MIASS TROLLEYBUS NETWORK

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THE CITY

[as of 01.2008]

The city is situated in the Chelyabinskiy Region of Russia, 1676 km east of Moscow, and 96 km west of Chelyabinsk, the regional capital. The original settlement was established in 1773. The status of the city was acquired in 1926. The city's population is about 153 000 people.

Miass is actually an assembly of a number of settlements that sprawl over the valley amid picturesque Ural mountains that make a fine photogenic backdrop. The city has a somewhat unique topography as it stretches north-south for some 30 km., which feature provides for a high volume trunk transportation corridor along the main axis of the city, connecting the dispersed neighborhoods.

The three major geographically distinct residential developments that comprise the city are: Stariy Miass, Avtozavod and Mashgorodok. The Stariy Miass (the Old Miass) neighborhood was formed during the Czarist pre-Soviet era. It is located to the south of the Main Railroad Station, a few km away from the 'new' city. The Avtozavod (translation: the automobile factory's settlement) neighborhood is located immediately north of the Main Railroad Station. It was originally a residential settlement for the automobile factory (UralAZ), which expended in the 1950-70s, and eventually grew into the central area of the city. The Mashgorodk (the machine factory's town) neighborhood is located in the far north of the city, past the huge industrial park and the forest reserve, which conceals a super-secret missile installation complex called Lepeshkovaya Gora. Mashgrodok is evidently a residential settlement for the latter, with its name coarsely suggesting belonging to some ambiguous machinery factory. It was mostly developed in the 1960-80s and happens to be a sizeable modern apartment block suburb, and a huge passenger trip generator.


GENERAL INFORMATION

[01.2008]

Trolleybuses serve the northern part of the city only, operating between Vokzal (the Main Railroad Station), the neighborhood of Avtozavod and the distant suburb of Mashgorodok. The latter extension is an interurban-like installation. There is also a short branch to the Poselok Stroiteley settlement. Thus, trolleybuses cover the main passenger generating trunk corridor in the city. The previously planned extensions to Stariy Miass and Poselok Dinamo never materialized.

The city is more or less economically advanced, thanks to the huge UralAZ factory and the defense industry. Consequently, the city's social services fare rather well, which includes the municipal trolleybus enterprise that boasts commendable operation. Private carriers, however, still carry sizeable share of the market, which could be concluded from swarms of minibuses flocking the streets. Moreover, gypsy minibuses operate via the trolleybus lines under the same route designation numbers as trolleybuses themselves.

Diesel buses operate in the city since 1953. In the early 1990s the bus network boasted as many as 15 lines served with 180 vehicles. During the 1990s and the early 2000s, however, the municipal bus fleet was significantly reduced. By 2008 full-size municipal buses became a rather rare sight, as private carriers took over. Areas not covered by trolleybus network are almost entirely dependant on private carriers.


S-BAHN

The inner-city passenger railroad line operated within this unusually stretched out city between 1942-1953. Conceived during the World War II when Miass became an important center of industrial development behind the war lines, this service was known as 'motovoz' (translated as 'motor+vagon'). While it is known that this was not an electric installation, the type of power source, thanks to the rather ambiguous name 'motovoz', remains unknown. The service dissolved in 1953 when buses were no longer a luxury.

In 1942 tracks were laid from the Main Railroad Station northward, to the Factory number 319 (the automobile factory, later UralAZ) via the axis of modern 8-go Iyulya Ul., one block to the west of the main Avtozavodtsev Prospect, paralleling the latter. In 1943 the line was extended to the south, to the Factory number 611 (the furniture factory) at Mostovy Per. in Stariy Miass. The line was further extended to ZhBI and Mashzavod in the north, and to Turgoyakskie mining headquarters in the south.


HISTORY OF TROLLEYBUS NETWORK'S DEVELOPMENT

[01.2008]

01 Feb 1985 - From Olympiyskaya Ul. to Lepeshkovaya Gora, via Chernyshevskogo Pr. (nowadays Makeeva Pr.), Oktyabrya Pr. and Turgoyakskoe Shosse; Line 2 Mashgorodok - Lepeshkovaya Gora opens; the system opens without the Depot - vehicles are stored at the Mashzavod's hangar number 47;
Mid-1985 - From Lepeshkovaya Gora to Predzavodskaya Ul. via Turgoyakskoe Shosse and a one-way loop via Turgoyakskoe Shosse, Predzavodskaya Ul. and Avtozavodtsev Pr.; Line 1 Mashgorodok - Avtozavod opens; the Depot opens;
1986 - From Predzavodskaya Ul. to Vokzal, via Avtozavodtsev Pr., 8-go Marta Ul. and Stepana Razina Ul.; Line 3 Mashgorodok - Vokzal opens;
1987 - From Turgoyakskoe Shosse to Donskaya Ul. via Veteranov Ul., service road of Sevastopolskaya Ul., Nakhimova Ul., Kerchenskaya Ul. and a one-way loop via Kerchenskaya Ul., Azovskaya Ul. and Donskaya Ul.; Line 4 Vokzal - Pos. Stroiteley opens;
1994 - Line 2 closes;
1998 - Line 5 Pos. Stroiteley - Mashgorodok opens;
2000 - Line 6 Vokzal - Avtozavod and Line 7 Vokzal - ZhBI open;
Early 2000s - Line 5 closes.


ROUTES

[1987]

1 Avtozavod - Mashgorodok
2 Lepeshkovaya Gora - Mashgorodok
3 Vokzal - Mashgorodok
4 Vokzal - Pos. Stroiteley

[1998]

1 Avtozavod - Mashgorodok
3 Vokzal - Mashgorodok
4 Vokzal - Pos. Stroiteley
5 Pos. Stroiteley - Mashgorodok

[2000]

1 Avtozavod - Mashgorodok
3 Vokzal - Mashgorodok
4 Vokzal - Pos. Stroiteley
5 Pos. Stroiteley - Mashgorodok
6 Vokzal - Avtozavod
7 Vokzal - ZhBI

[01.2008]

1 Avtozavod - Mashgorodok
3 Vokzal - Mashgorodok
4 Vokzal - Pos. Stroiteley
6 Vokzal - Avtozavod
7 Vokzal - ZhBI

Line 6 operates during emergencies only, such as overhead breakdowns.

Lines 1 and 7 operate under booking arrangements with the UralAZ factory, during rush hours only. Moreover, Line 7 operates rather infrequently, with 1 or 2 trolleybuses only.


SERVICE

[1994]

Weekdays - 54 out of 89 trolleybuses in operation:
Line 1 - 12 trolleybuses;
Line 3 - 28 trolleybuses;
Line 4 - 18 trolleybuses.

Weekend - 30 trolleybuses in operation:
Line 3 - 22 trolleybuses;
Line 4 - 8 trolleybuses.

[01.2008]

Weekdays:
Line 1 - rush hours only, infrequent service with 2 trolleybuses only;
Line 3 - 3-4 min headway;
Line 4 - 6-8 min headway;
Line 7 - rush hours only; infrequent service with 2 trolleybuses only.

Weekend:
Line 3 - 4-5 min headway;
Lien 4 - 8-10 min headway.

The service is exceptionally punctual and reliable.

Trolleybuses serving Lines 3 and 4 often operate in tandem within the section of common routing.


ROLLING STOCK

[1994]

Total of 89 trolleybuses.


[01.2008]

Total of 53 trolleybuses:

ZiU-682V: 008, 013*, 015*, 023*, 029*, 031*, 051*, 075, 076
ZiU-682G: 001*, 002*, 003, 006, 007*, 018, 024, 026, 030, 033, 059, 073, 079, 082, 083**, 084-087, 088*, 095, 096*, 101, 106-108, 110
BTZ-52011: 102-105
BTZ-5276-01: 109
BTZ-5276-04: 111, 112, 114, 115
VMZ-5298: 116, 117
ZiU-683V: 080, 090, 091*, 092-094
ZiU-6205: 047, 100

* - Locally rehabbed vehicles.
** - Vehicles in semi-operable state.

Most recent write-offs: 015 (old fleet number), 025, 028 (ex-Tyumen), 036, 054, 083, 089, 098 (ex-Tyumen), 099 (ZiU-6205).

ZiU-683V and ZiU-6205 are articulated vehicles. These are operated during weekdays only.

Despite (and in a light of) exemplary operation, the cosmetic maintenance of many older vehicles, especially articulated vehicles, is rather shocking, as some trolleybuses look like horribly corroded patched-up dinosaurs.


OVERHEAD

[01.2008]

Total length is 48.6 km one-way.

The overhead is relatively well maintained.


RESUME

[01.2008]

During the 1990s / early 2000s, the number of trolleybuses was reduced from the all-time high of 89 at the beginning of the 1990s, to 53 vehicles only.

Even though the headway maintained during weekdays is as low as 3-4 min, considering a much higher passenger demand, the service could have been twice as extensive. Thus, there is an apparent shortage of trolleybuses in the city. One could argue that local passenger demand could justify a tramline. In the meanwhile, in the absence of adequate electric transportation, the excess passenger flaw is handled by scores of gypsy minibuses.

During the late 1980s / early 1990s' there were plans to built trolleybus lines to Stariy Miass and Pos. Dinamo, thus covering the entire city with the trolleybus network, as well as to built the second Depot in the south of the city. These plans were never realized.

Some most horrible-looking vehicles convey an overall negative image, but these external impressions are somewhat compensated by exceptionally well-ran service. The city has also seen a stable flaw of new trolleybus deliveries, even though these never seem to be enough considering the existing passenger demand.

Even though significantly downsized if compared to the better days, the currently maintained operation is relatively stable. Trolleybuses seem to be well positioned within the city environment.


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