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Crimean Trolleybus Line

The Simferopol–Alushta–Yalta mountain trolleybus line (over 90 km) is the first in the USSR and the longest mountain trolleybus line in Europe, built at Ukraine's expense in 1959–1961 as an environmentally safe alternative to infeasible railway projects to the Southern Coast of Crimea.

Overview

After the transfer of Crimea to the UkrSSR (1954), the optimal solution for connecting central Crimea with the Southern Coast was not a railway (numerous projects between 1890 and 1944 proved to be environmentally hazardous and infeasible), but a high-speed mountain trolleybus line. On October 27, 1958, the Council of Ministers of the UkrSSR adopted Resolution No. 1340-R "On the Construction of a Mountain Trolleybus Line from Simferopol to Yalta." The design and cost documentation for the country's first and Europe's longest mountain trolleybus line was developed by Ukrainian specialists with the participation of the Georgian branch of the All-Union Institute for Road Construction Design and the Southern Highway Management; the working design team was headed by Ukrainian Viktor Denysenko.

The first stage (Simferopol–Alushta) was built in record time — 11 months — and opened on November 6, 1959. The second stage (Alushta–Yalta) was opened in the summer of 1961, timed to coincide with the 22nd Congress of the CPSU. Over 118 million rubles from the republican budget of the UkrSSR were spent on the construction of the line, involving more than 80 enterprises from 10 Ukrainian cities. By 1990, Crimean trolleybuses had transported over 9 million passengers. The line became one of the greatest achievements of Crimea's first decade as part of Ukraine.

Key Details / Subtopics

  • Prehistory of connection with the Southern Coast: horse-drawn trails until 1783; tsarist mountain road Simferopol–Alushta (1826), Alushta–Yalta (1887), further to Sevastopol; modernization in 1860, 1935–1940.
  • Resolution No. 1340-R (27.10.1958): decision of the Council of Ministers of the UkrSSR on the construction of the Simferopol–Yalta mountain trolleybus line.
  • Ukrainian author team: the working group was led by Viktor Denysenko; construction was managed by Ukrainian specialists Borovskyi and Sushchenko; Crimean Trolleybus Depot (1959) — director Vasylenko. The fleet consisted of 40 domestic-made and 8 Czech-made trolleybuses.
  • Scale of first-stage works: over 1 million m³ of moved earth, about 6 thousand poles, 16 point substations, over 200 km of overhead lines, two trolleybus depots.
  • Opening and politicization: November 6, 1959 (42nd anniversary of the October coup), ceremonial meeting of flower-decorated trolleybuses carrying portraits of Lenin (from Simferopol) and Khrushchev (from Alushta); second stage — summer 1961 for the 22nd Congress of the CPSU.
  • Economic impact: revival of resort construction, job creation on the Southern Coast, stimulation of trade, rebirth of sanatoriums and children's health camps.