The trolleybuses returns to Tallinn

In Tallinn the renewal of the trolleybus fleet is now imminent: the first of the 40 trolleybuses ordered by Tallin Linnatransport (TLT) is ready.

These will increase and partially replace the existing fleet, which currently consists of 49 vehicles delivered between 2002 and 2010. In early February, TLT representatives were able to personally inspect the progress of the construction of the first vehicle.

The new trolleybuses, 18 12-metre models and 22 18-metre articulated models, are built by Skoda, with SOR bodywork, and are the 32 Tr model for the 12-metre size and the 33 Tr model for the 18-metre size. 

Deliveries are scheduled to begin in May 2026, and trolleybuses service, suspended since 2024, will resume on the four existing trolleybus lines: 1, 3, 4 and 5 (now numbered 81, 83, 84 and 85), in the direction of Mustamae. There are also plans to reactivate line 9 (now line 72) which was decommissioned in 2017, about half of which is not equipped with infrastructure.

The lines will operate from approximately 5 a.m. to midnight, with a frequency ranging from 7 minutes on the current line 72 to 15 minutes during the day, and between 10 and 15 minutes in the evening. TLT will begin extensive test drives with the prototype this spring to assess the reliability, energy efficiencyand suitability of the vehicles for Tallinn’s traffic conditions.

By the end of March, the infrastructure upgrade for the new trolleybuses will also completed, creating the condition for testing to begin and preparations for their arrival on the line in the summer.

The prototype will then move to the Škoda factory, where electronics, power electronic, electric motors, and othe technical equipment will be installed. The completion of the first trolleybuses confirms that production is proceeding according to plan and that the entire project is on schedule. 

by Stefano Alfano