Trolleybuses in Chișinău
The Chișinău trolleybus system forms an important part of the public transport network in Chișinău, the capital of the Republic of Moldova. The system was created shortly after the end of the World War II to replace the old electric tram system that suffered extensive damage during the war. Along with the network of minibuses known as rutierele, it forms the backbone of the Chișinău transport system, with the average daily ridership reaching 250 000 passengers per day. Dorin Ciornii is the general director of „Regia Transport Electric Chișinău”.
History
The history of the trolleybus network in Chișinău goes back to 1949 when the city council took the decision to introduce it as a substitute for the tram network that was heavily damaged during World War II and could only be rebuilt to a limited extent. The first line connecting the Chişinău Railway Station with the University of Medicine ran along the Stephen the Great boulevard, where the former tram tracks were removed, and was served by six MTB-82D units. In 1959 the tram depot was transferred to serve the trolleybus system that comprised over 50 units at that time, and by 1961 trolleybuses had completely replaced the trams. The second and the third depots were introduced into service in 1966 and 1986, respectively.Lines
The trolleybus network consists of 22 lines covering all the city districts and the suburb of Durlești.| Line | Route | |
| 2 | bd. Traian – str. Pușkin | circular route |
| 3 | șos. Balcani – str. Miorița | |
| 4 | Grădina Botanică – str. Constituţiei | connection with Chisinau railway station |
| 5 | Trolleybus depot 2 – str. Bariera Sculeni | connection with Chisinau railway station |
| 7 | A.B.A.-4 – str. 31 August 1989 | |
| 8 | bd. Traian – parcul "La izvor" | connection with Chisinau railway station |
| 9 | Schinoasa-2 – Autogara Nord | connection with Autogara Nord connection with Autogara Sud |
| 10 | str. Studenților – str. Miorița | |
| 11 | str. Studenților – parcul "La izvor" | |
| 13 | str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Dokuceaev | connection with Autogara Nord |
| 16 | Uzina de frigidere – str. 31 August 1989 | |
| 17 | Schinoasa 2 – Gara | connection with Chisinau railway station connection with Autogara Sud |
| 20 | Trolleybus depot 2 – Autogara Nord | connection with Chisinau railway station connection with Autogara Nord |
| 21 | Uzina de frigidere – șos. Balcani | |
| 22 | șos. Balcani – Grădina Botanică | |
| 23 | str. Ion Dumeniuc – parcul "La izvor" | |
| 24 | str. Ion Dumeniuc – str. Mioriţa | |
| 25 | str. Ceucari – str. 31 August 1989 | |
| 26 | str. Ceucari – str. Ion Dumeniuc | |
| 27 | str. Ceucari – str. Ion Creangă | |
| 28 | or. Durlești – str. Sarmizegetusa | connection with Chisinau railway station |
| 29 | Universitatea Agrară – parcul "Ștefan cel Mare" | |
| 30 | International Airport Chisinau – str. 31 August 1989 | connection with International Airport Chisinau |
Fleet
The fleet consists mainly of the various modification of the Soviet-built ZiU-9 and the recently purchased low-floor vehicles AKSM-321 manufactured by Belkommunmash in Belarus. In addition, the network also operates a number of the Czech-produced Škoda 14Tr and Ukrainian-built YuMZ-T2.| Model | Quantity |
| ZiU-9 | 150 |
| AKSM-321 | 112 |
| Škoda 14Tr | 37 |
| YuMZ-T2 | 20 |
| ZiU-10 | 7 |
| YuMZ-T1 | 4 |
| VMZ-5298 | 3 |
| AKSM-213 | 2 |
| AKSM-32102 | 1 |
| ZiU-682G-016 | 1 |