Helsinki City Transport to examine prospect of re-introducing trolleybuses

Old trolleybuses have undergone a complete transformation since they were removed from service in 1985

print this

A new - or not so new - form of local public transport could be provided in downtown Helsinki already as soon as around 2015.
      The city of Helsinki’s public utility enterprise, Helsinki City Transport (HKL), wants to examine the potential costs and schedule of re-introducing trolleybuses into the city transit scheme.
      According to a preliminary estimate, the number of new trolleybuses could be 60 to 100.
      The idea is that a number of bus lines in downtown Helsinki (for example lines 14, 15, 18, 23, 24, 53, and 55) could be taken care of by trolleybuses.
     
”In addition, it is possible that part of the planned extensions of tramlines could be replaced by trolleybuses”, said Ville Lehmuskoski, the director of the HKL Planning Unit.
      Helsinki is planning to extend the tramlines in the 2010s to Jätkäsaari, Sompasaari, and Kruunuvuorenranta.
      After the extension, the present tram depots would not be sufficient for the rolling stock required.
      ”If part of the new tram traffic were to be replaced by trolleybuses, an investment of EUR 25 million in the extension of the tram depot could be avoided”, Lehmuskoski reported, saying that a trolleybus depot would be a less expensive alternative than a tram depot.
     
On Tuesday, the HKL Board received a report on the planned trolleybus project.
      ”Some transport alternatives look really surprisingly attractive from the economic point of view”, said Jessica Karhu (Green League), the chair of the HKL Board.
      She regards the issue as important, particularly in terms of air quality.
      According to Karhu, the aim is to examine the extension of the tramlines simultaneously with the reintroduction of trolleybuses.
      On Thursday of next week the board is to make a decision on how to proceed in the matter.
      If the Board decides to draw up a more specific actual project plan, decisions on the acquisition of trolleybuses could be made in a couple of years.
     
The estimated price for one trolleybus is around EUR 350,000 to 750,000, and the vehicle operating costs are estimated to be some 10 % more expensive than those of a diesel bus.
      However, they would be only half of the tram operating costs.
     
A trolleybus is an electrically-powered bus that draws its charge from a network of overhead wires, using spring-loaded trolley poles.
      Today, there are some 250 trolleybus operations in Europe.
      Entirely new systems have been built in France, Italy, Spain, and Holland.
      However, the number of trolleybuses continues to be the highest in Eastern Europe.
      As the caption to the timeline shows, trolleybuses were last seen in Helsinki traffic in the 1980s.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki may introduce hybrid buses already next year (10.12.2007)

Links:
  Helsinki City Transport (HKL)
  Trolleybus (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat