Trolleybuses in Prague

The construction of its wired network should start in 2024 and should be a great benefit to locals as just like with line 58 it runs in a hilly terrain.

After World War II, the system expanded rapidly, and trolleybuses appeared in the city center, as well as in the suburban areas and big housing developments.

In 1958, a prototype of the Tatra T401 model was added to Prague's trolleybus fleet but it only lasted three years in operation.

[20] Soon after the political revolution of 1989, Prague's public transport company even delegated money and people to look into the reinstatement of the trolleybus network.

The goal of that experimental project was to prove the viability of trolleybuses in Prague, as well as demonstrating how to minimize the cost of building the infrastructure.

[22][23] Prior to constructing a new trolleybus network, Prague's public transport company had been trying out battery-powered buses on various routes.

Starting in 2014, the tests revealed that battery-powered vehicles tended to be very problematic on steep hills typical of Prague's landscape.

[24] The idea of a trolleybus network came as a direct response to the major problems with the battery-powered vehicles, aiming to combine the best attributes of both worlds.

The testing period was to take about a year, and once finished it was hoped that the network would be extended and new articulated trolleybuses with additional batteries purchased.

It was accompanied by a new SOR ENS 12 electric bus and an historic Tatra T400 vehicle from the Prague's public transport museum collection.

[23] On 1 July 2018, Prague's Public Transport Company was to begin regular operation on a newly built line.

The line will continue to have the number 58 and will follow the same route as in the preceding testing stage, that is, in between metro stations Palmovka and Letňany.

Every paying passenger was given a stamped paper ticket, and a postcard with a picture of Škoda 8Tr when it was still in regular operation.

The trolleybus was then towed using a tractor all the way to Letňany roundabout, supposedly the nearest safe place to turn the towed trolleybus, and back to the Kelerka stop to take passengers back to the bottom section of the line at the Kundratka stop.

People who didn't take the ride stood around the wired section to have a look and take photos and videos of the running attraction.

On 11 April 2021, Prague's public transport company announced the extension of the existing 1 km-long wired network.

[45] The final wired network won't cover the whole line but only a selected sections which is why Prague's public transport company now inquires 15 articulated trolleybuses equipped with batteries.

[46] On 17 October 2018, the newspaper Pražský deník published an article on the current state of the trolleybus network extension plans mentioned in Initial stage testing results above.

On 16 September 2019, information was released about three new lines to be run by trolleybuses with additional batteries, on the other side of Prague (left bank of the Vltava river), utilizing a different depot in Řepy district.

Line 119 is to be operated by high-capacity double-articulated trolleybuses, with higher capacity than current regular articulated buses.

In total, 20 trolleybuses are supposed to be purchased for line 119, costing around 600 million CZK, while the wiring and depot preparation should only take half the sum.

Trolleybus monument finished on 1 July 2009 at a location along the route of first Prague's trolleybus line.
Trolleybus monument finished on 8 October 2010 at the site of the Orionka terminus of Prague's first trolleybus system, closed in 1972.
Trolleybus SOR TNB 12 in Prague
An SOR TNB 12 trolleybus on the opening day of the new system
Preserved Tatra T400 trolleybus No. 431 in 2017, operating under its own power for the first time in 45 years
Škoda 8Tr towed away at the end of the special ride down the hill.
Ride on the Škoda 30 Tr trolleybus in Prague.
Prague's first ever purchased trolleybus since 1960.
First Prague's new trolleybuses for regular operation on line 58 (taking over previous bus line 140)
Bi-articulated trolleybus for the airport line 59.
Trolleybus scheme of a Palmovka - Miškovice line
Palmovka - Miškovice electrification plan
Letňany Terminal
Prosecká street during reconstruction in September 2021 preceding trolleybus centenary extension in 2022
Prague airport trolleybus wiring
Overview of the Prague's airport trolleybus line proposal.
A section of the new trolleybus line along Prosecká ulice (Prosecká Street) a few days before the opening of the new system