The Minsk

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 troll ...

system ( be, Мінскі тралейбус; russian: Минский троллейбус) serves the city of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, the capital of

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. The system was opened in September 19, 1952. Nowadays it has more than 60 lines. The system is operated by the "Minsktrans" state enterprise. According to the

Transportation Research Board The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is a division of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, formerly the National Research Council of the United States, which serves as an independent adviser to the President of the Unite ...

, trolleybus system of Minsk is the second largest in the world.

History

Construction of the Minsk trolleybus system started after a decree of the Council of Ministers of the

BSSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

(November 1949). The first line, opened on 19 September 1952, connected Train Passenger Station and the Round Square (now — Victory Square, total 6 km). 5 trolleybuses served the system on the opening day. The system was developing fast — in 1956, 39 trolleybuses were serving 16 km of lines.

Fare payment

During Soviet times, a trolleybus ticket cost 4

kopeck The kopek or kopeck ( rus, копейка, p=kɐˈpʲejkə, ukr, копійка, translit=kopiika, p=koˈpʲijkə, be, капейка) is or was a coin or a currency unit of a number of countries in Eastern Europe closely associated with t ...

s. Currently, the ticket costs 60 copecks ($0.31).

Lines

The system operates 61 (or 66) trolleybus lines.

Fleet

Belarusian and English versions of "Minsktrans" official site give different number of active trolleybuses — 1251 or 990. According to the National Statistics Committee of the Republic of Belarus, 973 trolleybuses were used in Minsk in 2015. 4 trolleybus depots are currently in operation — No.2, No.3, No.4, No.5. The new depot is being built in Uručča district (northeastern part of Minsk).В Уручье возобновили строительство троллейбусного депо — его возведение было заморожено
Currently all trolleybuses are Belarusian-produced (by

Belkommunmash OJSC "Holding Management Company "Belkommunmash" ( be, ААТ "Кіруючая кампанія холдынгу «Белкамунмаш», Belkamunmash), is a Belarusian manufacturer of electric public transport vehicles. The enterprise was bas ...

and

MAZ Maz or MAZ may refer to: * IATA code for Eugenio María de Hostos Airport, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico * Minsk Automobile Plant, abbreviated in Belarusian as MAZ * Myc-associated zinc finger protein, a protein encoded by the ''MAZ'' gene * Maz, a vill ...

). ACSM-321 is the most common machine.

References

External links

State Enterprise "Minsktrans"
{{Urban public transport in Belarus Transport in Minsk