Salzburg Linien, as part of Salzburg AG, and Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetrieb und Stubaitalbahn GmbH IVB conclude a joint framework agreement with the Swiss manufacturer Carrosserie Hess AG for future deliveries of battery-powered articulated trolleybuses. Up to 60 vehicles of the well-known lighTram® 19 DC model are foreseen for Salzburg and up to 20 for Innsbruck. Orders of the 12-metre or the 24.7-metre lighTram® are agrred as option.
It is particularly noteworthy that Innsbruck is now considering the possibility of reintroducing trolleybus operation on certain shorter sections of the route. This will allow the traction batteries of the new vehicles to be recharged while travelling under overhead lines. In-motion charging or dynamic charging is clearly the most promising concept for the future of all trolleybus operations.
Salzburg has already bought 42 such vehicles, with a further 8 to follow by February 2025. They are locally referred to as “eObusse”. Salzburg is calling off 12 vehicles from the new framework agreement as a firm order, to increase the frequency on lines 9 and 10 and for extensions to line 12.
Cooperation enables utilisation of synergies
The aim of the joint tender by Salzburg Linien and Innsbrucker Verkehrsbetriebe was to achieve considerable savings through a lower unit price for the vehicles compared to a separate tender by the co-operation partners. This was achieved by spreading the one-off costs for the development of the standard design over a significantly higher number of vehicles – up to 80 to be precise. The special features and specific requirements of the co-operation partners will be taken into account.
We already reported on test drives in Innsbruck here:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/innsbruck-is-testing-and-salzburg-buys-new-hess-trolleybuses/
