Trolleybuses in Lucerne

The Lucerne trolleybus system (Alemannic German: Trolleybussystem Luzern) forms part of the public transport network of Lucerne, capital city of the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Opened in 1941, the system had replaced the Lucerne tramway network by 1961.[1]

Lucerne trolleybus system
A Hess Swisstrolley crossing the Reuss, 2005.
Operation
Locale	Lucerne, Switzerland
Open	7 December 1941 (1941-12-07)
Status	Open
Routes	6
Operator(s)	Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL)
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC parallel overhead lines
Statistics
Route length	37.634 km (23.385 mi)
Overview
Website	Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL) (in German)

As of the end of 2013, the system consists of six lines, one of which leads across the city boundary into the neighbouring towns of Emmen, Horw and Kriens. It is currently operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern (VBL), has a total route length of 37.634 km (23.385 mi),[2] and as of about 2011 was carrying 27 million passengers annually.[3] The system is supplemented by various motor bus lines operated by the same transport company.

History

The system's individual trolleybus line sections went into service as follows:[1]

7 December 1941	Bahnhof Luzern–Allmend (2.59 km)	Bahnhof Luzern–Breitenlachen: now line 4 Breitenlachen–Allmend: decommissioned since 2005	New connection
25 January 1942	Bahnhof Luzern–Dietschiberg	now lines 6 and 8	New connection
20 May 1951	Luzernerhof–Wesemlinrain	now line 1	Motor bus replacement
15 November 1959	Dietschiberg–Würzenbach (1.05 km) Bundesplatz–Emmenbrücke (4.38 km)	now lines 6 and 8 now line 2	Motor bus replacement Tramway replacement
11 November 1961	Pilatusplatz–Kriens Busschleife Wesemlinrain–Maihof	now line 1	Tramway replacement
11 November 1962	Breitenlachen–Hubelmatt	now line 4	New connection
10 April 1966	Bundesplatz–Matthof Wartegg–Biregghof	now line 6 now line 7	New connection
2 July 1986	Schönbühl–Hirtenhof	now line 8	New connection
5 November 1990	Kriens Busschleife–Obernau Dorf Emmenbrücke–Sprengi	now line 1 now line 2	Motor bus replacement New connection
23 August 2004	Wesemlinrain–Unterlöchli	now line 7	New connection
15 December 2013	Brüelstrasse–Büttenenhalde	now line 6	Motor bus replacement
12 December 2016	Kriens-Emmenbruecke	now line 5	New connection (75th anniversary)

Lines

The present system is made up of the following lines:

1	Obernau Dorf–Maihof	cross-city route	27 stops	rush hour every 5 minutes / off-peak every 7.5 minutes	Bi-articulated buses and rigid buses + trailers
2	Sprengi–Bahnhof Luzern	radial route	18 stops	every 7.5 minutes	Articulated buses (motor buses)
4	Hubelmatt–Bahnhof Luzern	radial route	09 stops	every 10 minutes	Articulated buses
5	Kriens-Emmenbruecke	cross-city route	21 stops	peak times every 7.5 minutes / off peak every 15 minutes	Articulated buses
6	Matthof–Büttenenhalde	cross-city route	23/24 stops	rush hour every 10 minutes / off-peak every 15 minutes	Articulated buses
7	Biregghof–Unterlöchli	cross-city route	23/24 stops	every 7.5 minutes	Articulated buses
8	Hirtenhof–Würzenbach	cross-city route	19/20 stops	rush hour every 10 minutes / off-peak every 15 minutes	Rigid buses + trailers and articulated buses

Lines 6 and 8 operate on the same overhead wires between Brüelstrasse and Schönbühl, so that on this section there are trolleybuses at 5-minute intervals during rush hour, and at 7.5-minute intervals at off-peak times. This combined section is described as double-line 6/8.

Fleet

As of 31 December 2013, the VBL trolleybus fleet has 20 rigid, 26 articulated, and three bi-articulated vehicles There are also 16 trailers that can be used in combination with the rigid buses.[2]

Along with the Lausanne trolleybus system, the Lucerne system is one of only two trolleybus systems worldwide that still utilise the rigid concave bus and the trailer consortium form of operation. In addition, the Lucerne system is, along with the Le-Fond-De-L'eau and Lausanne systems, one of only three trolleybus systems in Switzerland still using rigid vehicles. An ongoing process called 'Operation Dismantle' projects re-use parts of the long-serving buses as gifts to the Cuban transportation system.

Image	Fleet nos.	Quantity	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	Configuration	Low-floor	Built
	201–226	26	Hess	Kiepe	BGT-N2C	Articulated	yes	2004–2009
	231–233	03	Hess	Kiepe	BGGT-N2C	Bi-articulated	yes	2006
	234–242	09	Hess	Kiepe	BGGT-N2D	Bi-articulated	yes	2014
	252–254, 257–280	27	NAW / Hess	Siemens	BT 5-25	Rigid	no	1989 (no. 251 built 1987–88)
	301–316	16	Lanz + Marti / Hess	none	APM 5.6-13	Trailer	yes	1998–2005

Type BGT 5-25 originally comprised 20 vehicles, nos. 181-200.

Of the 30 rigid versions of that type, the BT 5-25, to be acquired by the VBL, three vehicles had been retired by 2012: nos. 251, 255 and 256. In 2014, ten vehicles from that series were sold to the Valparaíso trolleybus system, in Chile: Nos. 265, 266, 268–270, 272, 273, 275, 276, 278.[4]

Depot

The Weinbergli depot is located on the route of lines 6, 7 and 8.

See also

• List of trolleybus systems in Switzerland

References

Notes

1. "Trolleybusstadt: Luzern (Schweiz) - Geschichte History" [Trolleybus city: Lucerne (Switzerland) - History] (in German). TrolleyMotion. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
2. "Die Fakten" [The facts] (in German). Verkehrsbetriebe Luzern. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
3. Brugger Kalfidis, Pia Maria. "Luzern setzt auf Trolleybusse" [Lucerne relies on trolleybuses] (PDF) (in German). Regionale Schienen. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
4. Trolleybus Magazine No. 320 (March–April 2015), p. 54. ISSN 0266-7452.

Further reading

• Schwandl, Robert (2010). Schwandl's Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich. Berlin: Robert Schwandl Verlag. ISBN 978 3 936573 27 5. (in German and English)

External links

Media related to Trolleybuses in Lucerne at Wikimedia Commons

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