Trolleybuses in Rimini

The Rimini trolleybus system () forms part of the public transport network of the Province of Rimini, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

The network consists of two trolleybus routes that connect the city centres of the coastal of Rimini and Riccione. In operation since 1939 (with subsequent termini modifications), route 11 runs along the principal seafront avenue from Rimini's railway station to Riccione Terme. In November 2019, the Metromare was launched as a bus rapid transit line running entirely on segregated tracks adjacent to the Bologna–Ancona railway between the railway stations of Rimini and Riccione. Metromare was temporarily served by buses until the arrival of its trolleybuses in October 2021. Both routes are operated by Start Romagna SpA.

History

Rimini–Riccione tramway

In 1877, a horse-drawn tram service was inaugurated connecting Rimini's city centre to the coast, replacing a previous horse-drawn omnibus service from 1844. The service ran from Piazza Cavour to a bathing complex at the site of the present-day Parco Federico Fellini. In July 1921, with a loan of 1.2 million lire from the local Cassa di Risparmio, the route was electrified and extended southwards along the principal seafront avenue to the site of the present-day Piazza Marvelli.

Further southern extensions followed to Miramare in 1925, and to Viale Ceccarini in Riccione's city centre on 26 June 1927, only now made possible by newly built carriageable bridges over the Torrente Marano and Rio Melo. Entering Riccione, the trolleybuses left the principal seafront avenue at Viale Giuseppe Verdi, and entered the city centre along Viale Dante, the next road inland parallel to the coast. The tramway became a popular tourist attraction.

From July 1921 until April 1923, the municipal council managed the service; it then passed into the management of until April 1926, when it was replaced by the .

Conversion to trolleybuses In the 1930s, it was decided to convert the tramway into a trolleybus line, supported by the fascist government's promulgation of trolleybuses. The line was constructed by Compagnia Generale di Elettricità, and its management was entrusted to of Florence until 1959. Tram services ceased on 15 January 1939.

The trolleybus line opened on 1 July 1939. The route had new termini: in Rimini, the central Piazza Giulio Cesare (renamed Piazza Tre Martiri in 1946); and in Riccione, Piazzale dei Giardini. Riccione's terminus was reconfigured shortly after its construction to bring trolleybuses to terminate on the 's mountain-facing side, thereby avoiding trolleybuses passing near the seaside Villa Mussolini and disturbing guests. The route was served by an initial fleet of two Fiat 635E and eight 656E CGE trolleybuses. The 635E trolleybuses were used for reinforcement runs between Piazza Giulio Cesare and Marina Centro.

The overhead wiring was removed during the Second World War, during which time bombing damaged the roads and directly hit two trolleybuses. Services were initially amended to allow trolleybuses to run on unaffected sections, but the line was finally closed on 26 June 1944. Following the war's conclusion, service was progressively reactivated in sections between July and August 1946. A fleet of new Fiat 2401 Cansa CGE trolleybuses entered service in 1954. Fares were collected by a seated conductor.Trolleybus Magazine No. 101 (July 1978), p. 18.

ATAM and route 10

After its twenty years had passed, Rimini's communist mayor decided not to renew SITA's contract. Thus, numbered as route 11, the system passed into the control of Rimini's municipal council on 1 October 1959, which formed ATAM () to manage the line in July 1960. In 1968, eight Alfa Romeo CGE Casaro 910AF45 trolleybuses entered service, and the fleet was renewed again between 1976 and 1979 with 17 Mauri-bodied Volvo B59 vehicles, carrying fleet numbers 1001–1017. The use of on-board conductors to collect fares continued, and in the new vehicles the conductor's seat was located across from the centre door, through which all boarding took place.

Notably, Rimini's trolleybus system weathered the decline in public transport demand during the 1960s with the advent of affordable private transportation. City planners interpreted the 1973 oil crisis as proof that ecosustainable public transport was still necessary. After some deliberation, in 1975, it was decided not to decommission the system; in the same year, the trolleybuses changed colour from green to orange.

Under ATAM's management, a shortworking service covering only the Rimini–Miramare part of the line was numbered as route 10. The trolleybus system thus had two routes, but one was only a shortworking of the longer route, with no wiring of its own except for the terminal loop at Miramare. The service was withdrawn in 1996,Trolleybus Magazine No. 230 (March–April 2000), p. 43. National Trolleybus Association (UK). . but the reversing loop in the overhead wires that allowed trolleybuses to terminate there was retained, and rare shortworkings to Miramare were designated "11/" (11-). In 2003, the turning loop was replaced by wiring along a newly constructed roundabout to allow trolleybuses to continue terminating at Miramare.Trolleybus Magazine No. 254 (March–April 2004), p. 46. National Trolleybus Association (UK).

In 1985, the line was rerouted in Riccione along the principal seafront avenue rather than Viale Dante. The following year, the prohibition of motorbuses in Piazza Tre Martiri left only the route 11 trolleybus serving Rimini's central square. In the late 1980s, the use of conductors was phased out, with ticket machines installed on board the trolleybuses.

In 1992, ATAM was renamed TRAM (). In 2001, its name was modified again to TRAM Servizi, and ownership of the infrastructure passed to (PMR).

Late-1990s termini modifications In 1994, a short extension in Riccione moved the terminus from Piazzale Giardini to a new bus station at Piazza Eugenio Curiel.Trolleybus Magazine No. 200 (March–April 1995), pp. 52–53. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The new terminus was referred to as "Giardini C.".

In October 1999, the route was temporarily shortened from Piazza Curiel to Piazzale Giardini, but the terminal loop at the latter point was configured differently than it had been previously.Trolleybus Magazine No. 229 (January–February 2000), pp. 18–19. National Trolleybus Association (UK). . This loop was used by trolleybuses for only 12 days in October 1999 and then from March or April 2000 to mid-June, with buses working the route in the interim. Trolleybus services to Piazza Curiel resumed on 21 July 2000.Trolleybus Magazine No. 234 (November–December 2000), pp. 138–139.

Until 1 November 1998, the Rimini terminus of line 11 was in the central Piazza Tre Martiri. Following the pedestrianisation of the piazza, from 2 November 1998, the route was shortened by to Piazzale San Girolamo on Via Dante Alighieri. However, all trolleybus services were suspended for several months due to road construction. The first day of service to the new "Rimini (San Girolamo)" terminus was 11 June 1999.

Construction of a southern extension from Piazza Curiel to Riccione's Terme, specifically Piazzale Marinai d'Italia, began in spring 2000.Trolleybus Magazine No. 233 (September–October 2000), p. 116. The extension of service to Terme opened on 11 June 2000, but not for trolleybuses, as the route again became temporarily bus-operated while work continued on the extension wiring and restoring the connecting wires of the Piazza Curiel loop. Trolleybus service to Piazza Curiel resumed on 21 July 2000, on short-workings, and through services to Riccione Terme became trolleybus-operated from 1 August 2001, bringing into use the new section of wiring.Trolleybus Magazine No. 241 (January–February 2002), p. 17. From June 2000, trips limited to Piazzale Curiel had been redesignated as "11/" (11-). The shortworking terminus continued to be referred to as "Giardini C." on maps, at stops, and on vehicle destination signs.

Fleet renewal In 2008, an order was placed for five Van Hool AG300T trolleybuses, the system's first articulated vehicles, to replace the Volvo/ trolleybuses that were by then around 30 years oldTrolleybus Magazine No. 279 (May–June 2008), p. 65.Trolleybus Magazine No. 283 (January–February 2009), p. 18. and were the oldest trolleybuses still in service in Western Europe.Trolleybus Magazine No. 287 (September–October 2009), p. 120. The first unit was delivered in June 2009. An additional unit was later purchased and delivered in 2011.Trolleybus Magazine No. 298 (July–August 2011), p. 90. The series was originally numbered 6501–6506.Trolleybus Magazine No. 289 (January–February 2010), p. 17. National Trolleybus Association (UK).

After the end of the day's service on 14 September 2009, the Volvo B59 Mauri trolleybuses were taken out of service, as the Italian regulatory authority USTIF had revoked their authorisations. From the following day, the trolleybus route again became temporarily operated by diesel buses because new Van Hool AG300T articulated trolleybuses had not yet been certified by USTIF and the overhead wiring through the low underpass carrying the line under the railway in Rimini required modifications for the new vehicles. Because the articulated motorbuses were unable to perform the U-turn in the tight space of Piazzale San Girolamo, the route was extended along Via Aponia to the nearby Piazzale Gramsci.

The new Van Hool articulated trolleybuses entered service on 3 June 2010. Because the overhead wire was not extended to Piazzale Gramsci, the articulated vehicles had to cover that short section using their auxiliary diesel engines. On 1 June 2011, the route was shortened back to Via Dante but using a different routing to avoid the tight U-turn at Piazzale San Girolamo.Trolleybus Magazine No. 300 (November–December 2011), p. 139.

Start Romagna On 1 January 2012, TRAM was absorbed by Start Romagna SpA, a then-new regional entity which would manage public transport within three provinces. Upon Start Romagna's creation, the fleet was renumbered with the addition of a prefix "3", becoming 36501–36506.Trolleybus Magazine No. 307 (January–February 2013), p. 24.

Metromare

In July 2012, construction started on a trolleybus rapid transit line to run adjacent to the Bologna–Ancona railway between the railway stations of Rimini and Riccione. The project was first proposed in 1994 by city planner Leonardo Benevolo, but construction was continually postponed amid local opposition and a delay to the disbursement of central government financing. The contracts for engineering and constructing the line were signed in 2008.Trolleybus Magazine No. 291 (May–June 2010), p. 67. National Trolleybus Association (UK).

From its inception until February 2018, the project was known as (TRC) (Coastal Rapid Transport). The major impetus for the project was that heavy traffic congestion along the streets used by the route 11 during the summer touristic season led trolleybuses to take up to an hour to complete the route. At its inception, it was planned that Metromare would replace route 11 once opened,Trolleybus Magazine No. 214 (July–August 1997), p. 101. but in 2008 Trolleybus Magazine reported that it had been decided "to postpone any consideration of closing the existing trolleybus line until after the new segregated route has commenced operation."Trolleybus Magazine No. 277 (January–February 2008), p. 16. Metromare was originally planned to use guided trolleybuses,Trolleybus Magazine No. 208 (July–August 1996), p. 102. but automated guidance was later dropped.