On 14 December 2025, the final farewell journeys of the trolleybus system in Schaffhausen took place. This marked the end of an era of more than fifty years of this form of electric urban transport, which had left a lasting mark on the region. Battery-electric buses are now replacing the traditional overhead-wire trolleybuses.
Historical development of the trolleybus system
The trolleybus system in Schaffhausen was inaugurated on 24 September 1966, replacing the previously existing tramway and establishing a new form of electric mobility. Schaffhausen thus became the last and youngest newly opened trolleybus system in Switzerland.
Initially, the trolleybus operated as Route 1 between Ebnat and Neuhausen Zentrum. In 1970, an extension to a turning loop at Waldfriedhof was opened, followed in 1974 by the branch line Ebnat–Herblingertal. This branch was served during peak hours by the new Route 9 Herblingertal–Neuhausen and remained in operation until 1995. In 1980, the main route was extended at the opposite end beyond Neuhausen Zentrum to Herbstäcker. Plans to convert other diesel bus routes to trolleybus operation failed on several occasions at different points in time.
Fleet and generations
Over the years, several generations of trolleybuses operated in Schaffhausen:
First generation (1966–1991/1992)
The first vehicles were supplied by Berna and comprised ten trolleybuses (vehicles 101–105 as articulated buses and 201–205 as single-deck buses). As some vehicles were not completed until after the system opened, trolleybuses from Winterthur were initially used to support operations. An eleventh articulated trolleybus (No. 106) joined the fleet, built by Volvo/Hess and known as the “Swiss Standard”; it entered service in 1975.
In 1980, the fleet reached its historical peak of 13 vehicles with the acquisition of two older single-deck buses from Lucerne.
Second generation (1991/1992–2011)
Between 1991 and 1992, newly built vehicles of the NAW/Hess BGT 5-25 series (numbers 111–118) replaced the old fleet and modernised the system. The fleet was later reduced when one vehicle served as a source of spare parts following a depot fire in 2007.
Third generation (2011–2025)
From 2011 onwards, Schaffhausen procured seven low-floor trolleybuses of the type Hess Swisstrolley 3 (numbers 101–107), which remained in service until the system was closed.
Gradual withdrawal
During the 2010s and early 2020s, the Verkehrsbetriebe Schaffhausen (VBSH) began a strategic realignment aimed at converting the entire bus network to battery-electric propulsion. The operator calculated that, despite the investment costs, switching to battery-only buses would lead to greater economic efficiency after a period of around eleven years compared with the previous mixed operation of diesel and trolleybuses.
As part of this conversion project, the existing seven trolleybuses, which had not yet reached the end of their economic service life (and still had remaining potential), were converted in 2019 by the manufacturer HESS to in-motion charging technology with high-performance traction batteries. This allowed them to operate sections of their routes without overhead wires. At the same time, overhead wiring was removed in central areas, and shortly afterwards the first battery-electric buses from Irizar e-mobility were delivered. Opportunity-charging masts were installed for rapid top-up charging.
However, due to major road construction projects, the trolleybuses were ultimately withdrawn from service earlier than planned. From 1 April 2025, shuttle buses (diesel or battery-electric) operated on the Neuhausen Zentrum–Herbstäcker section, requiring passengers to change vehicles. Further overhead line sections were removed on the remaining route as well. Although the trolleybuses were originally intended to remain in service until the end of 2028, the operator sought to avoid installing temporary overhead wiring and subsequently rebuilding it for only a few years. As a result, the final trolleybuses operated in regular service on 13 December 2025. On the following day, several hours of farewell journeys were offered free of charge using two of the vehicles, after which the overhead power supply at the depot was officially switched off.
The future of the seven trolleybuses which are still in very good working condition, is yet unclear.
Introduction of the new Irizar battery-electric buses
In parallel with the phase-out of the trolleybus system, VBSH had already begun introducing battery-electric buses from the Spanish manufacturer Irizar e-mobility at an earlier stage.
Since autumn 2020 and autumn 2021 respectively, Irizar “ie tram” electric buses have been operating in regular service in Schaffhausen. Initial vehicles were tested in 2020, with larger numbers entering service from 2021 onwards. The first deliveries comprised 15 battery-electric buses (eight 12-metre standard buses and seven 18-metre articulated buses), along with the associated charging infrastructure featuring ultra-fast 600 kW charging stations supplied directly with electricity from the local Rhine power plant.
To date, these electric buses have covered more than 750,000 kilometres in regular service and have completed over 60,000 fast-charging cycles.
Outlook
With the discontinuation of the trolleybus system at the end of 2025, Schaffhausen closes a chapter in its history of electric mobility. In the long term, the entire bus network is to be operated using battery-electric buses.
31.12.2025
