Trolleybus Lugano

Trolleybus Lugano
The network in 1992
Power system :	1000 volts  =
Operator:	Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi (TPL)
Opening:	April 25, 1954
Attitude:	June 30, 2001
Lines:	four

The Trolleybus Lugano , Italian rete filoviaria di Lugano , was the trolleybus system of the Swiss city ​​of Lugano . The transport company Azienda Comunale dei Trasporti della Città di Lugano ( ACTL ), called Azienda Comunale del Traffico ( ACT ) until 1969 , operated it between 1954 and 2001. For the last one and a half years, it was managed by the newly founded public transport company on January 1, 2000. legal joint stock company Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi SA , TPL for short . The trolleybus gradually replaced the Lugano tram that opened in 1896 until 1959 , and the network was then expanded considerably between 1975 and 1981. Nevertheless, electric traction was replaced by buses around two decades later and the overhead line was completely dismantled within a year by summer 2002.

history

The trolleybus Lugano was one of the last trolleybus companies to open in Switzerland. Only the Vevey – Villeneuve trolleybus (1957) and the Schaffhausen trolleybus (1966) followed after him . First of all, the tram routes were changed and at the same time extended. A special feature of Lugenese was the high voltage of 1000 volts direct current , which was taken over from the tram. It was chosen in order to be able to continue using the existing electrical systems and to make the switch to trolleybus cheaper. In addition, from 1954 to 1959, it enabled the parallel operation of trams and trolleybuses without an expensive two-voltage infrastructure. Catenary crossings with the suburban railways Ferrovia Lugano – Tesserete , Ferrovia Lugano – Cadro – Dino and Ferrovia Lugano – Ponte Tresa have also been simplified.

In 1963, the connection to Massagno – Savosa Crocifisso (later extended to Vezia) was added to the network, which had not previously been operated electrically. In 1972, major adjustments to the catenary network were necessary due to changes in traffic management (one-way traffic in the city center). The network, consisting of three lines with a cumulative length of 13.4 kilometers, was presented as follows:

1/2	Castagnola –Centro– Paradiso	Diameter line
3/4	Breganzona –Centro– Pregassona	Diameter line
5/6	Centro - Massagno - Savosa Crocifisso - Vezia	Radial line

As a result of a network change, the 3/4 diameter line was divided in 1993, and the direction-dependent line numbers were also given up:

1	Castagnola-Centro-Paradiso	Diameter line
3	Centro – Pregassona	Radial line
4th	Centro – Breganzona	Radial line, converted to bus in early 1998
5	Centro – Massagno – Savosa Crocifisso – Vezia	Radial line

The reason for the discontinuation was the outdated vehicle fleet and the high contact line voltage, which made it impossible to procure series-produced vehicles. In addition, maintenance work on vehicles and infrastructure was increasingly reduced in the 1990s. As a result, the Federal Office of Transport only issued temporary operating permits; continued operation would have been subject to various conditions.

vehicles

The following 36 trolleys have been procured for the Lugano trolleybus over the years:

	Numbers	number	Manufacturer	Electrics	Construction year	Art	Remarks
	101-103	03	FBW / Ramseier + Jenzer	SAAS	1954	Solo car
	104-113	10	FBW / Bosia	SAAS	1960	Solo car	Car 112 from 1988 driving school
	114-117	04th	FBW / Ramseier & Jenzer / Lepori	SAAS	1966	Solo car
	118-121	04th	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	1974	Solo car
	122-125	04th	Volvo / Hess	SAAS	1975	Articulated trolley
	126-127	02	FBW / Hess	SAAS	1966	Solo car	Taken over in 1978 from the Altstätten – Berneck trolleybus , there numbers 6 and 7
	201-206	06th	Daimler-Benz / Vetter	BBC	1985-1988	Articulated trolley	202 retired after fire in December 1992
	207-209	03	Daimler-Benz / Vetter	FIG	1988	Solo car

The cars 201 and 203-209 were given to the city of Brașov in Romania after the cessation of operations , where they are still in use today. In addition, cars 101, 112, 124 and 126 came into the possession of the Swiss Trolleybus Association ( TVS ). The same applies to the 1963 FIAT - autotowers number 67th

Web links

Commons : Trolleybuses in Lugano  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website of Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi SA
• Information on the Lugano trolleybus at trolleymotion.com
• Picture gallery on railfaneurope.net
• The Lugano trolleybus on greulich.de

Individual evidence

1. ^ Website of the Swiss Trolleybus Association