Trolleybuses in Basel

Basel trolleybus system

Basel Neoplan trolleybus no. 929
on line 31, August 2005.
Operation
Locale Basel, Switzerland
Open 31 July 1941 (1941-07-31)
Close 30 June 2008 (2008-06-30)
Status Closed
Routes 3 (max)
Operator(s) Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB)
Infrastructure
Electrification 600 V DC
Website Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (German)

The Basel trolleybus system (Alemannic German: Trolleybussystem Basel) was part of the public transport network of Basel, Switzerland, for nearly six decades. Opened in 1941, it combined after 1997 with the Basel Regional S-Bahn, the Basel tramway network and Basel's urban motorbus network to form an integrated all-four style scheme until its closure in 2008.

The trolleybus system was operated by Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB), which also operates Basel's motorbus network and some of the trams on its tramway network. At its height, the trolleybus system consisted of three lines, two of which ran into the neighbouring municipality of Riehen, north of Basel.

History

The individual sections of the Basel trolleybus system went into service as follows:[1]

31 July 1941 Claraplatz–Rosengartenweg–Friedhof am Hörnli Line A (to 1948)
Line 31 (from 1948) 		Replacement for motor bus line A
25 October 1948 Friedhof am Hörnli–Habermatten Line 31 Extension over new section
9 February 1956 Rosengartenweg–Käferholzstrasse Line 34 Replacement for motor bus line 34
24 October 1968 Wanderstrasse–Badischer Bahnhof Line 33 Replacement for motor bus line 33
(to 4 July 1966: Tram line 2)
18 April 1973 Käferholzstrasse–Habermatten Line 34 Extension over new section

Line 34 was converted to motorbus operation on 9 September 2000. A conversion of line 33 followed on 13 December 2004. After the latter closure, Basel's only remaining trolleybus line was the 4.9 km (3.0 mi) long line 31.

A popular initiative to rescue the trolleybuses then occurred, but on 17 June 2007 the initiative was rejected by a 27,403 to 23,645 (53.7%) majority of the electors. Subsequently, the final trolleybus run on line 31 took place on 30 June 2008.[2]

Fleet

A total of 52 trolleybuses were procured for the Basel trolleybus system. All of them were supplied new, apart from nos. 921 and 922, which were acquired second-hand from the Kaiserslautern trolleybus system in Germany:[3]

Manufacturer Type Configuration Quantity Fleet numbers Service years
FBW 51 Rigid (two-axle), dual-mode 2 10–11, from 1947/48: 50–51, from 1956: 350–351 1941–1975
Saurer 4 BPO Two-axle, cab over 2 12–13, from 1947/48: 52–53, from 1956: 352–353 1941–1958
Saurer 4 TP Two-axle 2 54–55, from 1956: 354–355 1948–1975
FBW 51 Two-axle 12 56–64, from 1956: 356–368 1955–1995
Schindler APG Articulated 10 901–910 1968–1996
FBW 91 GTS Articulated 10 911–920 1975–2000
Daimler-Benz O305 GT Articulated 2 921–922 1986–2000
Neoplan N 6020 Articulated, low-floor 12 923–934 1992–2008
Ex-Basel trolleybus 918 in service in Braşov (Romania) in 2006, still wearing BVB fleet livery

Up until the closure of the system, motorbus no. 48 served as an overhead wire de-icer, and for that purpose was fitted with trolley poles.

Some of the retired trolleybuses were transferred to Pazardzhik and Ruse in Bulgaria as well as Braşov in Romania. Trolleybus no. 358 is now in the possession of the Lausanne-based RétroBus Léman museum society.

Depot

The vehicles in Basel's trolleybus fleet were kept at the Rankstrasse bus garage, on line 31. The garage was also connected with line 33 via non-revenue wires (wiring not used for passenger service) from Basel Badischer Bahnhof.

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe (BVB): Geschichte". www.tram-bus-basel.ch website (in German). Dominik Madörin, CH-Ettingen. Retrieved 4 October 2012. External link in |work= (help)
  2. ↑ Trolleybus Magazine No. 282 (November–December 2008), p. 240. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.
  3. ↑ "Trolleybusse der Basler Verkehrs-Betriebe". www.tram-bus-basel.ch website (in German). Dominik Madörin, CH-Ettingen. Retrieved 4 October 2012.

Further reading

Media related to Trolleybuses in Basel at Wikimedia Commons

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