RBus
RBus - R stands for rapid - is a package of measures to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of the particularly busy lines of the Lucerne trolleybus network . The concept is based on the globally widespread Bus Rapid Transit concept and is made up of the elements infrastructure, services and rolling stock. Here, RBus relies on priority for public transport , traffic management systems , lane stops, bus lanes , direct tangential lines without having to change trains in the center as well as consistently low-floor double articulated trolleys with high transport capacity. In addition to increasing transport capacity, the goals of the RBus system are above all to reduce travel time on the entire route by an average of ten percent and to increase punctuality , especially during rush hour .
The lines of the RBus system are mainly used with double-articulated trolleys of the Hess lighTram 4 type. The total of 31 vehicles were procured in the run-up to the opening of the RBus in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019 and stand out from the rest of the vehicles on the Lucerne transport network thanks to their special paintwork and wheel covers . They were also the first vehicles in Lucerne to feature a tram- like front design. They are supplemented by three older double-articulated trolleybuses that have been in use since 2006.
RBus is a joint project of the Canton of Lucerne , the Lucerne Community Association, the City of Lucerne , the communities of Kriens , Emmen and Ebikon , the Lucerne Transport Association and the Lucerne Transport Authority. It is also included in the 2009 cantonal structure plan, the cantonal construction program for cantonal roads from 2015 to 2018, the cantonal public transport report from 2014 to 2017 and the AggloMobil due public transport offer concept of the Lucerne transport network. In the final stage, the RBus will take precedence over the rest of the trolleybus network and the bus network and complement the Lucerne S-Bahn , with which the trolleybus network should also be better linked.
prehistory
Corridor Kriens
Despite a 3-minute cycle, line 1 repeatedly reached its capacity limit in the 1990s, which is why the existing NAW / Hess solo trolleybuses were supplemented with seven trailers from 1998 . With this measure, the transport capacity could be increased, but due to the route, the trolleybuses were still stuck in traffic during rush hour. Therefore, the demand soon arose to connect Kriens to a rail transport. In 2002, a study was therefore drawn up in which the connection to Kriens by means of a tram or a light rail was examined. Another part of the study was the examination of a branch line of the narrow-gauge Zentralbahn , after plans for a standard-gauge tram train to Kriens had already been rejected in 1999 .
As the trolleybus line was still overloaded, a further nine trailers were purchased by 2005 and three double-articulated trolleybuses in 2006 to further increase capacity. The former were also used on lines 6 and 8. Since the construction of a rail connection could not be realized within a short time, concepts for a fast bus connection came up. To a relatively modest extent, this idea was implemented on the corridor of line 1 from 2010 onwards by making service trips on line 71 public. Other concepts were the tangential lines Renggloch-Express to Littau / Malters and Sonnenberg-Express to Emmenbrücke. However, these did not go beyond a brief test run in 2009.
After it became known in November 2008 that the Lucerne underground station was under discussion again, the municipality of Kriens commissioned a report which should show variants for the development of public transport. This report came to the conclusion that developing Kriens with a people mover on an elevated route would make sense, since an underground railway is too expensive and a ground level tram is no longer being pursued. A year later the idea of a cable car came up and in 2013 a suspension railway along line 1 was under discussion. The Canton of Lucerne, on the other hand, has been expanding the bus system for several years.
Rontal corridor
The Rontal is a development focus in the north-east of the Lucerne agglomeration, which extends over the municipalities of Ebikon , Dierikon , Buchrain and Root . In contrast to Kriens, the Rontal is not accessible today with the trolleybus line 1, instead the two bus lines 22 and 23 run from Lucerne train station to the development focus. The three lines overlap as far as the city limits at Maihof, as traffic jams often occur in the area of the Bahnhofsplatz and in Zürichstrasse, the idea arose to reduce the number of buses from the Rontal to the city center by taking line 1 to Ebikon Station is being extended. The shortening of lines 22 and 23 was considered problematic in some cases, as the S-Bahn from Ebikon only runs every 30 minutes.
Therefore, in 2010 a multi-level offer concept was developed for the Rontal. In a first step, line 22 should only run to Ebikon station, for which there should be feeder lines to Perlen and Inwil, which should have connections to the lines to Lucerne in Ebikon. An S23 express bus line should also be introduced, which should run to Rotkreuz and thus offer a replacement for the S-Bahn. After the construction of the EbiSquare shopping center, which was planned at the time, line 1 was to be extended to this in a second step and line 23 also shortened to Ebikon station. Only bus lines 1 and S23 would run between Lucerne and Ebikon. In 2012, a concept for the Rontal without an express bus line was presented. Instead, line 18 is to run from Littau via Kreuzstutz and Schlossberg to Ebikon in the future . The implemented planning of the RBus in the Rontal corridor is based on this concept and provided for a trolleybus extension as part of the redesign of the K17 cantonal road.
The extension of the overhead contact line to Ebikon was questioned several times in the context of the project development, among other things there was a political initiative in September 2016 which demanded that catenary-free alternatives with diesel and hybrid buses should be checked for suitability for the extension of line 1 . After both the VBL and the Lucerne Transport Association had shown the framework for the extension of Line 1 and the TOSA system with fast charging stations was also out of the question due to its compatibility with the trolleybus network, the representatives of the Ebikon CVP gave up their resistance. The representatives of the local SVP also held back in the following months. In December 2017, however, the cantonal section of the party called for the extension of Line 1 to be suspended and a referendum on the loans to finance the overhead line and the planned bus hub at Ebikon station. The reason given was that an overhead trolley bus system was no longer up-to-date and undesirable by residents and that the public transport offer in Ebikon was sufficient with the existing bus routes. The loans for the trolleybus extension to the Mall of Switzerland and the construction of the bus hub at Ebikon train station were approved by the Lucerne Cantonal Council on January 29, 2018, with around three quarters of the votes each; the motions for rejection by the SVP based on the objections listed were previously approved during the meeting rejected.
The groundbreaking of the trolleybus extension between Maihof and Ebikon Fildern finally took place on October 1, 2018, the necessary contact line systems and adjustments for operation with double articulated trolleys lasted until December 9, 2019. The extended line 1 was opened a week later, and further adjustments were made at the same time on the bus network in Lucerne East in order to be able to align the network to the new framework conditions.
Emmenbrücke corridor
The area around Seetalplatz in the Emmen district of Emmenbrücke is to develop into the city center of Lucerne North over the next few years . The redesign of Seetalplatz, which began in 2013, is part of an overall project for settlement development , optimization of the overall traffic system and protection against natural hazards . In the planning for public transport, the focus was placed on a better link between bus, trolleybus and train at the Emmenbrücke and Rothenburg Dorf train stations as well as a route for the bus and trolleybus routes that is independent of individual motorized transport .
The implementation of these goals by December 2016 included, among other things, the relocation of all lines from the heavily trafficked Gerliswilstrasse to Bahnhofstrasse, which enables stopping to be operated directly in front of the reception building of Emmenbrücke station. The traffic regime in the area between the Schiff stop and Seetalplatz has also been adapted so that the main road can only be used by public transport and feeders. This not only improved the transfer relationships, but also significantly increased the stability of the timetable around Seetalplatz.
Lines
Line 1 (1ER)
Line 1 was the first RBus route to be inaugurated in June 2014 and operated under the 1ER label until the RBus network was expanded in 2016 . It connected at this time the Lucerne district Maihof with the Kriens district Obernau in 7.5-minute cycle and was with about ten million passengers a year, the most frequented line in the canton of Lucerne.
Since December 11, 2016, line 1 on the busiest section of the Kriens bus loop – Lucerne Pilatusplatz has been supplemented by tangential line 5 on working days , which continues to Emmenbrücke. This made it possible to stretch the five-minute cycle that was valid until then to a 7.5-minute cycle.
In December 2019, line 1 was extended by 4.7 kilometers to the Mall of Switzerland (Fildern stop) in Ebikon, making the line length between Obernau and Ebikon a total of 12 kilometers since then. With the extension of line 1, the bus lines 22 and 23 on the section Lucerne train station - Ebikon train station were canceled and further adjustments to the bus network in the Rontal were implemented.
Infrastructure measures
As a first measure aimed at increasing punctuality and reducing travel times, a bus lane in Pilatusstrasse went into operation on October 29, 2014, accelerating traffic in the direction of Lucerne train station . In summer 2018, a 395 meter long bus lane between the Grosshofstrasse and Kupferhammer stops in the direction of Kriens was built and opened on the former route of the Kriens-Luzern-Bahn .
Further projects are anchored in the construction program for cantonal roads and under the cantonal infrastructure project "Investments in public transport".
Line 2
Line 2 connects the Emmen district of Emmenbrücke with the Lucerne train station every 7.5 minutes and has been running as the RBus line since December 11, 2016. During the extensive redesign of the Seetalplatz in Emmenbrücke, the trolleybuses were replaced by buses from December 2013, the re-electrification took place together with the conversion to an RBus line at the time of the timetable change in December 2016. The construction work was used, among other things, to create a separate route for the public To create traffic between the Reussbrücke and Centralplatz (Viscosistadt stop). At the same time, the route between Seetalplatz and Centralplatz was relocated from Gerliswil- to Bahnhofstrasse, which means that trolleybus line 2 and line 46 of the Emmer bus network stop right in front of the reception building at Emmenbrücke station . As a result, from the opening day, Line 2 was able to benefit from both infrastructure measures to give priority to buses as well as relief from Line 5 on the Lucerne Pilatusplatz – Emmenbrücke Bahnhof Süd section.
Line 8
Since September 2017, line 8 Hirtenhof – Luzern Bahnhof- Luzern Verkehrshaus –Würzenbach has been operated on working days with the same route as an RBus line. For this purpose, 8 more double-articulated trolleybuses were procured, which replaced the trailer trains previously used. On weekends , articulated trolleybuses are still used on Line 8, unlike the other two RBus lines. In addition, the line runs every 10 minutes from Monday to Friday or every 15 minutes in the morning off-peak hours. so less often than lines 1 and 2, served. This is due to the overlapping of the cycle with line 6, which follows line 8 for most of the route. On working days, individual LighTrams in RBus livery are also used on Line 6.
Planning
line 1
As part of the extension of Line 1 to the Mall of Switzerland, a bus hub was planned at Ebikon station to enable easy transfers between bus, trolleybus and S-Bahn. This bus hub has not yet been realized. With the opening of the bus hub, the line will serve Ebikon station directly.
Line 3 (currently Line 12)
In a first step, line 12 is to be extended to Littau Tschuopis in December 2019, initially as an articulated bus line. With the electrification of the line between Kreuzstutz and Littau Tschuopis, it is to be converted to the RBus line with double-articulated trolleybuses and linked to part of Line 8. This results in a new diameter line 3 Littau Tschuopis – Kreuzstutz – Pilatusplatz – Luzern Bahnhof – Luzern Verkehrshaus – Würzenbach, which was originally supposed to be opened in 2022 as a pure trolleybus line. In November 2016, however, it became known that the electrification of Line 12 had been suspended for the time being due to savings measures by the Canton of Lucerne. Instead, a catenary-free operation between Kreuzstutz and Littau is to be examined. The implementation of the electrical cross-city line has not yet been delayed due to the question of contact lines; as of 2018, implementation is still planned for December 2021.
Line 8
With the opening of the RBus line 3, line 8 is to be shortened to the section Hirtenhof – Luzern Bahnhof. After this shortening, lines 2 and 8 will be connected as a cross-city line from Hirtenhof to downtown Lucerne and Emmenbrücke, Seetalplatz to Sprengi, and two routes are currently being discussed in the inner city area. In variant A, the line would run directly via Viktoriaplatz (Kantonalbank stop) –Pilatusplatz – Kasernenplatz and skip the Lucerne train station. In variant B, the line would run via Lucerne train station – Schlossberg – Kantonsspital – Kreuzstutz, which would require electrification of the Schlossberg – Kreuzstutz section.
Trivia
- Until 2019, lines 1 and 2 of the RBus system, which were first opened, mostly served routes that the Lucerne tramway had already served between 1899 and 1961 before the changeover to trolleybus operation.
- A direct connection between the center of Lucerne and the Emmenbrücke station existed between 1901 and 1913 as part of tram line 2, before it was extended over Gerliswilstrasse.
- The bus lane with gatekeeper system between the Brüel roundabout and the Dietschiberg stop, which served as a model for further bus prioritization on the RBus network, has been in operation since October 4, 1973 and was the first bus lane in Lucerne.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ BHLS for Lucerne and other Swiss cities? Basics from the research situation analysis for Lucerne. Lucerne University of Applied Sciences, Sonderegger, Roger, Jonas Fröhlicher and Widar von Arx, June 5, 2014
- ↑ a b c AggloMobil due , Lucerne Transport Association, August 24, 2012
- ↑ Media release from the Canton of Lucerne RBus - high-quality bus system for the agglomeration of Lucerne ( Memento of the original from November 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from April 11, 2014 on www.lu.ch
- ↑ Canton of Lucerne structure plan: M5 public transport on www.richtplan.lu.ch
- ^ Message from the Government Council to Cantonal Council B116 dated June 20, 2014 at www.lu.ch
- ^ Public transport report , Canton of Lucerne, Nov. 12, 2013
- ↑ RBus on www.vvl.ch
- ^ Paul F. Schneeberger: Verkehrsbetriebe der Stadt Luzern, 100 years of trams, buses and trolley buses. Minirex, Lucerne 1999, ISBN 3-907014-12-X , pages 219–222
- ↑ JCVP Kriens: Bear Bite Special , December 2003
- ^ Postulate about a study on the economic benefits of a rail link for the municipality of Kriens (2005) at www.gruene-luzern.ch
- ↑ Kriens railway development at www.metron.ch
- ^ A b Neue Zürcher Zeitung: Waiting for the tram to Kriens (December 3, 2002) at www.nzz.ch
- ↑ PostBus supplements route 71 between Lucerne and Kriens with express courses ( memento of the original dated December 30, 2014 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. (January 30, 2010) at www.postauto.ch
- ↑ Kriens benefits from vbl tests with express buses ( memento of the original from December 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (April 16, 2009) on www.kriens.ch
- ↑ a b Municipality of Kriens: Transport development of the municipality of Kriens: plans and visions ( memento of the original from December 30, 2014 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. , May 27, 2009
- ↑ 20 minutes: Idea: Elevated train to Lucerne train station (November 28, 2009) on www.20min.ch
- ↑ Blick: Cable car idea for Kriens is taking shape (October 6, 2010) at www.blick.ch
- ↑ Neue Luzerner Zeitung: New proposal: suspension railway should relieve Kriens (July 8, 2013) on www.luzernerzeitung.ch
- ↑ ESP Rontal on rawi.lu.ch
- ^ ProBahn: Bus concept for line 1 - Bahnhof / Maihof , March 11, 2008
- ↑ Zweckverband ÖVL: AggloMobil , January 12, 2004
- ^ Albrecht, Kaufmann + Partner AG: Public transport optimization Lucerne - Rontal offer concept , January 22, 2010
- ↑ Commission approves public transport report and renovation of the cantonal road in Ebikon (March 7, 2014) on www.beiuns.ch
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: Approach to extend bus line 1 causes confusion , article from September 15, 2016
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: Ebikoner give up resistance to contact lines , article from November 11, 2016
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: SVP is against the extension of bus line 1, article dated December 7, 2017
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: Mall bus route: People should decide Article from December 18, 2017
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: Public transport expansion finds a clear majority in the Lucerne Cantonal Council Article of January 29, 2018
- ↑ Verkehrsverbund Luzern: for the trolleybus extension of line 1 in Lucerne East, press release of October 1, 2018
- ↑ a b Verkehrsverbund Luzern: Luzern Ost: Extension of trolleybus line 1 officially inaugurated media release of December 9, 2019
- ↑ ESP Luzern Nord on rawi.lu.ch
- ↑ Overall project on luzern-nord.lu.ch
- ↑ Pilatusstrasse: The new bus lane is in operation at www.luzernerzeitung.ch
- ↑ Luzerner Zeitung: KRIENS: Construction of new bus lane in Kriens begins in April article from March 27, 2018
- ↑ The NAW trolleybus says goodbye to Lucerne, media release from vbl dated September 6, 2017
- ↑ a b Luzerner Zeitung: TIMETABLE: The people of Littau get more bus connections Article from February 5, 2018
- ↑ a b public transport concept AggloMobil tre Verkehrsverbund Luzern, May 12, 2015
- ↑ Economy package slows expansion of express bus ( memento of the original from October 29, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Article from November 4, 2016 on www.luzernerzeitung.ch
- ↑ Ebikoners give up resistance to contact lines , article from November 11, 2016 on www.luzernerzeitung.ch
- ↑ Sandro Flückiger, Roman Zai: 1941-2016: 75 years of trolleybuses in Lucerne , vbl-historic 2016, p. 36
