The Chieti

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 ( it, Filovia di Chieti) forms 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 the city and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region. ...

, in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of Abruzzo,

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central I ...

. In operation since 2009, the system comprises one urban route. From 1950 to 1992, Chieti was served by an earlier manifestation of the same trolleybus route. Currently, 17 Italian cities or metropolitan areas have trolleybus systems, counting four where the system is a new one under construction, and of all of these, Chieti is the smallest in population. By the early 1980s, it was already the smallest Italian city to retain trolleybus service (with

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...

second).

History

The original Chieti trolleybus system was inaugurated on 16 July 1950, in place of an obsolete

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

way that had been in operation since 1905. The system's single line connected

Chieti railway station Chieti railway station ( it, Stazione di Chieti) serves the city and ''comune'' of Chieti, in the Regions of Italy, region of Abruzzo, southern Italy. Opened in 1873, it forms part of the Rome–Sulmona–Pescara railway. The station is currentl ...

(''stazione FS''), located in the valley of the Pescara River (in the large suburb of Chieti Scalo), with the city centre, situated on a hill. The line's route was ''Madonna delle Piane - stazione FS - centro città - Sant'Anna'', with an especially steep and very tortuous path between the station and the city centre. The original line offered an excellent service for decades. However, the necessary funds to update its technology were lacking (except for the renewal of the trolleybus fleet in the mid-1980s). Thus, in 1992, due to the poor condition of the overhead wires, it was deemed necessary to suspend the service until such time as a thorough repair or complete reconstruction could be undertaken. The reconstruction work, originally expected to take place within just a few years, was delayed by lack of funding and did not finally begin until 2002, then dragged on for several more years, with many breaks. The service was finally reactivated on 26 September 2009. New substations installed as part of the reconstruction work increased the

overhead line 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 ...

voltage from 600 V to 750 V.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 266 (March–April 2006), pp. 37–38. National Trolleybus Association (UK). .

Current services

Line 1 is currently operated as the route ''Colle dell'Ara (Hospital & University campus) - Piazzale dei Martiri Pennesi (Madonna delle Piane) - railway station (in Chieti Scalo) - city centre - Sant'Anna'', with a limited number of trolleybuses, operating on their own only in the morning; in the afternoons and during holidays, the trolleybuses are supplemented with diesel powered buses.

Trolleybus fleet

Retired trolleybuses

The following trolleybuses were used on Chieti's first trolleybus system: *Fiat 668F: Chieti's original fleet of these trolleybuses was supplemented in the 1960s by the acquisition of four more from the Genoa trolleybus system. * Menarini 201 FLU (nos. 212–221): replaced the Fiat 668Fs in late 1985 or early 1986.

Current fleet

Chieti's present trolleybus fleet is made up of only the following: * Menarini 201 FLU (nos. 212–221): seven of the ten trolleybuses acquired in 1985 have been completely refurbished and given a two-tone yellow-green livery: Nos. 212, 213, 215, 217, 219, 220 and 221. The remaining 3 were scrapped after being cannibalized for spare parts for the remainder of the fleet. * Five VanHool A330T.

References

Notes

Books

* *

External links

Images of the Chieti trolleybus system, at ''photorail.com''

''This article is based upon a translation of the Italian language version as at July 2011.'' {{Urban public transport in Italy Chieti

Transport in Abruzzo