Sukhumi trolleybus
The Sukhumi trolleybus is the main form of public transport in Sukhumi . It is the only trolleybus network in Abkhazia and the last one still in existence in Georgia .
history
In 1964, the construction of the first trolleybus line began in Sukhumi, the then capital of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic . It ran from the northwest (intersection Dzerzhinskovo / Eschba) past the train station and through the city center to Turbasa and was opened as Line 1 on January 3, 1968. It had a length of 22 km. On April 30, 1968, it was extended from Turbasa to Kelasuri. On April 22, 1970, line 2 between Zentralny Rynok (market) and Kelasuri began operations. From 1969 to 1972, a depot was built west of the terminus of line 1 in Letschkop and connected to the line network on May 1, 1972. Line 4 to Zentralny Rynok was set up for this purpose. In August 1977 line 2 was extended from Kelasuri to Kashak. Line 1 continued to end in Kelasuri, but line 3 from Kaschtak to Letschkop was newly introduced. The trolleybus network was further expanded on September 7, 1981 with the construction of a branch in the west to Schelesnodoroschny Possjolok, which was operated by line 3. Lines 1 and 4 remained at the old terminus in Letschkop; they were extended on October 5, 1982 by a loop ride to the Letschkop microrajon (Nowy Rajon). In August 1983, a section was added from Zentralny Rynok west to Mayak. It was served by a new line 4A Mayak - Mikrorajon Letschkop. The Sukhumi trolleybus network thus reached its maximum extent with a route length of 42.8 km. In the 1980s, line 3 was withdrawn from Kashtak and the terminus was moved to Zentralny Rynok.
In 1987 there were five trolleybus routes in Sukhumi:
1 Kelasuri microrajon Letschkop
2 Zentralny Rynok – Kashtak
3 Zentralny Rynok – Schelesnodorozhny Possjolok
4 Zentralny Rynok – Mikrorajon Letschkop
4A Zentralny Rynok – Mayak
As in many other Georgian cities, there were extensive expansion plans at the end of the 1980s, including a 30 km long overland line via Gulripschi to Babushara Airport . Before the end of the Soviet Union , however, it was no longer possible to begin with these network expansions.
The service of Mayak by line 4A was stopped in 1990 and the line Zentralny Rynok - Mayak was dismantled by 1991. As a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, a civil war broke out in which Abkhazia tried to split off from Georgia. As a result, the trolleybus operation had to be completely stopped in November 1992. He was resumed in April 1994 on the section Zentralny Rynok – Kelasuri. The route to Mayak was subsequently rebuilt, but in 2004 the entire pre-war network was still not served. Only lines 1 and 2 were in use in 2004:
1 Zentralny Rynok – Mikrorajon Letschkop
2 Mayak – Kelasuri
The missing sections to Schelesnodoroschny Possjolok and to Kashtak were put back into operation in the following years, so that in 2008 the entire network could be served again. In 2008 and 2009 the following lines operated:
1 Zentralny Rynok – Mikrorajon Letschkop
2 Mayak – Kashtak
3 Lechkop – Kashtak micro bayon
4 Zentralny Rynok – Schelesnodorozhny Possjolok
Line 3 was subsequently discontinued, but all lines continued to operate.
vehicles
15 ZiU-5s were available for the start of operations. Another 25 trolleybuses of the same type were procured for the subsequent network expansion. The last ZiU-5 were retired in 1980. From 1974 to 1976 six ZiU-9 and five Škoda 9Tr were added. Until 1980 the ZiU-9 and Škoda 9Tr were procured in parallel, these were 21 ZiU-9 and 16 Škoda 9Tr. The total inventory in 1980 consisted of 24 ZiU-9 and 21 Škoda 9Tr. At the end of the 1980s, two Škoda 14Trs and more ZiU-9s were added, but the number sank to 32 trolleybuses by 1990.
After the end of the Soviet Union, as with all Georgian trolleybus networks, no new purchases were initially possible. As a result, the available fleet decreased to twelve vehicles by 2003. With support from Russia, three ZiU-682Gs built in 1993 came from Moscow to Sukhumi in 2003 . In 2004 seven new ZiU-682G-016 were procured. Ten further trolleybuses of this type from the years 2001 and 2002 were handed over from Moscow to Sukhumi in 2005. This enabled the expansion of traffic to the pre-war level.
Again with support from Russia, the entire vehicle fleet could already be replaced in 2010. 20 trolleybuses of the type ZiU-682G-016.04 and five of the type Trolsa 5275.07 Optima were delivered to Sukhumi , they are used for all traffic today.
literature
Sergei Tarkhov: Trolleybuses in Georgia - Part 3 . In: Trolleybus Magazine . No. 239 , 2001, ISSN 0266-7452 , p. 98-104 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Peter Haseldine: Trolley News . In: Trolleybus Magazine . No. 264 , 2005, ISSN 0266-7452 , p. 136 .
- ↑ Peter Haseldine: Trolley News . In: Trolleybus Magazine . No. 278 , 2008, ISSN 0266-7452 , p. 135 .
- ↑ Peter Haseldine: Trolley News . In: Trolleybus Magazine . No. 290 , 2010, ISSN 0266-7452 , p. 41 .
- ↑ www.trolleymotion.ch: Vehicle fleet completely renewed ( 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.
