The Lugano trolleybus system ( it, Rete filoviaria di Lugano) was a
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
system that formed part of the
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...
network of
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
, in the
canton of
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
,
Switzerland, for nearly half a century. Opened in 1954,
[Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', pp. 73, 85. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. .] the system had progressively replaced the
Lugano tramway network by 1959, and was significantly expanded between 1975 and 1981. However, it was closed in 2001, and the
overhead wire
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipm ...
s had been completely removed by the summer of 2002.
At its height, the system consisted of four lines. From its opening until the end of 1999, it was operated by ''Azienda Comunale dei Trasporti della Città di Lugano'' (ACT) (which was called the ''Azienda Comunale del Traffico'' (also ACT) until 1969). ''
Trasporti Pubblici Luganesi S.A.'' (TPL) took over on 1 January 2000.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 236 (March–April 2001), pp. 25, 47. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .]
History and routes
![Ex-Lugano Vetter trolleybus 205 in Brasov, Feb 2006](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Ex-Lugano_Vetter_trolleybus_205_in_Brasov%2C_Feb_2006.jpg)
The Lugano trolleybus system was one of the last trolleybus systems to be opened in Switzerland. Only the
Montreux/Vevey system (1957) and the
Schaffhausen system (1966) were opened later.
Initially, the Lugano system was made up only of routes converted from tramway lines. The first trolleybus route, opened on 25 April 1954, ran from the centre of Lugano to Cinque Vie, which is located in a hilly area. Another trolleybus route was put into operation in the autumn of 1959, between central Lugano and
Castagnola. At the end of that year, a route to
Paradiso was opened (its turning loop was put into operation a year later). Also in 1959, a route was opened to Cornareda, at which a
trolleybus depot was built. Not until 1963, with the opening of the Massagno–Crocifisso route (later extended to
Vezia
Vezia is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
Geography
Vezia has an area, , of . Of this area, or 48.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 28.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, ...
), did the system expand to include a route that had not previously been powered by overhead wires.
Following a reorganisation of the system in 1972, the system's network, consisting of three routes with a cumulative length of , was:
In 1975, ACT built an extension from Cinque Vie to
Breganzona. A year later another new section was opened: the route to Cornareda was extended to the new quarter of
Pregassona, which is located on a hill above the city. In 1980, a new trolleybus depot was built, and connected to this extension. The old depot became the local workshops of a transport company. The last new trolleybus route to be opened in Lugano was an extension of the Crocifisso route to Vezia.
Until 1993, each route was assigned two different numbers, one of which was displayed by vehicles running in one direction, the other by vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. In 1993, this relatively uncommon practice was discontinued.
[Dölling, Gerhard (1993). ''Strassenbahnatlas Schweiz 1993 wiss Tramway Atlas 1993', pp. 64–65. Berlin: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blickpunkt Strassenbahn e.V. .] Thereafter, the trolleybus routes were as follows:
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 194 (March–April 1994), p. 55.]
In 2000, the new operator, TPL, decided to close the system. The last day of trolleybus operation was Thursday, 28 June 2001, with trolleybuses running on routes 3 and 5 on the final day.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 240 (November–December 2001), pp. 140–141. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .] Route 1's trolleybuses had been replaced by motorbuses a few weeks earlier, due to road construction.
Use of trolleybuses on route 4 had ended some time earlier.
One of the main reasons given for the decision to close the system was its worn-out fleet. The other was the system's high voltage (see
section below), given that few or no manufacturers were interested in supplying new trolleybuses capable of operating at such a high voltage.
The same problem had also been cited several years earlier,
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 198 (November–December 1994), pp. 163–164.] and by at least 1995 ACT had begun considering closure of the system.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 203 (September–October 1995), p. 138.] Another reason for the closure is that maintenance of the system's vehicles and infrastructure had been run down in the 1990s. As a result, the
Federal Office of Transport had started to grant only temporary operating authorizations, and continued operation would have been subject to various conditions.
After the closure of the system, trolleybuses 201 and 203–209 were sold to a dealer of used buses and trolleybuses in Romania, who in turn sold them to the city of
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
in Romania,
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 252 (November–December 2003), p. 135. National Trolleybus Association (UK).] where they operated in service for several more years, the last ones being withdrawn around 2010.
[''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 318 (November–December 2014), p. 160. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .] Nos. 101, 112, 124 and 126 were acquired by the ''Trolleybusverein Schweiz'' (Swiss Trolleybus Society) (TVS) for preservation, as was the
FIAT catenary maintenance truck no. 67, built in 1963.
[''Trolleybusverein Schweiz'' (Swiss Trolleybus Society) (TVS)]
Retrieved 6 October 2012.
Fleet
The following 36 trolleybuses were procured for the Lugano trolleybus system over the course of its life:
Unusual voltage
An unusual feature of the system was that it was energised at an unusually high 1,000
V DC, the voltage previously used by the tramway network. In both cases, the reason for the higher than usual voltage was that it avoided voltage problems at crossing points with three railways, the
Lugano–Tesserete railway, the
Lugano–Cadro–Dino railway
The Lugano–Cadro–Dino railway ( it, Ferrovia Lugano–Cadro–Dino; LCD) was a Swiss metre gauge suburban railway that linked the towns of Lugano, Cadro and Dino, in the canton of Ticino.
The line was opened in 1911. It was long, and was e ...
and the
Lugano–Ponte Tresa railway.
Trolleybuses are normally built to run at voltages of 600 V or 750 V, and Lugano's high voltage was very non-standard. It was one of only three Swiss systems to use 1,000 V or higher – the others being the rural
Altstätten
, neighboring_municipalities= Eichberg, Feldkirch (AT-8), Gais (AR), Marbach, Oberegg (AI), Oberriet, Ruggell (LI), Rüte (AI), Rüthi, Sennwald, Trogen (AR)
, twintowns =
Altstätten is a small historic rural town and a municipality in ...
–
Berneck system, which closed in 1977, and the 1,100 V
[ ] (
STI), which closed in 1982 – and Lugano's was the last trolleybus system anywhere to use that voltage.
See also
*
List of trolleybus systems in Switzerland
This is a list of trolleybus systems in Switzerland. It includes all trolleybus systems, past and present.
Alphabetical list by principal city
Trolley freight
In addition to trolleybus systems, one trolley-freight (or trolleytruck) system exist ...
References
External links
*
*
Swiss Trolleybus Society (STS)– official site
{{Urban public transport in Switzerland
Transport in Lugano
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
Lugano
Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...
1954 establishments in Switzerland