Another new trolley bus model has started test rides in Rosario: To replace the current fleet Marcopolo trolleybuses on the main K line, which have been in service since 1994 but were built in 1988, 20 converted diesel buses are planned to be used. The vehicles chosen are 11-year-old Metalpar Iguazu type 12-metre diesel buses on Mercedes-Benz OH 1618 SB chassis, which will be totally refurbished and fitted with electrical equipment. A similar conversion, albeit based on a different diesel bus model, had already been completed in 2020 – the trolleybus is in service numbered 33, see: https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/rosario-a-new-argentine-low-cost-trolleybus/ .
The first converted Metalpar is now undertaking test runs on the network under the number 34 and was officially presented to the public on 1 December 2022. The purchase of second-hand trolleybuses from other cities, e.g. Boston, is not likely to materialize.
The Marcopolo trolleybuses, which have been in service since the network reopened 28 years ago, have performed very well, but are now approaching the end of their useful life despite a major overhaul in the meantime. All of them have already covered well over 1 million kilometres in service. They were originally built for the never-opened, new operation in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, and came as good as new to neighbouring Argentina in 1993 on favourable terms without having been used before.
The company is not satisfied with the battery trolleybuses delivered in 2017 by the Russian manufacturer TROLZA as the “Megapolis” type, which showed considerable body damage, including cracks, after only a short time and had to be repaired at great expense. They run on line Q, which is only partially electrified with catenary. 12 trolleybuses are available, the additional 2 trolleybuses agreed upon as compensation for delays in delivery never actually arrived in Argentina.
Would love to see Boston (Cambridge) trackless see a 2nd life in Argentina!!