Trolleybuses in Sofia

Sofia trolleybus system

A Škoda Solaris 26Tr trolleybus in Sofia, 2011.
Operation
Locale Sofia, Bulgaria
Open 14 February 1941 (14 February 1941)
Status Open
Routes 9
Owner(s) Metropolitan Municipality
Operator(s) Sofia Public Electrical Transport Company JSC
Statistics
Track length (total) 257 km (160 mi)
Route length 193 km (120 mi)
Website Sofia Public Electrical Transport Company JSC (English)

The Sofia trolleybus system (Bulgarian: Тролейбусен транспорт София) forms part of the public transport network of Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria.

In operation since 14 February 1941, the system presently comprises nine routes with 257 km network build, of which 193 km are currently in use.

As of 2010 the average speed of the trolleybus system in Sofia is 14,4 km/h.

History

Trolleybus transport was the last form of surface public transport to develop in Sofia, after buses and trams. The first Sofia trolleybus line opened on 14 February 1941. It was over 3 km (2 mi) long, and connected the city with the Gorna Banya quarter.[1]The line was covered by 2 MAN trolleybuses, which were stored on the last stops during the night, due to the lack of depot.

In the 1950s and 1960s, massive development of the trolleybus transport in Sofia began. At that time, the construction of new trolleybus routes proceeded especially rapidly, and two depots ("Stochna Gara" and "Nadezhda") were opened, with a total capacity of 160 trolleybuses. In 1951, the first Bulgarian made trolleybuses entered service.[1]

In 1987, a new depot, "Iskar", was opened with a capacity of 130 trolleybuses.[1] Levski depot was opened in 1994 with capacity of 60 trolleybuses. As of 2015 two depots are in operation: Nadezhda and Iskar. Levski depot operates as a maintenance only facility.

Lines

As of January 2016, the following trolleybus lines in Sofia are in service:

Line Route Depot
1 Levski-G Residential District — Fifth City Hospital Nadezhda
2 Hadzhi Dimitar Residential District — Buxton Residential District Iskar and Nadezhda
4 Druzhba 2 Residential District — Hadzhi Dimitar Residential District Iskar
5 Mladost-1 Residential District — Nadezhda Overbridge Iskar
6 Lyulin 3 Residential District — Lyulin 1 Residential District — Stochna gara Square Nadezhda and Iskar
7 Lyulin 3 Residential District — Lyulin 7 Residential District — Odeon Cinema Nadezhda
8 Regional Hospital — Gotse Delchev Residential District Iskar
9 Borovo Residential District — Stochna gara Square Nadezhda
11 Druzhba 1 Residential District — Stochna gara Square Iskar

Trolleybus fleet

As of February 2016, the Sofia trolleybus fleet had more than 150 trolleybuses.

The following models are currently part of the fleet:

Quantity In use Model Notes
50 units 50 Škoda 27Tr Delivered 2013-2014
30 units 30 Škoda 26Tr Delivered 2011
50 units 19 Ikarus 280.92 Total of 151 units delivered between 1985 and 1988
16 units 16 Ikarus 280.92F Modernized version
8 units 8 Gräf & Stift GS 152 M18 Delivered 2006 from Innsbruck
3 units 2 Cobra GD 272 Body by Güleryüz, electrical systems by Tramkar

Depots

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "History of Trolleybus Transport". Urban Mobility Centre website. Urban Mobility Centre, Sofia. Retrieved 10 August 2011. External link in |work= (help) (English)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trolleybuses in Sofia.


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