The Sanremo trolleybus system or San Remo trolleybus system (Italian: Rete filoviaria di Sanremo), also known as the Italian Riviera trolleybus (Italian: Filovia della Riviera dei Fiori), is focused on the town and comune of Sanremo, in the region of Liguria, northwestern Italy.
Opened in 1942 and extended in two stages by 1951, the system consists of three routes operating along different portions of a single 28.5 km (18 mi)[1][3] long corridor, linking the coastal towns of Ventimiglia and Taggia.
History
The trolleybus system on the Italian Riviera was built to replace two interurbantramways, the Taggia–Ospedaletti tramway and the Bordighera–Ventimiglia tramway. The new trolleybuses, unlike the trams, were also able to cope with the steep climbs between Ospedaletti and Bordighera.
The youngest trolleybuses in the fleet are two Solaris Trollino low-floor vehicles built in 2008.
The first trolleybus route, from Sanremo to Ospedaletti (9.15 km),[3] was inaugurated on 21 April 1942, followed on 1 February 1948 by the second line (Sanremo–Taggia), and in 1951 by the Ospedaletti–Ventimiglia extension.[1] The Sanremo–Taggia and Sanremo–Ventimiglia routes were designated as lines T and V, respectively. A third route, serving the urban area of Sanremo only and using the overhead wires already in place for lines T and V, began operation in 1958, designated line U.[1] Route V is about 18 km long, route T 10 km (originally) and route U 5.75 km.[1]
On 20 December 2001, a 700-metre (2,300 ft) branch was opened on line T to serve the then-new Taggia-Arma railway station.[4] However, it was used for only a few months. In March 2002, line T service was converted indefinitely to motorbuses, due to roadworks,[5] and a succession of other road projects have continued to delay the reinstatement of trolleybus service. At present, trolleybuses have not operated on line T since 2002.[2]
The trolleybus system was owned and operated by La Società Trasporti Elettrici Liguri (STEL) until 1983, when Riviera Trasporti SpA took over.
Routes
A scenic view along the Taggia route in 1988. This route last operated with trolleybuses in 2002.
Two services are operated along the single corridor comprising the Sanremo trolleybus system. They are:
U Sanremo urban service (La Brezza ↔ Villa Helios)
V Sanremo (bus station) ↔ Ventimiglia (Piazza Costituente)
Former route
Also situated in the same coastal corridor, but no longer trolleybus-operated:
^ abcdefgGregoris, Paolo; Rizzoli, Francesco; Serra, Claudio (2003). Giro d'Italia in filobus [Tour of Italy by Trolleybus] (in Italian). Cortona: Calosci Editore. pp. 36, 59–63. ISBN88-7785-193-7.
^ abTrolleybus Magazine No. 299 (Sep.-Oct. 2011), p. 115. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN0266-7452.
^ abcGregoris, Paolo; Serra, Claudio (1998). Scintille tra i fiori: Storia illustrata del trasporto pubblico in provincia di Imperia [Sparks Among the Flowers: An Illustrated History of Public Transport in the Province of Imperia] (in Italian). Cortona: Calosci Editore. pp. 96, 141. ISBN88-7785-146-5.
^Trolleybus Magazine No. 242 (March–April 2002), p. 43. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN0266-7452.
^Trolleybus Magazine No. 244 (July–Aug. 2002), p. 91.
