Contents

Trolleybuses in Geneva

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Geneva trolleybus system
Van Hool no. 1612 at Place de Bel-Air [fr] in 2017
Operation
Locale	Geneva, Switzerland
Open	11 September 1942 (1942-09-11)
Status	Open
Routes	6
Operator(s)	Transports publics genevois
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC
Stock	91
Overview
Website	http://www.tpg.ch Transports publics genevois (in French)

The Geneva trolleybus system (French: Réseau trolleybus de Genève) forms part of the public transport network in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the second largest trolleybus system in Switzerland, after the Lausanne system.

Opened in 1942, the system supplements the Geneva tramway network. It is operated by Transports publics genevois (TPG), and currently also serves the neighbouring municipalities of Bernex, Cologny, Confignon, Le Grand-Saconnex, Lancy, Meyrin, Onex and Vernier.

History[edit]

Geneva's first trolleybus line, inaugurated on 11 September 1942, linked Champel with Le Petit-Saconnex, replacing the former tram line. Like the tramway network, it was operated by the Compagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE). In subsequent years, other tram lines were closed and replaced with trolleybus lines:

• in 1950, line 4;
• in 1959, line 6;
• in 1961, line 2.

Additionally, two trolleybus lines replaced former bus lines:

• in 1950, line 7 to Aïre;
• in 1959, line 33 to Cointrin.

In 1971, line 4 was closed. In 1976, the name of the operator, CGTE, was changed to Transports Publics Genevois (TPG). On 25 September 1989, line 5 was merged into line 6. For more than a decade, some services on the extended line 6 were operated by conventional buses (fully trolleybus line 26 was supporting it till Châtelaine), but on 24 June 2001 the line reverted to operation solely by trolleybuses.

Lines[edit]

Since the reorganisation of Geneva's tram and trolleybus lines on 11 December 2011, the trolleybus lines have been as follows:

Fleet[edit]

Current fleet[edit]

Geneva's present trolleybus fleet consists of 94 articulated and ten bi-articulated vehicles:

	Fleet nos.	Quantity	Manufacturer	Electrics	Type	Configuration	Low-floor	Built
	731–768	38	Hess	Kiepe	BGT-N2C	Articulated	yes	2004-2005
	781–790	10	Hess	Kiepe	BGGT-N2C	Bi-articulated	yes	2005–2006
	1601–1656	56	Van Hool	Kiepe	ExquiCity 18	Articulated	yes	2014–2021

Past fleet[edit]

The following table summarises Geneva's former trolleybuses:^[1]

A number of Geneva's former trolleybuses, fleet nos. 32, 96, 602–605, 607, 611–613, 615–617, 621, 643 and 644, were exported to Chile in the early 1990s. Some of these exported vehicles remained in service on the Valparaíso trolleybus system for many more years, the last two being withdrawn in 2013 and 2014.^[2]

The unique NAW/Hess bi-articulated vehicle, fleet no. 721, was created in autumn 2003, by adding a third body section to the 1993-built fleet no. 709 of type BGT-N. It was the first Swiss bi-articulated trolleybus and served as a prototype for the production vehicles of type BGGT-N2C. All of the bi-articulated vehicles are used on line 10.

See also[edit]

• List of trolleybus systems in Switzerland
• Trams in Geneva

References[edit]

Specific[edit]

General[edit]

• Schwandl, Robert (2010). Schwandl's Tram Atlas Schweiz & Österreich. Berlin: Robert Schwandl Verlag. ISBN 978 3 936573 27 5. (in German and English)

External links[edit]

Media related to Trolleybuses in Geneva at Wikimedia Commons

• "Trolleybus city: Genève (Schweiz)". Trolleymotion.
• Geneva database / photo gallery and Geneva trolleybus listatUrban Electric Transit – in various languages, including English.