Prague electrifies bus routes

A three-section trolleybus "Škoda-Solaris 24m" on the way from the airport to the Veleslavyn railway station. Photo: DPP - Petr Hejna

After almost half a century of diesel buses dominating the streets of Prague, another type of public transport is increasingly being seen on the streets - modern battery trolleybuses with a zero carbon footprint. Recently, on March 6, a new trolleybus line No. 59 was launched in the Czech capital, replacing bus line No. 119. This is the second bus route in the city that has been partially electrified and turned into a trolleybus, the press service of the municipal carrier DPP informs.

The trolleybus route connects the Veleslavín railway station in the northwestern part of the city with Prague's Vaclav Havel Airport. To organize trolleybus traffic on this route, 11.5 km of contact network was laid between Veleslavín station and Terminal 3, covering about half of the length of the former bus line No. 119. The section between the airport terminals will be operated using autonomous battery power. The trolleybuses will be charged while moving from the overhead line or while parked at the final stops.

Scheme of the trolleybus route No. 59. The section with the overhead line is marked in purple. Photo: DPP

Another feature of trolleybus route 59 is the use of three-section mega-trolleybuses "Škoda-Solaris 24m" with a length of 24.7 meters. One such vehicle has five pairs of doors for boarding and alighting passengers, and can carry up to 180 people, including 54 on the seats. DPP purchased 20 three-section vehicles to service the new line, becoming the first megatrolleybus operator in the Czech Republic.

Revival of the trolleybus in Prague

The first trolleybus system operated in Prague from 1936 to 1972. The revival of the trolleybus in Prague began in October 2017, 45 years after the elimination of this type of ground electric transport. That was when the first test route with a 1 km long contact network, route No. 58, was put into operation. Previously, it was bus route No. 140, which connected the Palmovka metro station with the Letnany neighborhood in the eastern part of the Czech capital. A year later, traffic on this line became regular. In the following years, this route was extended several times, and it has been operating in its current form since the beginning of February this year. Line 58 operates 15 two-section trolleybuses "SOR TNS 18" with a capacity of 136 passengers, of which 41 can travel in the seats.

Over the next five years, DPP intends to electrify several more bus routes. In particular, in June 2020, the city authorities approved DPP's plans to convert four bus lines into trolleybuses. These are routes 137 (Na Knizheke - U Valtrovky), 131 (Hradchanska - Boryslavka), 176 (Karlovo Namesti - Strahov Stadium), and 191 (Na Knizheke - Airport). Already in 2025, the municipal carrier plans to launch two new trolleybus routes - No. 52 and No. 51, which will be created on the basis of bus routes No. 137 and No. 131.

Two-section trolleybuses "SOR TNS 18" on line 58. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

In April 2022, the Prague City Council approved investment plans for the electrification of four more bus lines on the left bank of the Vltava River: No. 142 (Nove Butovice - Velka Ohrada), No. 225 (Velka Ohrada - Nove Vokovice), No. 174 (Vypich - Nadraži Reporzice), No. 184 (Vypich - Velka Ohrada), as well as the construction of a new tram line Motol - Vypich. The estimated investment cost of all five of these projects is 1.78 billion kroons (approximately 70.5 million euros).