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Sofia trolleybus system
Sofia trolleybus system
	Škoda 27Tr Solaris trolleybus in Sofia
Operation
Locale	Sofia, Bulgaria
Open	8 February 1941
Status	Open
Routes	10
Owner(s)	Stolichna Municipality
Operator(s)	Sofia Electric Transport JSC
Infrastructure
Electrification	600 V DC
Depot(s)	3
Stock	141
Statistics
Track length (total)	257 km (160 mi)
Route length	193 km (120 mi)
Website	elektrotransportsf.com

The Sofia trolleybus system (Bulgarian: Тролейбусен транспорт София) forms part of the public transport network of Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria.

In operation since 8 February 1941, the system presently comprises ten routes with 257 km (160 mi) network build, of which 193 km (120 mi) are currently in use.

As of 2020 the average speed of the trolleybus system in Sofia is 15.7 km/h.^[1]

History

Trolleybus transport was the last form of surface public transport to develop in Sofia, after buses and trams. The first Sofia trolleybus line opened on 8 February 1941. It was over 3 km (2 mi) long, and connected the city with the Gorna Banya quarter.^[2] The line was covered by 2 MAN trolleybuses, which were stored on the last stops during the night, due to the lack of depot.

In the 1950s and 1960s, massive development of the trolleybus transport in Sofia began. At that time, the construction of new trolleybus routes proceeded especially rapidly, and two depots ("Stochna Gara" and "Nadezhda") were opened, with a total capacity of 160 trolleybuses. In 1951, the first Bulgarian made trolleybuses entered service.^[2]

In 1987, a new depot, "Iskar", was opened with a capacity of 130 trolleybuses.^[2] Levski depot was opened in 1994 with capacity of 60 trolleybuses. As of 2021 three depots are in operation: Nadezhda, Iskar and Levski. The latter also serves as a storage and overhaul facility.

Lines

As of April 2024, the following trolleybus lines in Sofia are in service:

Line	Route	Depot
1	Levski G Residential District – Fifth City Hospital	Levski
2	Hadzhi Dimitar Residential District – Buxton Residential District	Iskar
3	Levski G Residential District – St. Anna Hospital	Iskar
4	Druzhba 2 Residential District – Hadzhi Dimitar Residential District	Iskar
5	Mladost 2 Residential District – Nadezhda Overpass	Nadezhda/Iskar
6	Lyulin 3 Residential District – Stochna gara Square	Nadezhda
7	Lyulin 3 Residential District – Gotse Delchev Residential District	Nadezhda
8	Stochna gara Square – Gotse Delchev Residential District	Iskar
9	Borovo Residential District – Stochna gara Square	Nadezhda
11	Druzhba 1 Residential District – Stochna gara Square	Iskar

Trolleybus fleet

Current fleet

As of December 2022, the Sofia trolleybus fleet consisted of 141 trolleybuses, of which around 120 are serviceable.

The following models are currently part of the fleet:

Quantity	In service	Model	Year built	Fleet numbers	Notes
50	50	Škoda 27Tr Solaris III	2013-2014	1650-1674, 2675-2699
30	30	Škoda 27Tr Solaris IV	2020-2021	2801-2830
30	30	Škoda 26Tr Solaris III	2010	1603-1632
16	5	Ikarus 280.92	1985-1988	2054, 2115, 2117, 2123, 2614, 2623, 2702-2703, 2711-2712, 2715, 2723, 2909, 2913, 2915, 2922	Total of 151 units delivered
11	1	Ikarus 280.92F	1985-1988	2104-2109, 2608-2609, 2617, 2902-2903	Facelift, modernized 2008-2015
3	0	Cobra GD 272	2003-2005	2002-2004	Güleryüz bodywork, Romanian electrical equipment, assembled by Tramkar
1	0	Gräf & Stift GЕ 152 M18	1986	1801	8 units delivered 2006 from Innsbruck

The heritage fleet consists of the following vehicles:

Model	Year built	Status	Notes
Škoda 9TrHT28	1981	Unrestored	Ex Plovdiv. In private ownership.
Škoda 14Tr06	1985	Unrestored	Ex Stara Zagora, née Sofia
DAC-Chavdar 317 Etr	1986	Unrestored	Ex Pernik. In private ownership.
ZiU-682	1987	Restored	Ex Stara Zagora

Past fleet

Quantity	Model	Years in service	Notes
2	MAN MPE 1	1941-1956
26	MTB-82	1948-1960s
67	TB-51	1951-1971	Bulgarian-made version of the Soviet MTB-82
244	Skoda 9Tr	1964-1990
12	MAN/Kässbohrer/Kiepe 610 FEC 1	1967-1974	ex Dortmund
3	Ikarus 280T	1980-1984	Rebuilt from diesel buses with Skoda 9Tr electrical equipment
19	Gräf & Stift GEO I, GEO II, GE 120	1984-1987	ex Linz
20	Skoda 14Tr06	1985-1987	Transferred to other Bulgarian towns
70	ZiU-682	1986-2004
23	DAC-Chavdar 317 Etr	1987-1994
1	Tramkar-Chavdar 130	1994-2010	Prototype

Depots

Nadezhda - opened in 1962, located on podpolkovnik Kalitin street, operates lines 5, 6, 7 and 9; houses trolleybuses with fleet numbers starting with 2
Iskar - opened in 1987, located on Amsterdam street, operates lines 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 11; houses trolleybuses with fleet numbers starting with 1
Levski - opened in 1994, located on Bessarabia street, serves as maintenance and overhaul facility and for storage and dismantling of decommissioned vehicles. Since November 2021 also operates line 1.

References

^ Sofiaplan (2020). "Sofiaplan Transport Infographic" (PDF). Retrieved 22 March 2021. (in Bulgarian)
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of Trolleybus Transport". Urban Mobility Centre, Sofia. Retrieved 10 August 2011. (in English)