Prague, the Czech Republic’s bustling capital, is set to introduce another trolleybus route. The new trolleybus, coded as 52, will replace bus 137, which currently operates between Na Knížecí and U Waltrovky in Prague 5. The bus company is currently searching for an electrification contractor, and the contract’s value is estimated to be around 170 million koruna excluding VAT. If everything goes according to plan, the construction could kick off as early as this year.
Presently, selected bus routes venture into Jinonice and Malá Ohrada. However, due to the intensity of the traffic, the electrification will primarily be applied to the hilly section between Na Knížecí and U Waltrovky. The vehicles will have to navigate long and drawn-out climbs from Smíchov towards Malvazinky, with an average gradient of up to seven percent. Therefore, about 80 percent of the route to Waltrovka will be significantly uphill or downhill, necessitating a trolleybus line.
The new trolleybus route is part of an overarching project to electrify bus lines on the left bank of Prague. In addition to Route 137, trolleybuses will eventually replace Routes 131, 176, and 191. As part of this new route, approximately 4,440 meters of trolley bus line will be established between the Santoška and U Waltrovka stops, requiring the installation of 104 traction poles.
The city’s transport company will use combined poles, which will serve as traction lines and street lighting. Additionally, approximately two kilometers of cables will be laid, and a new substation will be built on Peroutkova Street. The new trolleybus service will operate in Prague 5, and standard-length battery trolleybuses will service the line, that is, twelve meters long.
“At this point, we are preparing to sign a contract with the winning supplier, who will deliver up to 70 vehicles of this type,” stated Jan Šurovský, the technical director of the transport company – Povrch. The investment project also includes the construction of seven charging stations at the Na Knížecí bus terminal and up to 37 outdoor charging stations in the Řepy garage, linking to the infrastructure built within the electrification project of bus 119, now trolleybus 59, which transports passengers between Veleslavín and Ruzyně Airport.