Trolleybuses in Geneva

Geneva trolleybus system

Hess articulated no 753 at Rive, 2007.
Operation
Locale Geneva, Switzerland
Open 11 September 1942 (1942-09-11)
Status Open
Routes 6
Operator(s) Transports Publics Genevois
Infrastructure
Electrification 600 V DC
Stock 91
Overview
Map of the system since 11 December 2011.
Website Transports Publics Genevois (French)

The Geneva trolleybus system (French: Réseau trolleybus de Genève) forms part of the public transport network in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the second largest trolleybus system in Switzerland, after the Lausanne system.

Opened in 1942, the system supplements the Geneva tramway network. It is operated by Transports Publics Genevois (TPG), and currently also serves the neighbouring municipalities of Cologny, Le Grand-Saconnex, Lancy, Meyrin, Onex and Vernier.

History

Geneva's first trolleybus line, inaugurated on 11 September 1942, linked Champel with Le Petit-Saconnex, replacing the former tram line. Like the tramway network, it was operated by the Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE). In subsequent years, other tram lines were closed and replaced with trolleybus lines:

Additionally, two trolleybus lines replaced former bus lines:

In 1971, line 4 was closed. In 1976, the name of the operator, CGTE, was changed to Transports Publics Genevois (TPG). On 25 September 1989, line 5 was merged into line 6. For more than a decade, some services on the extended line 6 were operated by conventional buses (fully trolleybus line 26 was supporting it till Châtelaine), but on 24 June 2001 the line reverted to operation solely by trolleybuses.

On 11 December 2011, the municipalities of Bernex and Confignon ceased to be served by trolleybuses, when the lines to those communities were converted into tram lines.

Lines

Since the reorganisation of Geneva's tram and trolleybus lines on 11 December 2011, the trolleybus lines have been as follows:

2 Genève-Plage–Onex-Cité 22/24 stops
3 Gardiol–Crêts-de-Champel 25/24 stops
6 Vernier-Village–Genève-Plage 24/22 stops
7 Hôpital–Tours Lignon 18/20 stops
10 Aéroport–Rive 18/19 stops
19 Vernier-Village–Onex-Cité 29/31 stops

Fleet

Past fleet

The following table summarises Geneva's former trolleybuses:[1]

Rigid FBW 51 type vehicle no 847, photographed in 1971.
Fleet nos. Quantity Manufacturer Electrics Type BuiltOut of service
801-812 12 Saurer / CGTE SAAS Rigid (two-axle) 1942-48
821-835 15 Saurer / Hess SAAS Rigid (two-axle) 1950-51
836-846 11 FBW MFO Rigid (two-axle) 1947 (ex-VBZ)
847-856 10 FBW MFO Rigid (two-axle) 1949-51 (ex-VBZ)
861-878 18 Berna / SWP SAAS Rigid (two-axle) 1959-60 1988
881-892 12 Berliet SAAS Rigid (two-axle) 1963 1975
601-621 21 Berna / SWS SAAS Articulated 1965 1990 ?
631-648 18 FBW / Hess SAAS Articulated 1975 2005
651-674 24 Saurer / Hess SAAS Articulated 1982 2014 - 2015
681-700 20 NAW / Hess BBC Articulated 1988 2014 - 2015

A number of Geneva's former trolleybuses, fleet nos 32, 96, 602-605, 607, 611-613, 615-617, 621, 643 and 644 were exported to Chile in the early 1990s. Some of these exported vehicles are still in service today, on the Valparaíso trolleybus system.

Current fleet

Geneva's present trolleybus fleet consists of 80 articulated and eleven bi-articulated vehicles:

Fleet nos. Quantity Manufacturer Electrics Type Configuration Low-floor Built
701,704 –708, 710–713 10 NAW / Hess ABB BGT-N Articulated yes 1993
721 1 NAW / Hess ABB lighTram 1 Bi-articulated yes 2004
731–768 38 Hess Kiepe BGT-N2C Articulated yes 2005
781–790 10 Hess Kiepe BGGT-N2C Bi-articulated yes 2005–2006
 1601-1633 33 Van Hool Kiepe ExquiCity 18 Articulated yes 2014-2015

The type BGT 5-25 fleet originally comprised 20 vehicles, but fleet nos 691 and 700 have since been retired.

The unique NAW/Hess bi-articulated vehicle, fleet no 721, was created in autumn 2003, by adding a third body section to the 1993-built fleet no 709 of type BGT-N. It was the first Swiss bi-articulated trolleybus and served as a prototype for the production vehicles of type BGGT-N2C. All of the bi-articulated vehicles are used on line 10.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Bögli, Werner; Dietschy, Marc; Kallmann, Roland; Lacreuze, Jean-Marc; Longuet, René; Rahm, Erich; Compagnie génevoise des tramways électriques (1976). Le tram à Genève: Histoire imagée de la Compagnie génevoise des tramways électriques et de ses précurseurs, 1862-1976 [The trams of Geneva: Pictorial history of the Compagnie génevoise des tramways électriques and of its predecessors, 1862-1976] (in French). Genève: Éditions du Tricorne. OCLC 3480301.

Books

Media related to Trolleybuses in Geneva at Wikimedia Commons

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