Ghent revives trolleybuses after 13 years
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THIRTEEN years after the closure of Belgium's last trolleybus system in Liege, the city of Ghent has decided to convert several bus and tram routes to trolleybus operation.
A contract for the construction and supply of 20 articulated vehicles has been placed with Van Hool; traction motors and electrical thyristor control gear will be manufactured by another Belgian company, ACEC, of Charleroi.
In 1985 completion of the first two prototypes for MIVG (the Ghent operating company) will be followed by an extended test and evaluation programme under the wires of the Solingen trolleybus network in Germany.
By 1986 the installation of overhead equipment in Ghent is expected to be completed between the MIVG depot and the Koornmarkt Square in the city centre to enable a limited service to be introduced.
Full operation of all 20 vehicles is scheduled for 1987 by which time all Belgian pave sections on the first 7km of route will have been resurfaced as it was considered undesirable to operate the electrically-powered vehicles over the bumpy streets typical of old Belgian towns.
The Ghent fleet of articulated trolleybuses will be fitted with small auxiliary engine/generators for low-speec movement away from the overhead wire. They will not be operated as duo-buses of the type now running in Nancy, France, but will have a regenerative braking system.
The Ghent scheme is being prepared with the backing of the Belgian Ministry of Transport and the vehicle manufacturer and is another indicator of increasing European interest in this type of operation.
Van Hool's experience in the articulated vehicle sector is well represented by the AG 280 model providing accommodation for 140 passengers within an overall length of 17.34m (19yd).
Vehicles of this type also constitute part of a current tender for the supply of 5,000 buses for Thailand.
• This is the last in my series EuroScene in this journal, but CM will be stepping up its Continental coverage in other ways, and you haven't heard the last of me! I shall still be contributing to CM with news from Europe. Happy reading!