Trolleybuses in Salzburg

The Salzburg trolleybus system forms part of the public transport network serving Salzburg, capital of the federal state of Salzburg in Austria. Opened on 1 October 1940, it replaced the Salzburg tramway network.

Salzburg trolleybus system
A Solaris Cegelec Trollino 18 in Salzburg, 2012.
Operation
Locale	Salzburg, Austria
Open	1940 (1940)
Status	Open
Routes	12 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14)
Owner(s)	Salzburg AG
Operator(s)	Salzburg AG
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC
Depot(s)	1
Stock	118 articulated trolleybuses
Statistics
Route length	146.45 km (91.00 mi)
Overview Salzburg trolleybus system map, 2017.
Website	https://web.archive.org/web/20100127024936/http://www.salzburg-ag.at/verkehr/stadtbus Salzburg AG (in German)

One of only two such systems currently operating in Austria, the Salzburg trolleybus system is one of the largest trolleybus systems in western Europe. It presently carries 41 million passengers each year.

Together with the Salzburger Lokalbahn, the system is currently operated by Salzburg AG, which markets it under the name StadtBus Salzburg. It is also integrated into the Salzburger Verkehrsverbund. Along with the Salzburg S-Bahn, it forms the backbone of the Salzburg's public transport network; the city's diesel bus network, operated by Albus Salzburg, plays only a minor role.

History

On 1 October 1940, the first trolleybus ran through the streets of Salzburg, on the Siegmundsplatz–Maxglan route, which is now part of line 1. A few days later, on 24 October 1940, the extension to Makartplatz followed, and on 10 November 1940, the line was further extended, to Salzburg Hauptbahnhof. On 16 February 1942, the ring lines M and L (Maxglan–Lehen–Hauptbahnhof–Zentrum–Maxglan) came into operation. In the following years, the Salzburg trolleybus system recorded rapid growth, but the tramway network was destroyed.

System map, 1993.

System map, 1995.

Until the merger in 2000 of the Salzburger Stadtwerke with the SAFE (Salzburger AG für Energiewirtschaft) to create the Salzburg AG, the Salzburg trolleybus system, and the local railway line to Lamprechtshausen, were operated by the Salzburger Stadtwerke - Verkehrsbetriebe. Some diesel bus lines also originally belonged to the company, but in the course of the 2000 merger these were transferred to Albus Salzburg.

Since 2000, therefore, the trolleybus and diesel bus services have been fully separated, both organisationally and operationally. It follows that Salzburg AG is one of the few transport companies worldwide that operates trolleybus lines, but no diesel bus lines.

In 2004, trolleybus line 1 was extended about 500 m (1,600 ft) from Messezentrum to Salzburgarena. Unusually, however, the new terminal was served only during events. At other times, power to the overhead lines in this area is switched off; the status of the overhead lines is displayed to the trolleybus drivers by means of a signal light.

On 1 October 2005, line 1 was extended from Europark to Kavaliershaus, via the EM-Stadion. On 11 December 2005, the extension of line 2 came into operation from the Hauptbahnhof to Obergnigl via Mirabellplatz and the Sterneckstraße.

A non-revenue section of overhead line from the Versorgungshausstraße (line 2) via the Fürbergstraße to the Fadingerstraße was built in the spring of 2006. Especially during events in the city centre, and during the UCI Road World Championships 2006, it has been used intensively. Since then, the trolleybuses of lines 2 and 4 have operated on and off over this route. This section was the basis for the later electrification of the former Albus line 20.

Also, until September 2006 the Gaswerkgasse / Ignaz-Harrer-Strasse intersection, and the Hauptbahnhof area around the Forum-Kaufhaus/Fanny-von-Lehnert-Straße, were provided with additional turning and reversing capabilities. Likewise, since the spring of 2007 a non-revenue section has been in operation from the Landeskrankenhaus (line 7) to Willibald-Hauthaler-Straße (Line 4), and an additional turning space has been provided at the Makartplatz, in front of the Holy Trinity Church. A new turning facility on the Aiglhofkreuzung from line 4 to line 2 was created in spring 2008, as well as a dedicated lane for trolleybuses in the Griesgasse in the city centre. The latter allows the stacking-and-demand retrieval of trolleybuses in the city centre for events. With the timetable change on 7 December 2007, line 4 was extended from Langwied over the city boundary to Mayrwies, replacing bus line 4A.

In autumn 2008, the Salzburg Municipal Council decided to electrify the branch of bus line 20 to Sam / Lankessiedlung. The route follows that of line 20 from Lankessiedlung, via the Salzburg-Gnigl S-Bahn station, Fuggerstraße, Volksgarten, Hanuschplatz to the Landeskrankenhaus; the line leads back to Hanuschplatz and to Sam, via Edward-Baumgartner-Straße and Karajanplatz. This work was completed in mid-2009, and bus line 20 became trolleybus line 10.

On 9 July 2009, lines 3 and 5 were extended by 500 m (1,600 ft) to the new Itzling Pflanzmann terminus. These were the first privately financed trolleybus sections in Salzburg.

Lines

The eleven lines of the present Salzburg trolleybus system are as follows:

Interchange between line 4 and the Salzburg S-Bahn at Gnigl, 2004.

01	Red Bull Arena – Messe (– Salzburgarena)
02	Walserfeld – Obergnigl	from 1986 to 2003 part of Line 77
03	Salzburg Süd – Itzling Pflanzmann	from 1986 to 2003 Line 51
04	Mayrwies/Langwied – Liefering	from 1986 to 2003 Line 29 or 29A
05	Birkensiedlung – Hauptbahnhof (– Itzling Pflanzmann)
06	Parsch – Itzling West
07	Salzburg Süd – Salzachsee	from 1986 to 2003 Line 49
08	Salzburg Süd – Himmelreich	from 1986 to 2003 part of Line 95
09	Europark – Justizgebäude/Kommunalfriedhof	Formerly bus line 20
10	Sam – Landeskrankenhaus (– Schule Lehen)
12	Josefiau - Europark
14	Polizeidirektion - Forellenwegsiedlung

Projects

In October 2010, plans for new extensions were presented. It is proposed to run line 10 through the Strubergasse in future, and thereby provide a better connection with the Struber barracks. Additionally, by means of a branch in the Karolingerstrasse, line 8 will serve the many businesses and residents in that district. The city of Salzburg plans to invest around €2.2 million in these two projects up to 2015.

For quite some time, an extension to Eugendorf, or a cross-border line to Freilassing in Germany, have also been discussed.

In December 2016, diesel bus line 20 will be converted to trolleybus line 9 with a new 2.2 kilometres (1.4 mi) route in the East of Salzburg.

Fleet

Former fleet

Gräf & Stift standard trolleybus no. 119 (Type OE 110/54/A) on the Staatsbrücke in 1980

Gräf & Stift articulated bus no. 159 passes through the Sigmundstor, 1983.

Gräf & Stift-built former no. 106 (Type OE 112 M 11, built 1987), now in Mediaș.

Steyr-built former no. 107 (built 1988), also now in Mediaș.

Until recently, almost all of the trolleybuses operating on the Salzburg system were made either by the German company MAN or its Austrian counterpart Gräf & Stift. After the former company took over the latter in 1971, the Gräf & Stift name remained in use as an MAN brand for the Austrian market and for trolleybuses until 2001, when ÖAF-Gräf & Stift AG was renamed MAN Sonderfahrzeuge AG.

With the retirement of large numbers of Gräf & Stift vehicles since the start of the 21st century, the MAN/Gräf & Stift portion of the fleet has been now much reduced.

Some of the retired Salzburg vehicles were sold to other trolleybus operators. By that means, former Salzburg trolleybuses later entered service on the since-closed trolleybus system in Kapfenberg, Austria, and also in Germany (Eberswalde), Lithuania (Vilnius), Romania (Mediaş and Timișoara) and Russia (Perm and Rybinsk).

Until 1975, trolleybuses also operated with trailers. Salzburg was the last trolleybus network in Austria in which this form of operation was to be found. There were four different models of trailer available. They were made by Gräf & Stift (type OA I), Kässbohrer (without model designation), Lohner (type OM 5/1) and Schumann (without model designation).

Table of former fleet

Numbers	Quantity	Manufacturer	Model No.	Configuration	Entered service	Retired	Notes
	10	MAN / Schumann	MPE I	Standard (two-axle)	1940	1967
	04	Vétra	CS 60	Standard (two-axle)	1941	1943
	10	MAN / Schumann	MPE II	Standard (two-axle)	1942	1966
	06	Gräf & Stift	EO I	Standard (two-axle)	1948	1974
	01	MAN / Gräf & Stift	EO I	Standard (two-axle)	1951	1971
	03	MAN / Gräf & Stift	EO II	Standard (two-axle)	1956	1970
	03	Uerdingen / Henschel	ÜHIIIs	Standard (two-axle)	1956	1976
	05	Henschel	HS 160 OSL-G	Articulated	1961	1979
136–142	07	Gräf & Stift	GEO II	Articulated	1961	1980
	05	Gräf & Stift	GE 105/54/57	Articulated	1964	1983
	14	Gräf & Stift	GE 105/54/54	Articulated	1966	1989
101–112	12	Gräf & Stift	OE 105/54	Standard (two-axle)	1971	1990
113–123	11	Gräf & Stift	OE 110/54/A	Standard (two-axle)	1975	1993
155–160	06	Gräf & Stift	GE 110/54/57/A	Articulated	1976	1992
161	01	Gräf & Stift	GE 150 M 16	Articulated	1979	1993	Induction motor
129–147, 162–186	44	Gräf & Stift	GE 110 M 16	Articulated	1980	2002	No. 178 now a heritage vehicle.
101–106	06	Gräf & Stift	OE 112 M 11	Standard (two-axle)	1986	2002
107–110	04	Steyr	STS 11 HU	Standard (two-axle)	1989	2003	No. 109 now a heritage vehicle.
111–114	04	Steyr	STS 11 HU 140	Standard (two-axle)	1990	2003
200–228	27	Gräf & Stift	GE 112 M 16	Articulated	1989	2016	No. 220 now a heritage vehicle.
230, 235, 237, 238, 240, 249, 251, 252	08	Gräf & Stift/MAN	NGT 240 M16	Articulated	1994	2017	240 = ex-Kapfenberg no. 35, in the fleet since 2003.
259–260	02	Van Hool	AG 300 T	Articulated	2012	2014	Formerly VMCV nos. 2 and 15, in the fleet since 2009, without automatic current collector.

Current fleet

• 
  An MAN NGT 204 M 16, outside Salzburg Hbf.
• 
  A similar vehicle in the Schwarzstraße.
• 
  A Van Hool AG300T on line 3.
• 
  Solaris Trollino 18 no. 301 in Eberswalde, 2010.
• 
  One of the Solaris Trollino "MetroStyle" trolleybuses in 2014

The oldest vehicles in the current fleet are the 23 high-floor Gräf & Stift articulated trolleybuses built between 1988 and 1994. With three exceptions, they are powered by an induction motor. This series originally consisted of 36 vehicles, of which 35 were built for Salzburg. The other one, fleet no. 220, was bought secondhand from the Kapfenberg trolleybus system.

The first low-floor trolleybuses to be added to the system were the 23 MAN articulated vehicles constructed between 1994 and 1997. One of them, fleet no. 240, is likewise a used vehicle from Kapfenberg.

The Van Hool vehicle generation, in the fleet since 2000, similarly offers only low-floor entrances. Of the 32 Van Hool vehicles, 13 were equipped with a diesel-powered auxiliary drive, the first such devices to be fitted to vehicles in the Salzburg fleet. On 24 November 2008, two more Van Hool articulated vehicles arrived in Salzburg as secondhand acquisitions from the Vevey–Villeneuve trolleybus system, in Switzerland. These had been Vevey–Villeneuve fleet nos. 2 and 15, built in 1995. Following renovation work, they were put back into service, with new fleet nos. 259 and 260. They were also painted, into the same dark red livery as features on the trains of the Salzburger Lokalbahn.

Of the latest Solaris Trollino 18 generation of vehicles, the first three were delivered on 14 September 2009. Eight more followed in 2010, and the remaining nine were scheduled to go into operation in 2011 and 2012. There is also an option for two further trolleybuses of this type. The new Solaris vehicles are also painted dark red and have an auxiliary drive. In February 2010, one Solaris vehicle, fleet no. 301, was lent to the Eberswalde trolleybus system in Germany for presentation purposes.

Additionally, the procurement of a bi-articulated trolleybus is anticipated for the near future.

Table of the current fleet

Numbers	Quantity	Manufacturer	Electrical equipment	Year built	Model	Low-floor	Auxiliary drive	Notes
229, 232, 233, 236, 241, 244, 245, 247, 248, 250	10	Gräf & Stift / MAN	Kiepe	1994–1997	NGT 204 M 16	yes	no
261–290	30	Van Hool	Kiepe	2000–2005	AG 300 T	yes	yes (261, 279–290) no (262–278)
301–319 (Trollino) 321-371 (Trollino Metrostyle)	70	Solaris	Cegelec	2009–2017	Trollino 18	yes	yes	316-319 are former La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The 4 Trollino were built in 2005. The Metrostyle is a trolleybus with a design inspired by the Solaris trams.

Heritage fleet

The ÜHIIIs heritage vehicle no. 123.

The oldest operable trolleybus in Salzburg is a 1957 model ÜHIIIs. This is not an original Salzburg vehicle; with the fictitious number 123, it comes from the Solingen trolleybus system (former number 40) and has been loaned by an English collector.

Since July 2007, the ÜHIIIs has been operating special trips in Salzburg, for which it wears a Salzburg livery. The vehicle can also be hired privately. From late July to late August each year, to coincide with the Salzburg Festival, the ÜHIIIs runs on a regular basis every Friday, on a special heritage line of the Association Pro Obus Salzburg eV. In 2012, the vehicle will return to England.

Two other serviceable heritage vehicles, also in the care of Pro Obus Salzburg eV, are the 1985-built Gräf & Stift articulated trolleybus no. 178, and the 1988-built Steyr conventional trolleybus no. 109. Both are still used in scheduled passenger service in the rush hours. This serves the dual purpose of avoiding deterioration of the heritage vehicles in storage, and better covering peak demand.

See also

• List of trolleybus systems

References

Books

• Fuchs, Alois (1996). Salzburgs Nahverkehr [Salzburg's Local Transport] (in German). Salzburg: Verlag Alfred Winter. ISBN 3-85380-053-X.
• Mackinger, Gunter (2005). Der Obus in Salzburg [The Trolleybus in Salzburg] (in German). Salzburg: Verlag Kenning. ISBN 3-933613-74-4.

External links

Media related to Trolleybuses in Salzburg at Wikimedia Commons

• "Trolleybus city: Salzburg". Trolleymotion.
• Salzburg database / photo gallery and Salzburg trolleybus list at Urban Electric Transit – in various languages, including English.