Twenty new Škoda 32Tr hybrid trolleybuses will arrive in Brno over the coming months. On Thursday, the manufacturer handed over the first vehicle to the Brno Transport Company (DPMB), and 19 more will be delivered by the end of January. DPMB uses hybrid trolleybuses during road closures on certain routes, as well as on regular routes as an alternative to less ecological buses.
“The Škoda 32Tr hybrid trolleybuses offer more possibilities of operational use than standard vehicles,” said Miloš Havránek, general director of DPMB. “They are equipped with batteries, which enables independent driving without overhead power lines. Thanks to this, we can deploy them on regular routes during shutdowns, as well as on lines that use this advantage and can thus replace buses with more environmentally friendly vehicles. An example is line 30 to Soběšice, where trolleybuses run part of the route according to the power lines and part on batteries. So far, we have only had positive experiences from this pilot project.”
DPMB is preparing a similar transport arrangement for several other areas including Černovické terraces and the airport, as well as line 67 in the future.
Škoda 32Tr trolleybuses are fully low-floor, air-conditioned vehicles equipped with an information system and modern, spacious interiors. The batteries are charged while driving directly from the overhead lines, and they also use recuperation during the vehicle’s electrodynamic braking.
The new 32Tr trolleybuses will replace the 21Tr vehicles from the late 1990s, of which there are 25 in the DPMB fleet. “Passengers will see these vehicles on lines 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38 and 39,” added Havránek.
DPMB is the largest operator of trolleybus transport in the Czech Republic. The DPMB fleet includes 132 trolleybuses, of which 30 are hybrid. DPMB has been operating hybrid trolleybuses since 2018, when it purchased the first type 26Tr vehicles.
The price for one vehicle is CZK 12.408 million; for 20 vehicles DPMB will pay almost CZK 250 million.
