Foxton96
NZ Bus No. 335 at the Lambton Interchange 12/10/2017
With only a dozen days still remaining of trolleybus operation in Wellington until the power is finally switched off on 31/10/2017, ending 68 years of continuous trolley operation in the Capital, Go Wellington No. 335 of 2 May 2008, snapped heading away from the Interchange hub on the Route 1 service to Island Bay on Thursday, 12 October 2017.
335 EMB785 2/5/2008 / Designline Citybus Trolley / VIN:7A874010908008213 / Designline B43DW bodywork. Go Wellington, Kilbirnie.
THE FIRST STEP IN DISMANTLING WELLINGTON'S TROLLEYBUS WIRES BEGINS
Press Release – Greater Wellington Regional Council posted on 3 October 2017
The first step in dismantling Wellington’s trolleybus wires begins next week
Work will start on a disused section in the city centre on 10 October as part of a 12-month contract to remove 82 kilometres of overhead wires.
Work on dismantling the rest of the network will begin on 1 November after power to the trolleys is switched off on 31 October.
Greater Wellington Regional Council Chief Executive Greg Campbell says the trolleys have served the city well over the decades, but it’s time to look to new environmentally-friendly technology that can be used throughout the entire city and region.
“Next year, the region will get a new fleet of low-emission diesels, as well as 10 electric double-deckers – and in the next few years we’ll add another 22 electric double-deckers.
“Over time, more and more electric buses will come into service until we eventually achieve our goal of being the first region in the country to have an all-electric fleet.”
Wellington Cable Car Ltd awarded the wire removal contract in May to specialist firm Broadspectrum on behalf of Greater Wellington. Wellington City Council owns Wellington Cable Car Ltd.
Greater Wellington and the NZ Transport Agency will share the cost of removal work.
Wellington Cable Car Chief Executive Officer Simon Fleisher says the week-long first stage will enable Broadspectrum to fine-tune its equipment, processes and safety procedures before the work begins in earnest.
The disused emergency section runs along Featherston Street, Hunter Street, Victoria Street, Jervois Quay, Wakefield Street, lower Taranaki Street and Whitmore Street.
“Residents along trolley routes should expect some limited machinery noise, but only for one night because Broadspectrum crews anticipate removing about 200 metres of line each evening.
“Residents may also be asked to temporarily park their cars elsewhere so crews can get access to overhead wires and poles. Broadspectrum will do letter drops so there will be plenty of warning, and Broadspectrum will also have information online and through its contact centre.
Crews will concentrate on central city areas in January and February before moving outwards to suburban terminals.
He says the overhead network should still be regarded as “live” after 31 October, because other factors could result in the wires being electrically dangerous.
“All safe distances and overhead restraint requirements should be retained until the network is fully removed.”
The overhead network needs to be removed sooner rather than later because it needs regular maintenance, can be a hazard to overheight vehicles, and can complicate other construction and maintenance work in the city centre.
Extra buses will cover for the trolleys until the region’s new fleet starts service next July.
Mr Campbell says the new fleet will result in an immediate drop in harmful emission levels – 38 per cent in Wellington and 86 per cent in the Hutt Valley, where older buses operate.
“Most of the region’s new fleet will meet the Euro VI standard – the most stringent in the world – and this will give us one of the cleanest fleets in the world.”
He says bus services will continue as usual along routes once serviced by the trolleys.
TROLLEYBUS DECOMMISSIONING
End of trolleybus services: Trolleybus services in Wellington will end on 31 October 2017 when the power to the wires will be switched off.
Removing the network of trolleybus wires:
Work will involve the removing of 82km of double-tracked wires.
This work will take place in five stages over 12 months, starting in October 2017.
Work will begin in the city centre and then move outwards to the rest of the network in our suburbs.
11 – 31 October 2017
The first stage will be removing the disused emergency section of wires running along:
Balance Street
Brandon Street
Customhouse Quay
Featherston Street
Hunter Street
Jervois Quay
Panama Street
lower Taranaki Street
Victoria Street
Wakefield Street
Whitmore Street.
Next areas
Work to remove the overhead wires will continue in the following areas in this order:
Victoria Street
Miramar (including Cobham Drive)
Aro Street
Lyall Bay
Wellington has eight trolleybus services of which one is rush hour only. With one exception, all services start at Wellington Railway Station and run through the city centre along Lambton Quay and Willis Street.
The first two trolleybuses, 331 and 332, were delivered in November 2007; the final vehicle, 387 arrived in September 2009. A prototype version, 301, was delivered in March 2003.
The fifty-seven Designline trolleybuses, 331-387, introduced between 2007 and 2009 (plus the three prototypes, 301-3 into service in 2003 and 2005) were the last vehicles of their type to operate on Wellington bus routes. They are due to end service at the end of October 2017. 387 is numerically the highest numbered bus in the fleet and was first registered on 8 July 2009.
Trolleybuses in Wellington have been part of the Wellington public transport system continuously since February 1949. They are the only trolleybuses operating commercially in Oceania and the last major system operating in a country that drives on the left.
Wellington trolleybus services as at October 2017
1 - Island Bay via Courtenay Place, Wellington Hospital and Newtown.
2 - Miramar via Courtenay Place, Hataitai Tunnel, Hataitai Village and Kilbirnie.
3 - Lyall Bay to Karori Park via Kilbirnie, Newtown, Wellington Hospital, Courtenay Place, Lambton Quay and Karori Tunnel.
6 - Lyall Bay via Courtenay Place, Hataitai Tunnel, Hataitai Village and Kilbirnie (rush hours only and mostly motor bus operated).
7 - Kingston via Te Aro, Brooklyn and the Ridgeway.
9 - Aro Street via City Centre and Te Aro (no service of any kind in evenings, weekends and public holidays).
10 - Newtown Park via Wallace Street, Massey University, Wellington Hospital and Newtown (no service of any kind, weekends and public holidays).
11 - Seatoun via Wallace Street, Massey University, Wellington Hospital, Newtown, Kilbirnie and Seatoun Tunnel.
NZ Bus No. 335 at the Lambton Interchange 12/10/2017
With only a dozen days still remaining of trolleybus operation in Wellington until the power is finally switched off on 31/10/2017, ending 68 years of continuous trolley operation in the Capital, Go Wellington No. 335 of 2 May 2008, snapped heading away from the Interchange hub on the Route 1 service to Island Bay on Thursday, 12 October 2017.
335 EMB785 2/5/2008 / Designline Citybus Trolley / VIN:7A874010908008213 / Designline B43DW bodywork. Go Wellington, Kilbirnie.
THE FIRST STEP IN DISMANTLING WELLINGTON'S TROLLEYBUS WIRES BEGINS
Press Release – Greater Wellington Regional Council posted on 3 October 2017
The first step in dismantling Wellington’s trolleybus wires begins next week
Work will start on a disused section in the city centre on 10 October as part of a 12-month contract to remove 82 kilometres of overhead wires.
Work on dismantling the rest of the network will begin on 1 November after power to the trolleys is switched off on 31 October.
Greater Wellington Regional Council Chief Executive Greg Campbell says the trolleys have served the city well over the decades, but it’s time to look to new environmentally-friendly technology that can be used throughout the entire city and region.
“Next year, the region will get a new fleet of low-emission diesels, as well as 10 electric double-deckers – and in the next few years we’ll add another 22 electric double-deckers.
“Over time, more and more electric buses will come into service until we eventually achieve our goal of being the first region in the country to have an all-electric fleet.”
Wellington Cable Car Ltd awarded the wire removal contract in May to specialist firm Broadspectrum on behalf of Greater Wellington. Wellington City Council owns Wellington Cable Car Ltd.
Greater Wellington and the NZ Transport Agency will share the cost of removal work.
Wellington Cable Car Chief Executive Officer Simon Fleisher says the week-long first stage will enable Broadspectrum to fine-tune its equipment, processes and safety procedures before the work begins in earnest.
The disused emergency section runs along Featherston Street, Hunter Street, Victoria Street, Jervois Quay, Wakefield Street, lower Taranaki Street and Whitmore Street.
“Residents along trolley routes should expect some limited machinery noise, but only for one night because Broadspectrum crews anticipate removing about 200 metres of line each evening.
“Residents may also be asked to temporarily park their cars elsewhere so crews can get access to overhead wires and poles. Broadspectrum will do letter drops so there will be plenty of warning, and Broadspectrum will also have information online and through its contact centre.
Crews will concentrate on central city areas in January and February before moving outwards to suburban terminals.
He says the overhead network should still be regarded as “live” after 31 October, because other factors could result in the wires being electrically dangerous.
“All safe distances and overhead restraint requirements should be retained until the network is fully removed.”
The overhead network needs to be removed sooner rather than later because it needs regular maintenance, can be a hazard to overheight vehicles, and can complicate other construction and maintenance work in the city centre.
Extra buses will cover for the trolleys until the region’s new fleet starts service next July.
Mr Campbell says the new fleet will result in an immediate drop in harmful emission levels – 38 per cent in Wellington and 86 per cent in the Hutt Valley, where older buses operate.
“Most of the region’s new fleet will meet the Euro VI standard – the most stringent in the world – and this will give us one of the cleanest fleets in the world.”
He says bus services will continue as usual along routes once serviced by the trolleys.
TROLLEYBUS DECOMMISSIONING
End of trolleybus services: Trolleybus services in Wellington will end on 31 October 2017 when the power to the wires will be switched off.
Removing the network of trolleybus wires:
Work will involve the removing of 82km of double-tracked wires.
This work will take place in five stages over 12 months, starting in October 2017.
Work will begin in the city centre and then move outwards to the rest of the network in our suburbs.
11 – 31 October 2017
The first stage will be removing the disused emergency section of wires running along:
Balance Street
Brandon Street
Customhouse Quay
Featherston Street
Hunter Street
Jervois Quay
Panama Street
lower Taranaki Street
Victoria Street
Wakefield Street
Whitmore Street.
Next areas
Work to remove the overhead wires will continue in the following areas in this order:
Victoria Street
Miramar (including Cobham Drive)
Aro Street
Lyall Bay
Wellington has eight trolleybus services of which one is rush hour only. With one exception, all services start at Wellington Railway Station and run through the city centre along Lambton Quay and Willis Street.
The first two trolleybuses, 331 and 332, were delivered in November 2007; the final vehicle, 387 arrived in September 2009. A prototype version, 301, was delivered in March 2003.
The fifty-seven Designline trolleybuses, 331-387, introduced between 2007 and 2009 (plus the three prototypes, 301-3 into service in 2003 and 2005) were the last vehicles of their type to operate on Wellington bus routes. They are due to end service at the end of October 2017. 387 is numerically the highest numbered bus in the fleet and was first registered on 8 July 2009.
Trolleybuses in Wellington have been part of the Wellington public transport system continuously since February 1949. They are the only trolleybuses operating commercially in Oceania and the last major system operating in a country that drives on the left.
Wellington trolleybus services as at October 2017
1 - Island Bay via Courtenay Place, Wellington Hospital and Newtown.
2 - Miramar via Courtenay Place, Hataitai Tunnel, Hataitai Village and Kilbirnie.
3 - Lyall Bay to Karori Park via Kilbirnie, Newtown, Wellington Hospital, Courtenay Place, Lambton Quay and Karori Tunnel.
6 - Lyall Bay via Courtenay Place, Hataitai Tunnel, Hataitai Village and Kilbirnie (rush hours only and mostly motor bus operated).
7 - Kingston via Te Aro, Brooklyn and the Ridgeway.
9 - Aro Street via City Centre and Te Aro (no service of any kind in evenings, weekends and public holidays).
10 - Newtown Park via Wallace Street, Massey University, Wellington Hospital and Newtown (no service of any kind, weekends and public holidays).
11 - Seatoun via Wallace Street, Massey University, Wellington Hospital, Newtown, Kilbirnie and Seatoun Tunnel.