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Trolleybuses in Lucerne

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Lucerne trolleybus system
A Hess Swisstrolley crossing the Reuss, 2005.
Operation
LocaleLucerne, Switzerland
Open7 December 1941 (1941-12-07)
StatusOpen
Routes6
Operator(s)Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL)
Infrastructure
Electrification600 V DC parallel overhead lines
Statistics
Route length37.634 km (23.385 mi)
Overview
The Lucerne trolleybus system, 2017.
Websitehttp://www.vbl.ch Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) (in German)

The Lucerne trolleybus system (Alemannic German: Trolleybussystem Luzern) forms part of the public transport network of Lucerne, which is the capital city of the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Opened in 1941, the system had replaced the Lucerne tramway network by 1961.[1]

As of the end of 2013, the system consists of six lines, one of which leads across the city boundary into the neighbouring towns of Emmen, Horw and Kriens. It is currently operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL), has a total route length of 37.634 km (23.385 mi),[2] and as of about 2011 was carrying 27 million passengers annually.[3] The system is supplemented by various motor bus lines operated by the same transport company.

History

[edit]

The system's individual trolleybus line sections went into service as follows:[1]

7 December 1941 Bahnhof Luzern–Allmend (2.59 km) Bahnhof Luzern–Breitenlachen:
now line 4
Breitenlachen–Allmend:
decommissioned since 2005		 New connection
25 January 1942 Bahnhof Luzern–Dietschiberg now lines 6 and 8 New connection
20 May 1951 Luzernerhof–Wesemlinrain now line 1 Motor bus replacement
15 November 1959 Dietschiberg–Würzenbach (1.05 km)
Bundesplatz–Emmenbrücke (4.38 km)		 now lines 6 and 8
now line 2		 Motor bus replacement
Tramway replacement
11 November 1961 Pilatusplatz–Kriens Busschleife
Wesemlinrain–Maihof		 now line 1 Tramway replacement
11 November 1962 Breitenlachen–Hubelmatt now line 4 New connection
10 April 1966 Bundesplatz–Matthof
Wartegg–Biregghof		 now line 6
now line 7		 New connection
2 July 1986 Schönbühl–Hirtenhof now line 8 New connection
5 November 1990 Kriens Busschleife–Obernau Dorf
Emmenbrücke–Sprengi		 now line 1
now line 2		 Motor bus replacement
New connection
23 August 2004 Wesemlinrain–Unterlöchli now line 7 New connection
15 December 2013 Brüelstrasse–Büttenenhalde now line 6 Motor bus replacement
12 December 2016 Kriens-Emmenbruecke now line 5 New connection (75th anniversary)
A 1960 FBW trolleybus at Hirtenhof in 1987, a few months after route 8 was converted to trolleybuses

Lines

[edit]

The present system is made up of the following lines:

1 Obernau Dorf–Ebikon, Fildern cross-city route 38 stops every 7.5 minutes Bi-articulated buses
2 Sprengi–Bahnhof Luzern radial route 16 stops every 7.5 minutes Bi-articulated buses
4 Hubelmatt–Bahnhof Luzern radial route 9 stops every 10 minutes Articulated buses
5 Kriens–Emmenbrücke cross-city route 20 stops peak times every 7.5 minutes / off peak every 15 minutes Articulated buses
6 Matthof–Büttenenhalde cross-city route 23/24 stops rush hour every 10 minutes / off-peak every 15 minutes Articulated buses
7 Biregghof–Unterlöchli cross-city route 23/24 stops every 7.5 minutes / off-peak every 15 minutes Articulated buses
8 Hirtenhof–Würzenbach cross-city route 19/20 stops rush hour every 10 minutes / off-peak every 15 minutes Bi-articulated buses

Lines 6 and 8 operate on the same overhead wires between Brüelstrasse and Schönbühl, so that on this section there are trolleybuses at 5-minute intervals during rush hour, and at 7.5-minute intervals at off-peak times. This combined section is described as double-line 6/8.

Fleet

[edit]

As of 31 December 2013, the VBL trolleybus fleet had 20 rigid, 26 articulated, and three bi-articulated vehicles There were also 16 trailers that can be used in combination with the rigid buses.[2]

In the 2010s, the Lucerne system was one of only two trolleybus systems worldwide, along with the Lausanne trolleybus system, that still operated trolleybuses towing passenger trailers. However, trailer use on the Lucerne system ended on 10 October 2017,[4] following the delivery of more new articulated trolleybuses, and such usage also ended in Lausanne – the last trolleybus system in the world to use trailers – on 4 May 2021.[5]

Image Fleet nos. Quantity Manufacturer Electrics Type Configuration Low-floor Built
201–226 26 Hess Kiepe BGT-N2C Articulated yes 2004–2009
231–233 03 Hess Kiepe BGGT-N2C Bi-articulated yes 2006
234–242 09 Hess Kiepe BGGT-N2D Bi-articulated yes 2014
252–254,
257–280		 27 NAW / Hess Siemens BT 5-25 Rigid no 1989 (no. 251 built 1987–88)
301–316 16 Lanz + Marti / Hess none APM 5.6-13 Trailer yes 1998–2005

Type BGT 5-25 originally comprised 20 vehicles, nos. 181–200.

Of the 30 rigid versions of that type, the BT 5-25, to be acquired by the VBL, three vehicles had been retired by 2012: nos. 251, 255 and 256.[citation needed] In 2014, ten vehicles from that series were sold to the Valparaíso trolleybus system, in Chile: Nos. 265, 266, 268–270, 272, 273, 275, 276, 278.[6]

Depot

[edit]

The Weinbergli depot is located on the route of lines 6, 7 and 8.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Trolleybusstadt: Luzern (Schweiz) - Geschichte History" [Trolleybus city: Lucerne (Switzerland) - History] (in German). TrolleyMotion. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Die Fakten" [The facts] (in German). Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  3. ^ Brugger Kalfidis, Pia Maria. "Luzern setzt auf Trolleybusse" [Lucerne relies on trolleybuses] (PDF) (in German). Regionale Schienen. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
  4. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 337 (January–February 2018), p. 37.
  5. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 358 (July–August 2021), p. 162.
  6. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 320 (March–April 2015), p. 54. ISSN 0266-7452.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Schwandl, Robert (2010). Schwandl's Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich. Berlin: Robert Schwandl Verlag. ISBN 978 3 936573 27 5. (in German and English)
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Media related to Trolleybuses in Lucerne at Wikimedia Commons

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