Proposed Trolleybus Systems

This list contains cities that had planned trolleys to the point that there is a reference to it somewhere in the literature. Amongst the references are the Trolleybus Magazine, Electric Railway Journal, Street Railway Review, and Transit Journal, and the North American Trackless Trolley Association, the Trolley Coach in North America, and such individuals as Allen Morrison (AS), Paul Ward (PW), and Wolfgang Auer (WA), Semih Yasar (SY).

Cities for which trolleybuses are currently proposed are included here. If the project goes ahead, then the city will be copied moved to current cities but mentioned here; this will be true for systems since about 1999.

PE = Peru, CL = Colombia, AR = Argentina, AT = Austria, AU = Australia, BD = Bangladesh, BR = Belarus', BU = Bulgaria, CH = China, ET = Ethiopia, FR = France, GE = Germany, GR = Georgia (the country, not the state), ID = India, IT = Italy, NK = north Korea, PO = Portugal, RO = Romania, RU = Russian, SB = Serbia, SL = Slovakia, TN = The Netherlands, VE = Venezuela.

B | C | H | M | O | R | S
 City  Notes
   
 Aberdeen, WA  ERJ, 1922.
 Addis Ababa, ET

 TB, Trolleybus@Yahoo. Two ZiUs have been delivered, but it is unknown whether construction has started.

 Albany, NY  To replace the "Country Club" streetcar line, not the Cohoes line. ERJ 1924.
 Ambridge, PA  TJ, 1932.
 Augusta, GA  TJ, 1935
 Asunción, PE  System planned. S^koda is involved. TB, 1999. Apparently, it has come to nil.
 Auckland, N.Z.  Original closed for rebuilding. Plug pulled after new wires began to be installed and 20 new trolleys ordered. The 20 Ansaldos went to Wellington, where they had a short life as each an electric trolleybus.
 Avellino, IT  Approval given by Italian government in 2003 to construct a 11 km. line. Town formerly had trolleybuses. The project is still in the planning stage. TM #256.
 Bahia Blanca, AR  System built; it never operated. AM
 Baranovichi, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Bari, IT  2000, source Mauro; Trolleybus 281 2008.
 Barquisimeto, VE  A three line system is proposed modeled on the Mérida, VE project. It is now under construction, and the new articulated trolleybuses are on the way to B.
 Birmingham, UK 2003, Bob Campbell.
 Borisov, BR   TBM, 2001.
 Boulder, CO  ERJ, 1921. Came to nil.
 Bournemouth, UK  1993, heritage trolleybus system proposed; came to nil. TBM.
 Bradford, UK  Proposed Reintroduction, 198-. Came to nil. TBM.
 Brookline, MA  SRJ, 1904. Came to nil.
 Buena Ventura, CL  1980's proposal; most likely came to nothing. AM.
 Burgas, BU  1994, proposed. TBM. Opened, but unsure when.
 Calcutta, ID  1975, tested, considered a failure; 1995, proposed. TBM; 2000, proposed. Came to nil.
 Canton, OH
 TJ, 1940. Came to nil.
 Champaign, IL   ERJ, 1922.
 Chandigarh, ID  Tribune News Service. 5 routes short-listed. 2002. Came to nil.
 Chieti, IT  Reintroduce a trolleybus system. 2000, source Mauro.
 Clermont-Ferrand, FR  A "Civis" trolleybus system is proposed. TBM SE 99/MR 2000
 Cleveland, OH  1997. Came to nil; went for hybrid system. Various sources including Trolleybus Magazine.
 Coventry, GB   Ian Colligan, personal information. Came to nil.
 Covilhã, PO  Mid 60s. Emídio Gardé, personal information.
 Cox's Bazar, BD  1995. Came to nil. TBM.
 Craiova, RO  New system to open up with one line. TrolleyMotion.
 Denver, CO  Reintroduction of trolleys considered; came to nil. TBM.
 Doncaster, UK  Proposed Reintroduction, 198-. Came to nil. TBM.
 Everett, WA  ERJ, 1922.
 Franklin, NH   SRJ, 1902.
 Gachina, RU  TBM 2001. Traction poles reported were installed in 2000.
 Greenville, TX  ERJ, 1921.
 Grenoble, FR TBM 2006 #266
 Guayaquil, EQ  (website)
 Habana, (La), CU   TBM
 Harrisburg--Dover, PA  TJ, 1932
 Heidelberg, GE  A 104 mile system covering Heidelberg, Speyer, and Ludwigsburg.WA. European News
 Hong Kong, CH  TBM, 1999. Two routes proposed. Came to nil.
 Honolulu, HA  Electric trolleybuses are among several modes being studied for a corridor line. This would be a reintroduction of electric trolleybuses to Honolulu.
 Jagodina-]uprija-Para}in, SB  Sinicja Veselinovic'. Nothing ever came of this proposal. 1990.
 Kaesong, N.K.   TBM, JL 2002
 Kaliningrad, RU  An interurban line is proposed from Kaliningrad to the Baltic sea. Pravda, 8 FE 2006.
 Klagenfurt, AT  1989. Came to nil.  TBM.
 Koubuleti, Georgia  Construction started; halted by civil war in the early 90s. TBM.
 Krugersdorp, AT  Technical World: NO 1912.
 Kragujevac, SB  Sinicja Veselinovcj. Plans disrupted by the Kosovo crisis. 1999. Plans reintroduced. Came to nil. Bob Campbell.
 Laval, PQ, Canada  2009. Montreal Gazette Transportation Reporter
 Landskrona, SW  Decision on project due in November 2000. Opened 23 SE 2003.
 Lecce, IT  Proposed new city. Due to open in 2009. TBM JA 2006 #265.
 Leeds, GB  Proposed Reintroduction, 198-. Came to nil. TBM. Another proposal in 2007. Funding not approved as of this date.
 Lida, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Lima, Peru  Late 80's, came to nil.
 Lincoln, NE   Mid 70's, came to nil. NATTA
 Linköping, SW   1989. Came to nil.
 Liverpool, UK  Proposed, 1998. Came to nil. Proposed again, 2000. TBM. Came to nil.
 London, UK  Proposed 2000. Electric Tbuses for London http://www.tbus.org.uk/home.htm Once had trolleybuses (1931?-1963.)
 Long Beach, CA  Early 90s, part of LA system; came to nil.
 Los Angeles, CA  Cancelled at last minute, 199?. Affected other current plans in US.
 Lowell, MA  SRJ, 1902.
 Luton, UK  System proposed in 1903; came to nil. LS.
 Maia, Portugal   1995; came to nil when a streetcar system was decided on. TBM.
 Manchester, NH  TJ, 1940.
 Melbourne, AU   Transportation Research Board: SE 1982.
 Mérida, VE  TBM, Opened 2007.
 Milwaukee, WI  System similar to the one in Nancy, France. Under study. Came to nil.
 Molodechno, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Montebello, CA  Early 90s, part of LA system. TBM and LAMPT. Came to nil.
 Montreal, PQ  Proposal to convert several heavy lines to trolleybuses. Trolleybuses for Montréal.
 Nahant, MA  SRJ, 1905.
 Nashville, TE  New system proposed by Metro Transit Auhority. Came to nil.
 New York City:    Manhattan  System planned for 2nd-3rd Avenues w/ local and express services. See Los Angeles. Came to nil.
 New Orleans, LA 1   Reintroduction of trolleys considered; came to nil. Late 1990s.
 New Orleans, LA 2  It has been reported that New Orleans is considering reelectrifying the Magazine bus route, formerly a trolley route. Came to nil.
 Nitra, SL  1995. Came to nil. TBM
 Noginsk, RU  ??To open in 2000.
 Northampton, GB  Proposed 2000, TROLLEYBUS MAGAZINE 233.
 Novopolotsk, BR  TBM, 2001.
 NYC: Bronx  Electric trolleybus for a heavy line proposed. Came to nil. TBM
 NYC: Queens  Electric trolleybus for a heavy line proposed. Came to nil. TBM
 Oakland, CA  I  1945. Some wire strung on two routes: 6 and 7. Bought out by NCL? Project ended; trolleys on property send to Los Angeles. NATTA, TCinNA.
 Oakland, CA II  Early 90s, see LA, came to nil. TBM
 Oakland, CA III  ACTransit is studying various modes for a San Pablo corridor roue. ACTransit homepage. Came to nil.
 Oklahoma City  Ordered 20 Brills in 1944. TJ, 1941. Brills went to Memphis.
 Orange, TX   ERJ. MR 1923.
 Örebro, SW   1989. Came to nil. TBM
 Orsha, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Padova, IT  Reintroduction with Civis technology. Source: Mauro.
 Pasadena, CA  Planned an electric trolleybus system; streetcar system sold to NHL before conversion, came to nil. ERJ, FE 1924. Would have been included in the 1990's plan for LA. Came to nil.
 Perklomen Valley, PA  SRJ, FE 1915.
 Pescara, IT  1996. Status unknown. TBM
 Petropolis, BZ  Planned, but never built. AM.
 Phoenix, AZ  1947/8. Came to nil. TJ, 1941.
 Piatra Neamt, RO   Maybe under construction. TBM
 Pinsk, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Polotsk, BR  TBM, 2001.
 Port Elizabeth, S. Africa  Plans made after WWII, but came to nil.
 Posadas, Argentina  1995, came to nil. TBM
 Puebla, MX   1993, came to nil. TBM
 Quincy, MA  ERJ, FE 1924. One route. Came to nil.
 Reggo Emilia, IT  2000, source Mauro.
 Rensselaer, NY   ERJ, AP 1924.
 Richmond, VA  Ordered 60 MHs or . Came to nil, in part due to one-way street plan. PW
 Rome, IT  Reported that bus route 90 under discussion for conversion to ETB. It opened in 2005.
 Rotterdam, TN  1941. The Mass Tunnel was wired for etbs, but it never went into revenue service. Herman Silbiger.
 Rouen, FR  57 Civis electric trolleybuses reported to be on order. TBM, MR 2000. Once had trolleybuses. In Error. The vehicles coul be hybrids.
 Sacramento, CA  Early 90s, see LA, came to nil. TBM.
 Savona, IT   TBM 252: To open with single wire plus passing sidings. TBM 256: Tenders invite for construction of first route an for 7 articulated trolleys. Projet seems to be dead
 St. Albans, UK  System proposed 1999; a guided system. TBM. Came to nil.
 St. John, NB  8 Brills were ordered and serial numbers were assigned. Order cancelled and serial numbers went somewhere else.
 St. John's, NF  Came to nil.
 St. Petersburg, FL   TJ, 1932.
 St. Louis, MO   ERJ, SE 1921.
 Salina, KA  TJ, 1933.
 San Diego, CA  Early 90s. Came to nil, see LA. TBM.
 Sayre, PA  SRJ, JL 1904.
 Selma, AL  ERJ, SE 1924
 Sfintu Gheorghe, GR  Planned. Plan could be dead. TBM.
 Soligorsk, BR  TBM, 2001.
 South Yorkshire, GB   TBM 2001. Came to nil.
 Springfield, OH   TJ, DE 1930. Came to nil.
 Suhl, GE  Began construction. Vehicles ordered but sent to Hoyerswerde. 1994? TBM
 Svetlogorsk, RU  Proposed to build an interurban trolleybus system to a tourist resort on the Baltic Sea. Pravda 8 FE 2006.
 Sydney, AU   Transportation Research Board: SE 1982.
 Syracuse, NY  ERJ, SE 1923.
 Tacoma, WA   ERJ, JL 1922.
 Tírgu Jîu, RO  TBM #192, 1993
 Toronto, ON  Various sources. Report does not support reintroduction of trolleybuses from the resources of the TTC.
 Trondheim, NO  1999.
 Tucuman, AR  1995. Came to nil. AM.
 Utica, NY  ERJ, SE 1923.
 Valenciennes, FR  Ville & Transports, 29 OC 2008.  
 Venice, IT   Restore with Civis technology. 2000. Source Mauro.
 Vicinal, BE  (Leo Sullivan). See Europe (Liège).
 Victoria, B.C.  1945. Came to nil.
 Vidin, BU  Construction started in 1993. Never completed.
 Viña del Mar, CH  Proposed 2000, TBM 233. Second Installation; the first was an interurban line from Valparaiso. Came to nothing.
 Volzhski, RU  1993. Under Construction. TBM. Appernetly this has come to nothing even if it had been started.
 Weymouth, MA   ERJ, FE 1919.
 Wichita, KA  TJ, 1934
 Worcester, MA  ERJ, NO 1922
 Zelenogradsk, RU  Proposal to build an interurban trolleybus system to a tourist resort on the Baltic Sea. Pravda 8 FE 2006.

Oddities
 Albuquerque, NM  ERJ, 24 SE 1921: "The City Electric Company, Albuquerque- New Mexico, has stopped operation of trackless trolleys until a decision has been rendered by the district court".

Notes
 Oklahoma City,     OK

  Sometime in 1944, the Oklahoma Ry. decided to convert two gas bus lines to etb. In about June of 1944, 20 Brill TC-44 coaches were ordered under order #24468. GE-equipped, they were built as serials 079-098, and would have been numbered #300-319. The surge of postwar orders delayed delivery, but service was to begin in early 1946.

Meanwhile the ownership of ORys., which was in receivership, changed hands in October, 1945. The new owners appointed Marimon D. Mills as General Manager. (Mills later moved to San Francisco and proposed complete elimination of all streetcars and cable cars in favor of buses.) Two surveys were made of the Oklahoma City system by General Motors about November of 1945, which of course recommended an all-bus system.

The plans for an etb line were dropped, and the 20 Brills were sold to Memphis, where they operated for many years.

B | C | H | M | O | R | S

This site last updated 24 MAY 2010

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