Trolleybuses in Lausanne
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Lausanne
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 (french: Réseau de trolleybus de Lausanne) 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, typical ...
network of
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, in the canton of
Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. The system has been in operation since 1932Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia'', p. 73. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . and is the third-oldest surviving trolleybus system in the world, after those of
Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
and
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Today, the system is the largest in Switzerland; it is supplemented by the
Lausanne Metro , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
, and by various conventional bus routes. The system is operated by
Transports publics de la région lausannoise Transports publics de la région lausannoise, often abbreviated simply to TL, are the main operator of public transport in Lausanne and the wider agglomeration. As of 2012, TL operates a network of 10 trolleybus routes, 25 conventional bus route ...
(TL) – formerly ''Tramways Lausannois'' – and comprises 10 trolleybus
lines Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...
, serving not only Lausanne, but also the neighbouring municipalities of
Le Mont-sur-Lausanne Le Mont-sur-Lausanne (, literally ''Le Mont on Lausanne''; frp, Lo Mont) is a municipality in the district of Lausanne in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is a suburb of the city of Lausanne. History Le Mont-sur-Lausanne is first mentione ...
,
Lutry Lutry () is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the Lavaux-Oron, which includes the Lavaux region, a UNESCO World Heritage site. History Lutry is first mentioned in 908 as ''in Lustraco villam''. In 1124 it was mentioned as ...
,
Paudex Paudex is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron. It is a suburb of the city of Lausanne. History Paudex is first mentioned in 1220 as ''Paudais''. Geography Paudex has an area, , of (depending on ...
,
Prilly Prilly () is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Ouest Lausannois. It is one of the western suburbs of the city of Lausanne. History Prilly is first mentioned around 976-77 as . By 1185 it was known ...
,
Pully Pully () is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron. It is one of the eastern suburbs of the city of Lausanne, located on the shores of Lake Geneva (''Lac Léman'') and at the foot of the vin ...
and
Renens Renens ( ) is a municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland. It is located in the district of Ouest Lausannois, and is a suburb of the city of Lausanne. It is the fourth largest city in the canton. It is considered a very multiethnic town, a ...
. Following some line closures, the system no longer serves Cugy, Epalinges and Froideville.


History

Opened on 2 October 1932, the Lausanne system was only the second trolleybus system to open in Switzerland, preceded by the rural
Fribourg–Farvagny trolleybus system The Fribourg–Farvagny trolleybus system (french: Train sans voie de Fribourg–Farvagny) was a pioneering interurban trolleybus line in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland between 1911 and 1932. The long line was operated for most of its lif ...
.Dölling, Gerhard (1993). ''Straßenbahnatlas Schweiz 1993'', pp. 60, 112–114. Berlin: Arbeitsgemeinschaft Blickpunkt Straßenbahn e.V. . That line closed earlier in 1932. The Lausanne system was therefore the country's only trolleybus system at the time of its opening, and it retained this distinction until the opening of the Winterthur trolleybus system, in 1938. The Lausanne system's first line was between
Lausanne railway station Lausanne railway station (french: Gare de Lausanne) Is the main intercity and regional railway station for the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. It is often known as Lausanne CFF to distinguish it from others in the town. Description Lausann ...
and Ouchy. In 1938–1939, a number of additional lines were opened, and between 1938 and 1964 the system gradually replaced the Lausanne tramway network. On 9 April 1951, the tram line to Montheron was replaced by a trolleybus line. On 7 January 1964, trolleybus line 7 replaced tram line 9, which had been closed the previous day. By that year, there were 10 trolleybus lines in Lausanne. On 1 June 1969, a suburban trolleybus line to Le Chalet-à-Gobet was launched. On 3 June 1973, line 5 was extended to Epalinges, and on 1 June 1975, an extension of line 9 was opened to Lutry. On 2 June 1991, an extension was built to Bourdonnette, after which line 2 was discontinued. A day later, line 15 was extended to Coudraie.


Lines

Today, the network has 10 lines: Since December 2009, line 8 has operated via Bellevaux to Grand-Mont, but the TL began the long extension of the overhead wire only in early 2011. Until completion of the extension in December 2011, every second service on this line was operated by articulated conventional buses - the extension was initially operated only every 20 minutes. Some of the catenary masts used in constructing the extension of line 8 were recycled masts from the former interurban line 20 to Montheron. This line was powered by electricity until 1993; the catenary was dismantled in 1998.


Fleet


Retired fleet and heritage vehicles

Upon its opening in 1932, the Lausanne system had just three trolleybuses, manufactured by FBW / SWS and fitted with electrical equipment by
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Two of these trolleybuses were rebuilt in 1964, and one of the rebuilt vehicles remains in existence to this day. In the second half of the 1930s, a further 32 trolleybuses were added to the fleet. Also manufactured by FBW, they were in length, had 22 seats and 31 standing places, and remained in service until 1976. As of the end of 1964, the system had a large fleet of trolleybuses and 20 passenger carrying trailers. In 1975, 18 new trolleybuses arrived in Lausanne. Between 1982 and 1989, a total of 72 new trolleybuses were purchased. In 2001–2002, 28
Neoplan Neoplan Bus GmbH is a German automotive company that manufactures buses, trolleybuses and coaches. It is a subsidiary of MAN Truck & Bus SE. History Foundations The company was founded by Gottlob Auwärter in Stuttgart in 1935, and ma ...
articulated trolleybuses were added to the fleet, replacing 29 rigid 12 m long vehicles built between 1964 and 1969. The Neoplan trolleybuses were eventually sold in 2010. Trailer no. 981 was retired in 2010,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 293 (September–October 2010), p. 115. National Trolleybus Association (UK). . and has since been owned by the ''RétroBus Léman'' preservation society. It was the first low-floor trolleybus vehicle in Switzerland. Trolleybus no. 2, dating back to the opening of the Lausanne system in 1932, has also been preserved and is now the oldest trolleybus in continental Europe. During the 2000s, the TL also sold some withdrawn trolleybuses, including the Neoplans, to a Romanian used-bus dealer, who in turn sold them to the trolleybus operators in
Sibiu Sibiu ( , , german: link=no, Hermannstadt , la, Cibinium, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'', hu, Nagyszeben ) is a city in Romania, in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles the Ci ...
and -->Ploiești. 653 and 950 (trailer) were sold to the
Seashore Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...
in
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
,
USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.


Current fleet

, the TL trolleybus fleet consisted of 58 rigid (two-axle) and 35
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...
vehicles. There are also 53 trailers available for attachment to the rigid trolleybuses, the Lausanne trolleybus system being one of only two trolleybus systems worldwide that still utilise this form of operation (the other one is the Lucerne system). In addition, the Lausanne system is, along with the
La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...
and Lucerne systems, one of only three trolleybus systems in Switzerland still using rigid vehicles. In the medium term, however, the rigid trolleybus-trailer combinations will be replaced by
bi-articulated bus A bi-articulated bus or double-articulated bus and sometimes train-bus or tram-bus is a type of high-capacity articulated bus with an extra axle and a second articulation joint, as well as extended length. Bi-articulated buses tend to be emplo ...
es. The 1970s-built trailers are the oldest trolleybus vehicles in regular service in Switzerland. Six of these, nos. 953–957 and 971 had been withdrawn from service by April 2010.


Depots

The Lausanne trolleybus fleet is stored in the ''La Borde'' and ''Perrelet''
depots Depot ( or ) may refer to: Places * Depot, Poland, a village * Depot Island, Kemp Land, Antarctica * Depot Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica * Depot Island Formation, Greenland Brands and enterprises * Maxwell Street Depot, a restaurant in ...
.


See also

*
Lausanne railway station Lausanne railway station (french: Gare de Lausanne) Is the main intercity and regional railway station for the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. It is often known as Lausanne CFF to distinguish it from others in the town. Description Lausann ...
*
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 ...


Notes and references

*


External links


RétroBus Léman
– official site * * {{Portal bar, Buses, Switzerland Transport in Lausanne
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...
1932 establishments in Switzerland