The Kyiv Trolleybus is a trolleybus network in Kyiv, the largest trolleybus network in the world in terms of line length, and the largest in Ukraine in terms of length and number of cars. The network was opened on November 5, 1935.
History Pre-History In June 1914, a London firm proposed to Kyiv Mayor I. M. Dyakov to build a "railless" tram (of course, this was a trolleybus). It was said that the construction of a trolleybus will cost 5 times cheaper (although funds for road repairs and asphalt were not taken into account). But due to lack of experience with such lines and the war, the talk of a trolleybus in Kyiv began only in 1935, after the transfer of the capital of the Ukrainian SSR from Kharkiv. According to the first project, the trolleybus was to follow the route of the former tram No 2, via III International Square – Khreshchatyk – Lenina Street – Pirohova Street – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Cominterna Street – Railway Terminal. Then a delegation was sent to Moscow. The issue with the supply of rolling stock was resolved; Moscow agreed to send the carcass of the trolleybuses, and Kyiv had to assemble them at the Dombalya Plant (now KZET). Routes were to open on the anniversary of the October Revolution, but numerous changes to the project caused delays.
Before World War II The first trolleybus line in Kyiv and Ukraine (the second in the USSR) was opened on November 5, 1935, at 5:00 pm. The one-way fare was 25 kopecks. 4 LK-5 trolleybuses were on the route: Dombalya Plant – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Lva Tolstoho Square – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Dombal Plant. At the same time, a trolleybus depot for 100 vehicles was located on the territory of the plant, which served as one of the final ones. At the end of 1935, it was promised to open the second stage of the trolleybus system. From Lva Tolstoho Square, the trolleybus was to be extended along Khreshchatyk, Lenina Street, Pirohivska Street, Shevchenko Boulevard, and Cominterna Street to the railway station. It is true that they did not meet the deadline, but on June 2, 1936, from 19:00, citizens already had the opportunity to take a trolleybus to the railway station.
At the beginning of 1937, the first trolleybuses manufactured by YAZ (Yaroslavl Automobile Plant) arrived in Kyiv. They were named YATB-1. This allowed to increase the production on the already existing route and to provide rolling stock on the lines that were to open this year. However, due to the fact that trolleybuses were made quickly, factory defects had to be eliminated already in Kyiv. For the first time, every second trolleybus broke down on the route every day. Subsequently, trolleybuses of the YATB-2 type began to arrive. They were of better quality, so a certain problem with the rolling stock was resolved, given the following changes in traffic.
On October 5, 1937, the third stage was completed. It ran from the Bessarabka to the III International Square, thus the trolleybus completely covered Khreschatyk and tram lines closed in 1934. Due to this branching of lines, trolleybuses could no longer run on a single line, so they were divided into routes:
1 Railway Station – Cominterna Street – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Pirohova Street – Lenina Street – Khreshchatyk – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Dzerzhinsky Plant 2 Railway Station – Cominterna Street – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Pirohova Street – Lenina Street – Khreshchatyk – III International Square 3 III International Square – Khreshchatyk – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Dzerzhinsky Plant
Already at the beginning of 1939, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR received the newest trolleybuses at that time – YATB-4. They differed from their predecessors in power. There were enough new trolleybuses in the city, which allowed to transfer LK-5 to the official balance.
Due to the high intensity of the area from III International Square to Lva Tolstoho Square, on September 18, 1940, an additional route was introduced, No 4: Lva Tolstoho Square – Khreshchatyk – III International Square. There were 4 trolleybuses on the line. It was planned to extend the network from Khreshchatyk to Podil (Volodymyrsky Descent) and to Pechersk (Kirova Street). But the trolleybuses at the time could not cope with such steep slopes, so the projects were rejected.
Thus, as of January 1, 1941, the route network looked like this:
1 Railway Station – Cominterna Street – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Pirohova Street – Lenina Street – Khreshchatyk – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Dzerzhinsky Plant 2 Railway Station – Cominterna Street – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Pirohova Street – Lenina Street – Khreshchatyk – III International Square 3 III International Square – Khreshchatyk – Krasnoarmeyska Street – Dzerzhinsky Plant 4 III International Square – Khreshchatyk – Lva Tolstoho Square
During World War II For a long time, after the invasion of German troops in the USSR, the trolleybus system did not stop working. But after Soviet troops withdrew from Kyiv on September 18, 1941, they de-energized the city by blowing up power plants. Some eyewitnesses say trolleybuses stopped in the middle of the streets, where they were forced to do so by a power outage. After most of Khreshchatyk was blown up, the trolleybus could be rebuilt only if the catenary was restored. When the occupiers realized that they would have to leave Kyiv, they dismantled all the remains of the contact wire and took the 18 best YTB-4 trolleybuses to Poznań, Gdynia and Königsburg (6 cars to each city). However, the workers were able to "disguise" several trolleybuses YATB-1 and YATB-2, thus "saving" them from export.
After World War II: Reconstruction Immediately after the liberation of Kyiv from the occupiers, the task was set to resume tram traffic, so on January 1, 1944, the tram of route No 13 resumed operation. However, due to lack of electricity between January 1 and February 20, 1944, there were 1,422 power outages. Nevertheless, trolleybus restoration works were carried out in parallel with trams. 12 Almaty YATB-4As were mentioned and due to the long-term restoration of the network, 8 trolleybuses were ordered to be transferred to Donetsk and 4 to Kharkiv. However, as it turned out, only 6 trolleybuses were sent, all to Kharkiv. At the end of 1943, a special commission inspected the surviving trolleybuses and concluded that 10 of the 29 mobile units (4 of the 14 YATB-1s and all 6 YATB-2s) could be restored. In May 1944, the Tram trust prepared a comprehensive program for the restoration of electric vehicles from 1944 to 1947.
In 1944, route Lva Tolstoho Square – Dzerzhinsky Plant opened with 5 rolling stock cars. In 1945, 5 more cars were added and route Lva Tolstoho Square – Bessarabka – Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard – Cominterna Street – Railway Station were opened. In 1946, 20 new cars were to arrive in Kyiv, and the line along Tarasa Shevchenka Boulevard was to be extended by the Brest-Litovsk highway to the Park of Culture and Recreation of the Bilshovik Plant. Only in 1947 was it planned to restore the section along Khreshchatyk and extend the line of the Brest-Litovsk highway to Verstatobud. Another 30 new trolleybuses were to run on these lines.
On June 30, 1944, the Tram trust was renamed the Kyiv Tram and Trolleybus Department (KTTU). Already on November 2, 1944, a test drive was conducted on the route Tolstoy Square – Dzerzhinsky Plant. The route was opened by 4 YATB trolleybuses, which after the LK-5 was written off were renumbered from 1. The fare was 1 rouble, and luggage transportation was prohibited. In winter, electric vehicles again lacked electricity. Production was limited to 3 cars. According to the order of the City Council of April 1, 1945, the trolleybus route was divided into sections, so passengers traveling shorter distances paid 50 kopecks instead of 1 rouble.
In connection with the "arrangement of travel on Velyka Zhytomyrska, Lvivska, Dorohozhytska, and Osiivska Streets and the removal of tram tracks from them, in 1946 it was planned to open trolleybus traffic on the above streets. But due to the catastrophic lack of rolling stock, the Dzerzhinsky Plant organized the production of trolleybus carcasses. Between 1946 and 1947, 80 new trolleybuses were to arrive in Kyiv. 15 new cars were enough to open a new line. But due to the lack of funds, Kyiv residents did not see any trolleybuses or a new route that year.
As of the end of 1947, the route network was to look like this:
1 Stalin Square – Dzerzhinsky Plant 2 Stalin Square – Bessarabka – Railway Station 3 Stalin Square – Bessarabka – Verstatobud 4 Railway Station – Dzerzhinsky Plant
All these plans were implemented, but in a slightly different order and with less output on the routes.
MTB-82M Trolleybus
In April 1947, the first 5 MTB-82M vehicles arrived in Kyiv. They received No 1, 2, 3, 5, 6. The car No 1 was completely ready for operation, so on April 29, 1947, the driver S. Syuskin drove it on the 2nd route. During this year, the city received another 27 trolleybuses of this type. Due to such an unexpected replenishment, Kyiv in October 1947 transferred 4 MAN trolleybuses to Dnipropetrovsk free of charge to open a route network there.
Lukianivska Line
The replenishment of rolling stock allowed a route to be opened September 25, 1947, in the busiest area in the city at that time: Stalin Square – Lva Tolstoho Square. This line received the 3rd number. 3 trolleybuses were produced on the route and it was sent for unloading "two", which, in turn, produced at least 10 cars. Also, the replenishment of the trolleybus fleet forced the Dzerzhinsky Plant to cede the territory of the factory warehouse, in favor of the trolleybus depot.
Reconstruction of the City Centre and New Trolleybuses In 1947, the reconstruction of the city center was in full swing, and reconstruction and changes in trolleybus traffic did not go unnoticed. The trolleybus route to the Dzerzhinsky Plant was temporarily suspended and route No 1 was closed. And if the repair works on Khreshchatyk were completed, the issue on Krasnoarmeyska Street remained open. Even before the war it was planned to move the tram tracks on the Horkoho Street. This meant that the trolleybus was equipped with all the growing and busiest passenger traffic in the city at that time, which required coordinated and clear operation of the cars on the route. And given the fact that the Horkoho Street is not so wide and spacious, the quality of transportation would deteriorate significantly. But the line to Horkoho Street was completed only to the Dymytrova Street. This meant that almost all passenger traffic fell on the soon-to-be-restored trolleybus route No 1.
Routes as of January 1, 1948:
1 Dzerzhinsky Plant – Lva Tolstoho Square 2 Stalin Square – Railway Station 3 Stalin Square – Lva Tolstoho Square 4 Kalinina Square – Cable Plant (Lukyanivka)
Innovations in late 1940s On September 5, 1948, routes No 1 and 3 merged into a single routes No 1, running from Stalin Square to the Dzerzhinsky Plant. Subsequently, route No 3 was renewed from time to time when it was needed, although it worked only during rush hour.
As of January 1, 1950, the route network took the following form:
1 Avtostrada (Stalinka) – Stalin Square 2 Hall. Station – Sq. Stalin 4 Kalinia Square – Cable Plant 5 Tolstoho Square – Polova Street 7 Stalin Square – Polova Street 8 Avtostrada (Stalinka) – Railway Terminal
1950s in the history of the Kyiv Trolleybus