The conversion of the diesel trolleybuses with electric motor Good news awaits on the horizon of transport crossed by the crisis and a fleet that looks “patched.” An expectation that focuses on the launch of the fifth converted unit during the current administration of Pablo Javkin in the Municipality, but in a complex framework. There are only 7 Trolza units of Russian origin left, 7 made in Brazil and 4 were converted from diesel to electric propulsion. A total of 19 vehicles that are far from the promises of reaching 27 trolleybuses as estimated last September. Today reality indicates that the units are patched and use spare parts from cars out of service to be operational. The situation worsened with the departure of line Q from service last December.
According to various sources consulted, Of the 12 cars that the municipal State bought by tender from the Russian firm Trolza during Mónica Fein’s administration, only 7 remain operational (with almost collapsed bodies at a glance). Reality indicates that car 28 caught fire and units 21 and 22 were dismissed. Two other Trolzas are stopped due to lack of spare parts. The acquisition was the product of multiple efforts that began a decade ago and were crystallized with the arrival of the Russian trolls for about 4 million dollars. Many of them collapsed due to overloading their batteries and went out of service due to overheating from the heat. The batteries were at the time mentioned as added value when purchasing them and gave them greater autonomy on their journeys. But in 2020 the firm went bankrupt and the city was left without technical service or guarantee.
On the other hand, currently There are 7 Brazilian trolleybuses from 1994: the Volvo/Marcopolo/Powertronics. These vehicles, although they were zero kilometers, were manufactured in Brazil in 1987 for a Belo Horizonte trolleybus system, something that was not carried out and they were stored.
Disrepair
In total, line K has a fleet of 19 cars, but 17 are required daily to provide service on the streets of Rosario. The problem is observed in the poor condition of the units. In the warehouses in western Rosario, the units that went out of service are stored, a kind of car cemetery, from where spare parts are removed to keep those in service operational. There is another warehouse of dismantled units, where auto parts are used to patch what is still standing.
The conversion program from diesel buses to electric trolleybus is on standby. The last converted car (internal 36) was presented at the beginning of the year and there are only 4 (cars Nos. 33, 34, 35 and 36). At the presentation of the last converted unit, back in January of this year, the imminent incorporation of two others had been announced: units 37 (it is completed and could start rolling in two more months) and 38. This program is carried out with the collaboration between the municipality, the National University of Rosario (UNR) and the company Inventu, which took chassis from cars with diesel engines that were out of use and equipped them with electric motors for propulsion.
The intention was to renew the entire K line between 2024 and 2025, but if the deterioration continues and there is no investment, it could lead to an uncertain future, among which it is not ruled out that the fleet is made up entirely of fuel-powered buses, such as It happened in the 90s.
Another issue that generates concern is the marked delay in the extension of the K route to Viamonte and Esmeralda, in the La Siberia area. Only the columns are there but everything else is missing.
Q line
Since there was “fatigue” due to heat in the batteries of the units that made up the Q line, an event that occurred last December, there are no details about his return to the streets of Rosario. On May 8, 2023, this service had been recovered within the city’s transportation. As in 2022, it linked the southwest and west areas with the central area and the Rosario University Center (CUR). Before its departure from service, part of this route was absorbed by line 127.
However, since last December and after the Q was cancelled, all of those trolleybuses switched to the K. In turn, some stopped due to lack of spare parts and the internal car 28 was destroyed in a fire in 2023 in San Juan and Dorrego.
