Prague to become the capital of bi-articulated Trolleybuses!

Prague to become the capital of bi-articulated Trolleybuses!

A consortium comprised of Solaris Bus & Coach, Solaris Czech and Škoda Electric has submitted a winning bid in a tender concerning the delivery of 20 bi-articulated Trollino 24 trolleybuses, held by the Prague public transport operator Dopravní podnik. This is the first such large order for vehicles of this type. The deliveries shall be carried out within 24 months of the signing of the contract.

The tender, launched by operator Dopravní podnik hlavního města Prahy (DPP), concerned the delivery of 20 bi-articulated trolleybuses. Solaris Bus & Coach, Solaris Czech and Škoda Electric jointly submitted the winning bid. The Solaris Trollino 24 vehicles will roll onto the streets of Prague over the course of the next two years.

“We would like to congratulate the city of Prague on this investment in state-of-the-art and locally emission-free vehicles! The Trollino 24 trolleybus is our response to increasing passenger capacities on the most used routes in congested towns and cities. Putting 20 bi-articulated trolleybuses into operation will be a perfect solution for this metropolis. I am convinced that these cutting-edge, carefully designed, and above all, zero-emission vehicles with extensive equipment will become a calling card for the Czech capital”, said Petros Spinaris, Management Board Member of Solaris for Sales, Marketing and After Sales.

Each vehicle will feature four axles, including two drive axles. The drive of the Trollino 24 will consist of two traction motors. Traction batteries, used as a source of energy in the event of power supply failure, will be placed on the roof of the vehicle’s second section. The minimum range of the trolleybus, when running on traction batteries stipulated in the tender specification, amounts to 11 km.

The exact length of this unique, bi-articulated trolleybus is 24,700 mm. It can carry up to 179 passengers, including 54 people seated. The vehicle interior will also feature two bays for passengers in wheelchairs. The Trollino 24 is a five-door-model with a 2-2-2-2-2 door layout. Both the lighting in the passenger compartment and external lighting have been designed using LED technology. What is more, the vehicles will boast various amenities such as destination blinds, efficient air-conditioning and a video surveillance system consisting of cameras monitoring the interior, a rear-view camera and a pantograph camera. Drivers will carry out their duties in a comfortable enclosed cabin separated from the passenger compartment by a half-glazed partition.

The bi-articulated Solaris trolleybus was presented for the first time to the public in 2019, at the Busworld trade fair in Brussels. In 2020, the trolleybus was test-driven in regular passenger traffic in Bratislava. This is yet another trolleybus model in the manufacturer’s range. The company added these zero-emission vehicles to its offering back in 2001. Since then, it has delivered 1800 Trollinos to customers all over Europe.