The Schaffhausen trolleybus system () is part of the public transport network of Schaffhausen, capital city of the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, and the adjacent town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall in the same canton. It is also Switzerland's youngest and smallest such system. Its route, designated as line 1, connects among others Schaffhausen railway station with the Rhine Falls.
Opened in 1966, the system replaced the Schaffhausen tramway network. , it consists of one cross-city route. It is currently operated by (VBSH), and is supplemented by five motor bus routes operated by the same transport company.
With 3.45 million passengers annually (as of 2011), the trolleybus line is by far the busiest of all the operator's routes.
History
Origins and extensions
The conversion of the Schaffhausen Waldfriedhof–Neuhausen Zentrum tramway to trolleybus operation was the consequence of a popular vote (referendum) held on 13 September 1964. The changeover occurred seamlessly, over the break between 23 and 24 September 1966. However, the trolleybus line that emerged from the tramway line ran initially only as far as Ebnat, whereas the tramway had continued one stop further, to the Waldfriedhof (forest cemetery) in St. Niklausen. At first, the trolleybuses operated every ten minutes at normal times, and every five minutes during peak times.
The trolleybus system also took over the former tram depot, which was then at Cardinal, on the site of today's central fire station.
Only in the spring of 1970 was the trolleybus system extended to reach St. Niklausen, as the tramway had done. Since then, St. Niklausen has been connected into the system via a long clockwise operating balloon loop, by which the trolleybuses pass through the nominal terminus at Waldfriedhof without a lengthy stopover.
On 29 May 1974, another new section of line, the long Ebnat–Herblingertal section, went into service. Upon the opening of this section, the VBSH put a second trolleybus route into operation: Line 9, Neuhausen Zentrum–Herblingertal. This was a reinforcement line that ran only in peak times, and was served by four rigid (two-axle) buses. Line 9 replaced the additional bus rounds on line 1 in peak times, and also served exclusively the new section in the Herblingertal, where no public transport was available outside line 9's operating hours.
On 4 August 1980, there was an extension at the other end of the system, when the section from Neuhausen Zentrum to Neuhausen Herbstäcker went into operation. At Herbstäcker, another balloon loop was constructed; trolleybuses ran through it counter clock-wise, and with a longer stay at the terminus. The opening of this extension led to the introduction of a third route number, because not all services ran through to Herbstäcker. Services running only as far as Neuhausen Zentrum were henceforth known as line 2; meanwhile, line 9 was unaffected by the extension, and continued to terminate at Neuhausen Zentrum.
On 31 May 1987, the VBSH opened a new trolleybus and motor bus depot in the Herblingertal, at Ebnatstrasse 145. The depot, which remains in use today, replaced the old depot from the tramway era, and was originally connected with the rest of the trolleybus system via the overhead wires of line 9.
Further developments
Since the end of the 1980s, route number 2 has no longer been used. However, some services, designated as line 1, continue to terminate at Neuhausen Zentrum; they are scheduled on weekends and holidays.
In 1991/92, Schaffhausen's first generation trolleybus fleet of Berna vehicles was replaced with a new fleet, of NAW/Hess articulated units.
On 20 September 1995, line 9 was discontinued, after 21 years of operation. Since then, the former line 9 route has been served by motor bus route 6, which also serves the affected section in the Herblingertal only in peak times. To compensate for the shutdown of line 9, line 1 services were increased, to run at 7.5-minute intervals during rush hour.
Since the closure of line 9, the long Ebnat–Depot section has been used only for non-passenger carrying trips, and has served outgoing and incoming trolleybuses on line 1. The long Depot–Herblingertal section can still be used for special excursions.
Until 14 December 2003, motor bus line 6, which also ran to Neuhausen, was diverted during peak times to combine with line 1 to offer a service at condensed, 7.5-minute intervals. Since then, the Schaffhausen trolleybuses have run all day on a rigid timetable of one trolleybus every ten minutes.