Trolleybus with extended autonomous range – a trend in urban electric transport
Experimental buses with increased autonomous range have been well-received in Vitebsk.
Electric vehicles are more relevant than ever for Belarus today. This is confirmed by the Decree "On Stimulating the Use of Electric Vehicles" recently signed by the President. Another vector of development in this area is passenger transport. For example, since the beginning of this year, two experimental trolleybuses with an increased autonomous range have been operating in Vitebsk. An articulated "accordion" design, 18 meters long, a rocket-shaped cabin... Beautiful! But the main advantage of the new "Belkommunmash" model, according to its driver Sergey Marchuk, is its ability to travel 15 kilometers without wires – a considerable distance for urban public transport!
— It's a respectable vehicle, and the driver should look the part. It's the face of the city, after all!
By 2020, Vitebsk had 69 trolleybuses. Of these, 4 had an increased autonomous range and a standard cabin. When the new vehicles, capable of carrying 150 passengers, arrived, route No. 12 was opened in the regional center. It connects the railway station with the Bilevo residential area, which has no overhead contact network. There, Sergey Marchuk explains, the strengths of the new model became fully apparent:
— If there was a break in the network before, we had to unload passengers and wait for repairs. Today, the trolleybus, equipped with an electric battery, can travel even where there is no network. While the vehicle is connected to the wires, the battery charges and subsequently allows it to move autonomously. Half of my 14-kilometer route I drive like an electric bus.
It is true that an electric bus battery needs to be charged. The cost of a charging station is over 150 thousand dollars. A trolleybus with an increased autonomous range, interjects Sergey Medvedev, director of the enterprise "City Electric Transport of Vitebsk", which is a branch of OJSC "Vitebskoblavtotrans", allows for considerable savings:
— And not only on charging stations! In Vitebsk, for example, passage from Stroiteley Avenue to the Bilevo microdistrict will soon open. To build a contact network there for a conventional trolleybus (poles, wires, traction substations), it would have cost 8 million rubles. But, having hybrid trolleybuses, we did not do this, and part of the saved money was invested in the development of our enterprise.
— The ride is smooth, the driver's seat is comfortable! The pedals are positioned so that the legs do not get tired. In addition to heated mirrors that adjust automatically, video cameras are installed. They help monitor both the current collector on the roof and the doors. Sometimes, a mother with a stroller stands there, and there is no one to help. I can easily get out myself and help her bring it in. After all, we work not only with mechanisms, but also with people!
— That's where I learned that there were driver courses. The training is not much different from driving school. It's just important not to forget that a trolleybus driver drives on two roads: the lower one is asphalt, the upper one is the contact network with "horns". I've gotten used to waking up at 3:50 AM over 20 years; strong coffee helps me stay alert. As for my dream of being on stage, it hasn't disappeared anywhere. My wife and two sons and I love singing karaoke. I play the guitar, accordion, and balalaika. I'm pretty good at impressions. I even wanted to participate in the TV show "Make a Comedian Laugh" once, but it didn't work out time-wise. By the way, when experimental trolleybuses were presented in Vitebsk on New Year's Eve, I dressed up as Santa Claus.
Talents, Sergey Nikolaevich is sure, must be demonstrated and developed:
— Last year, my neighbors saw that I had painted a panda on the first-floor wall and asked me to decorate all the entrances with similar compositions. As a result, our house became a prize-winner for landscaping in the Pervomaysky district. I love my dacha, fishing, and traveling! I learned the history of Vitebsk. If they told me to give an excursion while traveling along the route, I think I could handle it.
— They are not as large, but because the battery is on the roof, they are quite spacious. When the renovated Polotsk overpass is opened in the city, we will definitely launch a route from Bilevo to Tiraspol. The absence of an overhead contact line on Leningradskaya Street will not be a hindrance. In my opinion, the trolleybus is the most promising mode of transport: in terms of environmental friendliness and maintenance costs. Considering that Belarus will soon have its own nuclear power plant, the future is definitely with such vehicles.
Electric vehicles are more relevant than ever for Belarus today. This is confirmed by the Decree "On Stimulating the Use of Electric Vehicles" recently signed by the President. Another vector of development in this area is passenger transport. For example, since the beginning of this year, two experimental trolleybuses with an increased autonomous range have been operating in Vitebsk. An articulated "accordion" design, 18 meters long, a rocket-shaped cabin... Beautiful! But the main advantage of the new "Belkommunmash" model, according to its driver Sergey Marchuk, is its ability to travel 15 kilometers without wires – a considerable distance for urban public transport!
Convenient, Mobile, Rational
Sergey Nikolaevich arrives at the cabin of the AKSМ 43300D Vitovt II trolleybus 15 minutes before his shift – in a shirt and tie:— It's a respectable vehicle, and the driver should look the part. It's the face of the city, after all!
By 2020, Vitebsk had 69 trolleybuses. Of these, 4 had an increased autonomous range and a standard cabin. When the new vehicles, capable of carrying 150 passengers, arrived, route No. 12 was opened in the regional center. It connects the railway station with the Bilevo residential area, which has no overhead contact network. There, Sergey Marchuk explains, the strengths of the new model became fully apparent:
— If there was a break in the network before, we had to unload passengers and wait for repairs. Today, the trolleybus, equipped with an electric battery, can travel even where there is no network. While the vehicle is connected to the wires, the battery charges and subsequently allows it to move autonomously. Half of my 14-kilometer route I drive like an electric bus.
It is true that an electric bus battery needs to be charged. The cost of a charging station is over 150 thousand dollars. A trolleybus with an increased autonomous range, interjects Sergey Medvedev, director of the enterprise "City Electric Transport of Vitebsk", which is a branch of OJSC "Vitebskoblavtotrans", allows for considerable savings:
— And not only on charging stations! In Vitebsk, for example, passage from Stroiteley Avenue to the Bilevo microdistrict will soon open. To build a contact network there for a conventional trolleybus (poles, wires, traction substations), it would have cost 8 million rubles. But, having hybrid trolleybuses, we did not do this, and part of the saved money was invested in the development of our enterprise.
When developing experimental articulated trolleybuses, the Minsk manufacturer used model 433 as a base, but the internal components are special – created specifically for Vitebsk.Sergey Marchuk likes both the appearance and the internal components of the experimental model:
— The ride is smooth, the driver's seat is comfortable! The pedals are positioned so that the legs do not get tired. In addition to heated mirrors that adjust automatically, video cameras are installed. They help monitor both the current collector on the roof and the doors. Sometimes, a mother with a stroller stands there, and there is no one to help. I can easily get out myself and help her bring it in. After all, we work not only with mechanisms, but also with people!
Technology is not a hindrance to creativity
It is interesting that Marchuk became a trolleybus driver by chance. As a child, he moved with his parents from Ukraine to the Shumilinsky district. After graduating from a cultural and educational college, he worked as the head of the Leskovichi rural club. He led discos. He dreamed of becoming an artist. But in the 1990s, when he moved to Vitebsk to his wife, he could only get a job as a mechanic at the tram depot:— That's where I learned that there were driver courses. The training is not much different from driving school. It's just important not to forget that a trolleybus driver drives on two roads: the lower one is asphalt, the upper one is the contact network with "horns". I've gotten used to waking up at 3:50 AM over 20 years; strong coffee helps me stay alert. As for my dream of being on stage, it hasn't disappeared anywhere. My wife and two sons and I love singing karaoke. I play the guitar, accordion, and balalaika. I'm pretty good at impressions. I even wanted to participate in the TV show "Make a Comedian Laugh" once, but it didn't work out time-wise. By the way, when experimental trolleybuses were presented in Vitebsk on New Year's Eve, I dressed up as Santa Claus.
Talents, Sergey Nikolaevich is sure, must be demonstrated and developed:
— Last year, my neighbors saw that I had painted a panda on the first-floor wall and asked me to decorate all the entrances with similar compositions. As a result, our house became a prize-winner for landscaping in the Pervomaysky district. I love my dacha, fishing, and traveling! I learned the history of Vitebsk. If they told me to give an excursion while traveling along the route, I think I could handle it.
A Head Start for the Future
Another experimental hybrid trolleybus from Belkommunmash is expected in Vitebsk at the end of March. In addition, Sergey Medvedev said, the enterprise has acquired 10 trolleybuses with an increased autonomous range manufactured by the MAZ plant:— They are not as large, but because the battery is on the roof, they are quite spacious. When the renovated Polotsk overpass is opened in the city, we will definitely launch a route from Bilevo to Tiraspol. The absence of an overhead contact line on Leningradskaya Street will not be a hindrance. In my opinion, the trolleybus is the most promising mode of transport: in terms of environmental friendliness and maintenance costs. Considering that Belarus will soon have its own nuclear power plant, the future is definitely with such vehicles.
BY THE WAY
Vitebsk trolleybus route No. 12 is one of those where you can pay for your trip using a smartphone via QR code. Along with this, from April 1, 2020, traditional ticket punches and paper tickets are intended to be used on trams and trolleybuses in the regional center. The design of the tickets with the image of a cornflower, the symbol of the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival, has already been developed. They will go on sale soon. In the future, "GorElektroTransport of Vitebsk" intends to abandon the services of conductors.