Trolleybuses in Coimbra

The Coimbra trolleybus system (Portuguese: Rede de Tróleis de Coimbra) forms part of the public transport network in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. Opened in 1947, it supplemented, and then eventually replaced, the Coimbra tramway network. Service has been temporarily suspended since March 2021[4] and is not expected to resume before late 2024.[5]

Coimbra trolleybus system
A Caetano/EFACEC trolleybus in Coimbra, 2006
Operation
LocaleCoimbra, Portugal
Open16 August 1947 (1947-08-16)[1]
StatusSuspended (since March 2021)
Routes2[2]
Operator(s)SMTUC
Infrastructure
Electrification600 V DC[3]: 81 
Websitehttp://www.smtuc.pt SMTUC (in Portuguese)

History

Trolleybus service was inaugurated in Coimbra on 16 August 1947 with two Saurer 3TP trolleybuses.[3]: 37, 45 [6] The original operator was Serviços Municipalizados de Coimbra (SMC),[3]: 42  a municipal authority that had operated the city's tram system since 1920 and also managed the provision of water and gas.[7]: 212, 220 

Initially, the trolleybus system only partially replaced Coimbra's tramway network, but after several decades of concurrent operations the latter was closed, in January 1980.[7]: 222 

Until 1959, the Coimbra trolleybus system was the only one in Portugal. Since the closure of the Porto system in 1997, that has again been the case.

With effect from 1 January 1985, SMC's responsibility for water and sanitation services was moved to a new, separate authority, and the now transport-only authority was renamed Serviços Municipalizados de Transportes Urbanos de Coimbra (SMTUC).[6] Six trolleybus routes were in operation in 1988 (1, 3–6, and 8).[8]

Since March 2021, all trolleybus service has been temporarily suspended, initially because of road works[4] and later because of disruptions caused by construction of a Bus Rapid Transit line (named Metro Mondego).[5]

Lines

The system currently has two lines, 4 and 103. Although currently suspended (operated by motorbuses), their overhead wiring is being kept intact except for short sections affected by the BRT construction, as both routes are expected to resume after the latter is completed.[5]

Fleet

Past fleet
The system's solitary Solaris Trollino

The initial two-member Saurer fleet was augmented in 1949, with the acquisition of six new buses from Sunbeam Commercial Vehicles. The vehicles supplied were based on Sunbeam's MF2B model, with two axles and a wheelbase of 16.25 feet (4.95 m). They were fitted with single-deck bodywork by Park Royal Vehicles, with 40 seats and room for 35 standing passengers. In order to enable them to be operated by just the driver, they included an overhang of 8.25 feet (2.51 m) beyond the front axle, allowing the entrance door to be mounted just behind the windscreen, so that payment could be made to the driver when entering the vehicle. To cope with the steep gradients of the Coimbra system, they were fitted with 125 horsepower (93 kW) 600-volt motors, and each trolleybus carried two compressors, normally designed to work together, but each capable of maintaining the air supply for braking and door operation if one should fail.[9] Three more Sunbeam Park Royals joined the fleet in 1956.

Subsequent procurements included 10 BUT RETB/1s (four in 1958 and six in 1961), and six further Sunbeams in 1965.[10]

Current fleet

Today, the Coimbra trolleybus fleet is as follows:[10]

  • 10 conventional (two-axle) Caetano/EFACEC vehicles, built between 1984 and 1986;
  • 01 secondhand conventional Caetano/EFACEC trolleybus (with auxiliary diesel engine), borrowed from the closed Porto system;
  • 01 conventional Solaris Trollino, delivered in 2009 (No. 75).

See also

References

References
  1. Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. p. 71. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
  2. "Trolleybusstadt: Coimbra Portugal". Trolley: Motion. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  3. Vasconcelos, António, ed. (2007). Troleicarros de Coimbra: 60 Anos de História [Coimbra Trolleybuses: 60 Years of History] (in Portuguese). Portugal: Ordem dos Engeneiros. ISBN 978-989-95608-0-2.
  4. "Trolleynews [regular news section]". Trolleybus Magazine. Vol. 58, no. 363. UK: National Trolleybus Association. May–June 2022. p. 120. ISSN 0266-7452.
  5. "Trolleynews [regular news section]". Trolleybus Magazine. Vol. 59, no. 367. UK: National Trolleybus Association. January–February 2023. p. 35. ISSN 0266-7452.
  6. "História dos Transportes Urbanos em Coimbra" [History of Urban Transport in Coimbra] (in Portuguese). SMTUC. 2019. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  7. King, Brian; Isgar, Carl, eds. (2022). The Tramways of Portugal. UK: Light Rail Transit Association. ISBN 978-0-948106-55-2.
  8. "Trolleynews [regular news section]". Trolleybus Magazine. Vol. 58, no. 363. UK: National Trolleybus Association. September–October 1988. p. 116. ISSN 0266-7452.
  9. "British trolleybus debut in Portugal". Commercial Motor. 25 August 1950. p. 34.
  10. "Vehicles list: Coimbra, trolleybuses". transphoto.ru. Retrieved 7 September 2011.

Books
  • Groneck, Christoph (2008). Metros in Portugal – Schienennahverkehr in und um Lissabon und Porto [Metros in Portugal – Suburban rail transport in and around Lisbon and Porto] (in German). Berlin: Robert-Schwandl-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-936573-20-6.

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