Just a few days after the launch of the new trolleybus line from Nádraží Veleslavín to Václav Havel Prague Airport, some of the twenty-five-meter-long Škoda-Solaris trolleybuses encountered technical difficulties. As a result, the Prague Transport Company (DPP) had to replace them with buses partially.
“Several days after the full operation began, minor technical faults occurred on several Škoda-Solaris 24m trolleybuses. However, it is not a serial defect,” explained Aneta Řehková, spokeswoman for the Prague Transport Company. According to Řehková, the defects relate to the setting of technical components or electric equipment, and some of the faults may be related to the lack of driver experience with trolleybuses.
“We believe, along with the suppliers, that this is only a temporary situation, and the availability of vehicles will soon be increased to fully cover the planned dispatch of seventeen vehicles on working days,” she added.
During the repair period, diesel buses will help to operate the line. The high-capacity three-cell battery-powered Škoda-Solaris trolleybus, which has been serving the electrified line 59 between Veleslavín and Václav Havel Airport since last Wednesday, measures almost 25 meters and can accommodate 180 passengers. It is the most extended vehicle of its type in the Czech Republic.
In conclusion, the trolleybuses running to the airport are not the only ones struggling with technical problems. At the beginning of the year, the company deployed new SOR TNS 18 trolleybuses on the new line 58 between Palmovka, Prosek, Letňany, Čakovice, and Miškovice, replacing bus line 140, but these vehicles also face issues.