The end of the development of the eleven-kilometer route network was triggered by the electrification of the ÖBB routes in and around Leoben, with which there were level crossings. Because of the crossing with the connecting line Bruck an der Mur - St. Michael at the Göss train station, the main line D was interrupted and had to be served by diesel buses from March 25, 1963. In addition, the other trolleybus lines were cut off from the 1961 depot in Donawitz and the trolleybuses had to be towed from there to the city center.

At first it was hoped to be able to solve the problem by building an underpass, but over the years the diesel bus operation became more and more important, so that on October 1, 1970 the line from the main station to Göß was also discontinued. The relatively new line L (since 1969 line G) remained in operation with two trolleybuses every quarter of an hour until July 13, 1973. Then the entire trolleybus traffic ended in Leoben.

literature

  • Herbert Wöber: Trolleybuses in Austria, Vienna 1952
  • Hans Lehnhart: Trolleybus operation in Leoben closed, in Stadtverkehr Issue 3/1974, page 109