Škoda to supply 34 trolleybuses to Plzeň (with Solaris bodywork)

The Škoda Group will supply the Plzeň City Transport Company (PMDP) with a further 34 trolleybuses. The call-off contract follows on from the framework agreement concluded in 2022 and provides for the delivery of 19 Škoda 26Tr battery-powered trolleybuses and 15 Škoda 27Tr articulated trolleybuses. The new vehicles will help to further modernise the fleet of the Czech Republic’s second-largest trolleybus operator.

The total value of the contract is approximately CZK 624 million (around €25.8 million).

Škoda to feliver 34 Trolleybuses in its Home City of Plzeň

Plzeň is the birthplace of the Škoda Group and also a place where trolleybus transport has a long tradition. Delivery will take place in two phases: by the end of November 2027, 10 Škoda 26Tr trolleybuses and 4 Škoda 27Tr articulated trolleybuses are to be delivered. The remaining 9 Škoda 26Tr vehicles and 11 Škoda 27Tr vehicles will be delivered by 31 August 2028.

The new trolleybuses will feature Solaris bodywork and will be fitted with traction batteries enabling cable-free operation. In the Škoda 26Tr vehicles, the batteries will provide a range of at least 16 kilometres, whilst the Škoda 27Tr articulated vehicles will offer a minimum range of 13 kilometres. 

This will allow the trolleybuses to be deployed flexibly even on sections without overhead lines, or example, in the event of closures, diversions or when serving areas of the city where the infrastructure for trolleybuses has not been installed.

The Plzeň trolleybus network

The Plzeň trolleybus network, which is celebrating its 85th anniversary this year – having been in operation since 9 April 1941 – comprises 9 routes and 111 trolleybuses. 

More than half of the trolleybus fleet – 57 vehicles – consists of battery-powered trolleybuses, ranging from the 18 Solaris Škoda 26Tr models from 2017–18 to the 16 Solaris Trollino 18/Škoda 27Tr models delivered between 2018 and 2025, and the 23 Solaris Škoda 26Tr models delivered between 2019 and 2025.  The fleet comprises 4 Škoda 24Tr vehicles, 5 Škoda 25Tr vehicles, 70 Škoda 26Tr vehicles and 32 Škoda 27Tr articulated vehicles.

The vehicles will offer passengers a modern standard of comfort: they will be fully air-conditioned and equipped with modern passenger information, ticketing and CCTV systems. The new trolleybuses will therefore not only help to reduce emissions in urban transport, but also enhance passenger comfort and safety.

«Plzeň is one of the cities with the longest and most established tradition in the field of trolleybus transport in the Czech Republic.  We greatly appreciate the fact that here, in our home town, passengers travel exclusively on Škoda trolleybuses. This new order forms part of our long-standing partnership with the Plzeň public transport company and will bring further modern, comfortable and environmentally friendly vehicles for everyday urban transport. “We are delighted that PMDP has made full use of the framework agreement», says Karel Majer, Executive Director of the Škoda Group’s Bus Mobility division.

by Stefano Alfano

Foto Credit: Skoda