Nizhny Novgorod trolleybus — the trolleybus system of Nizhny Novgorod, served by 3 trolleybus depots. The trolleybus system was launched on June 27, 1947.
History
City of Gorky became the fifteenth city in the USSR to have a trolleybus. Many enterprises of the city and even the region worked alongside tram service management employees to build the first line.
The sole route at the time of opening was 2.6 km long — along Sverdlov Street from Minin Square (the Kremlin) to Gorky Square.
The birthday of the Zarechka trolleybus is considered to be March 6, 1948. On that day, service began on circular route No. 3: from Sormovsky Povorot to Varya station along S. Shaumyan and Berezovskaya Streets to Moscow Highway and back to Sormovsky Povorot. Somewhat later, a section was added from the turn along Moscow Highway, extending almost to the railway station.
In 1949, a line was built along Kominterna Street to Pochinki, and routes No. 4 and then No. 5 were opened to Pochinki and then to Koposovo. Later still, the line was extended to the Tsinkovalshhik plant. The poles sometimes had to be installed by hand.
The years 1954–1956 brought the construction and commissioning of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd stages of the trolleybus line along Gagarin Avenue) — Route No. 6.
Galina Mikhailovna Zevyakova, driver of the first trolleybus depot:
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"All sorts of things happened over thirty years of work… I remember once on Surikov Street I braked hard. There were ravines right there. The car spun across the road and overturned. The passengers had to get out through the ceiling." | 
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November 1957 — opening of trolleybus route No. 7 to Stara Kanava Street
1959 — opening of trolleybus route No. 8 (Moscow Railway Station — Vysokovo)
October 28, 1959 — commissioning of the permanent buildings of trolleybus depot No. 2
By 1961, the Gorky trolleybus system ranked fifth out of 27 electric transport enterprises in the RSFSR in terms of operational volume
1961 — extension of route No. 7 to Komsomolsky Settlement.
1962 — arrival in the city of the first batch of ZiU-5 trolleybuses and the introduction of conductor-free passenger service
1963 — the tram and trolleybus management became a loss-making enterprise
1963 — opening of route No. 9 (Minin Square — Nartova Street)
November 1966 — route No. 3 along Moscow Highway extended to the Ordzhonikidze settlement
May 27, 1967 — the trolleybus reached the AUTO PLANT. On this day, trolleybus routes No. 2 and No. 4 began operating as the first routes of the third trolleybus depot
February 1968 — service began on route No. 11 (Schastlivaya station — Novikov-Priboy Street)
1968–69 — the trolleybus line along Gagarin Avenue extended to the Agricultural Institute. Route No. 6 extended to the new terminus.
1969–1970 — route No. 11 extended into Leninsky and Kanavinsky Districts
May 1, 1970 — route No. 9 extended to Sovetskaya Square (then called Stroyploshchadka)
May 1971 — extension of the line along Gagarin Avenue to Scherbinki. Reorganization of the route network — route No. 13 "Minin Square — Scherbinki" introduced. Route No. 6 cut back to Stary Posyolok.
May 6, 1971 — new route No. 15 ran for the first time along the newly built Gastello Avenue (now Geroev Avenue) in Moskovsky District, from Moscow Railway Station to the aviation plant and the Sormovo Park of Culture and Recreation
June 1971 — a line built along Yuzhnoye Highway. Opening of trolleybus route No. 14.
September 15, 1971 — construction of a new line along Vaneev Street to Stroyploshchadka. Reorganization of the route network — routes No. 16 "Stroyploshchadka — Stary Posyolok" (soon extended to Scherbinki) and No. 17 "Gorky Street — Stroyploshchadka" introduced; routes No. 6 and No. 9 rerouted along the newly created loop: Beketov Street — Vaneev Street — Figner Street — Sverdlov Street — Gagarin Avenue.
1971 — the "Second Coming" of ZiU-5 trolleybuses to the depot (in anticipation of the planned relocation of depot No. 1 to a new site).
1972 — a line built along Komarov Street to the lathe factory. Route No. 18 launched.
Autumn 1972 — trolleybus depot No. 1 was the first in the city to receive the new ZiU-9 trolleybus model.
1972–73 — relocation of depot No. 1 to a new building on Ivliev Street in Lapshikha. Dismantling of the service overhead line section along Lyadov Street to the depot's old location. Construction of depot approaches and a new trolleybus line to Kuznechikha.
1973 — a new line built across Kanavinsky Bridge to the river terminal, and route No. 19 "railway station — River Station" launched. Unfortunately, in the late 1970s, following the completion of the Nizhne-Volzhskaya Embankment reconstruction — during which these routes had been suspended — the decision was made not to restore them, as they were deemed "inefficient." The overhead network from Lenin Square across Oksky Bridge and along the embankment itself was dismantled.
In December 1974, route No. 15 was extended along the full length of Chaadaev Street to the railway platform. Route No. 19 was also extended from the railway station to the Chaadaevo platform.
In March 1975, route No. 8 was extended to Dubravnaya station.
1975 — the last MTB-82 trolleybus withdrawn from service and put on permanent display.
1976 — opening of new lines into Kuznechikha-I and along the southern gates of the automobile plant (route No. 22)
1977 — construction begins on the first stage of the Gorky Metro
1981 — extension of the trolleybus line deeper into Kuznechikha. Route No. 17 extended to the new terminus.
1981 — construction of the first stage of the trolleybus line in the Meschera Lake microdistrict
1982 — dismantling of the overhead network along Sverdlov Street following its conversion into a pedestrian street. Route No. 1 closed.
1983 — the last ZiU-5 trolleybus withdrawn from service and put on permanent display.
1984 — a trolleybus line built from Lenin Avenue to the Red Etna (route No. 23)
November 5, 1984 — trolleybus route No. 19 opened to the Northern Settlement of Avtozavodsky District along Dyakonov Street
November 20, 1985 — the first 6 stations of the Nizhny Novgorod Metro opened. The trolleybus line from Proletarskaya metro station to Malaya Zarechnaya was dismantled. Route No. 11 cut back to Proletarskaya metro station
1986 — route No. 23 extended to Machine Tool Factory
1987 — construction begins on a trolleybus line along Rodionov Street.
1988 — transition to a cashless fare collection method
1989 — trolleybuses began running along Kuybyshev Street into the Meschera Lake microdistricts (routes No. 3 and No. 5 reopened) and along Vaneev Street to Rokossovskogo Street. Completion of the last section of the Kuznechikha trolleybus loop. Reorganization of the route network — routes No. 9 and No. 17 made into semi-circular routes running in opposite directions from Minin Square along Vaneev Street and then around the Kuznechikha loop. Due to the protracted construction of the underground pedestrian crossing near the Palace of Sport, route No. 6 was cut back to the Palace of Sport, severing the overhead network between Gagarin Avenue and Beketov Street. Route No. 16 temporarily cancelled.
1991 — the trolleybus lines of Geroev Avenue and Kominterna Street were connected. A new line built along Pobedy Street. Route No. 8 rerouted.
1992 — completion of the underground pedestrian crossing at the Palace. Restoration of the overhead network between Gagarin Avenue and Beketov Street. Routes No. 6 and No. 16 operating on schedule.
October 1, 1993 — completion of the trolleybus line along Rodionov Street to the Verkhniye Pechyory microdistrict. A new route opened under the old number No. 1 — "Minin Square — Verkhniye Pechyory microdistrict."
1997 — celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Nizhny Novgorod trolleybus. The start of major capital restoration work (KVR) on old trolleybuses at the Nizhny Novgorod enterprises Sokol Aircraft Manufacturing Plant and Nizhrol. Restoration of the museum MTB-82 and ZiU-5 vehicles.
1998 — conductor ticket sales to passengers reintroduced.
1998 — construction of a new trolleybus line along Brinsky Street between Lapshikha and Verkhniye Pechyory. New route No. 21 — "Kuznechikha — Verkhniye Pechyory microdistrict" established, later extended to Gorky Square.
2000 — the last new trolleybuses for the first depot: 8 ZiU-9G units from the Uritsky Plant and 1 BKM-201 manufactured by Minsk's Belkommunmash.
2001–03 — KVR of old trolleybuses continues; route No. 21 has become "phantom" — it is still listed in the depot's records, but not a single trolleybus runs on it. The number of vehicles dispatched to other routes has dropped significantly.
2004 — vehicle output on the lines was increased and stabilized, but due to the city authorities' lack of attention to the problems of electric transport, the enterprise's situation remains difficult. With the active participation of depot staff and its museum vehicles, the first international gathering of urban electric transport enthusiasts was held.
Current trolleybus routes
At present, 21 trolleybus routes operate in Nizhny Novgorod.
No. 1 Minin and Pozharsky Square — Ulyanov Street — Bolshaya Pecherskaya Street — Rodionov Street — Verkhniye Pechyory microdistrict, one-way loop through Verkhniye Pechyory.
No. 2 Mineev Street — Leskov Street — Lenin Avenue — Proletarskaya metro station — Perekhodnikov Street — Busygin Avenue — Dyakonov Street — Schastlivaya platform.
No. 3 Meschera Lake microdistrict — Kuybyshev Street — Burnakovskiy Proyezd — Geroev Avenue — Chaadaevo platform, operates during peak hours.
No. 4 Mineev Street — Leskov Street — Oktyabrya Avenue — Sotsgorod microdistrict, one-way loop through Sotsgorod.
No. 5 Meschera Lake microdistrict — Kuybyshev Street — Kominterna Street — Sutyrin Street — Komsomolsky Settlement
No. 8 Chaadaevo platform — 50 Let Pobedy Street (return: Strazh Revolyutsii Street) — Kominterna Street — KIM Street — Dubravny Settlement, operates during peak hours
No. 9 Minin and Pozharsky Square — Freedom Square — Vaneev Street — Rokossovsky Street — Kuznechikha-2 microdistrict — Ivliev Street — Vasyunin Street — Vaneev Street — Freedom Square — Minin and Pozharsky Square, running in the opposite direction to route No. 17.
No. 10 Meschera Lake microdistrict — Meshchersky Boulevard — Moscow Highway — Gorkovskoye JSC.
No. 11 Proletarskaya metro station — Lenin Ave. — Oktyabrya Ave. — Sotsgorod microdistrict, one-way loop within Sotsgorod.
No. 12 Proletarskaya metro station — Lenin Ave. — Yuzhnoye Highway — Gaydar St. — Patriotov St.
No. 13 Minin and Pozharsky Square — Vaneev St. — Beketov St. — Gagarin Ave. — Scherbinki-2 microdistrict. From 6 July 2008, part of Gorky St. was closed for 2.5 years for metro station construction. Route No. 20 was closed; route No. 21 was reopened. From 20 October, due to the temporary dismantling of a substation, route No. 13 follows the route indicated above; route No. 6 was closed.
No. 14 Patriotov St. — Gaydar St. — Yuzhnoye Highway — Oktyabrya Ave. — Schastlivaya platform
No. 15 Moscow Railway Station — Moscow Highway — Geroev Ave. — Chaadayevo platform. The "Moscow Railway Station" stop is on the opposite side of the station (across the tracks).
No. 16 Scherbinki-2 microdistrict — Gagarin Ave. — Beketov St. — Vaneev St. — Rokossovskogo St. — Ivliyeva St. — Boris Kornilov Street
No. 17 Minin and Pozharsky Square — Freedom Square — Vaneev St. — Vasyunina St. — Ivliyeva St. — Kuznechikha-2 microdistrict — Rokossovskogo St. — Vaneev St. — Freedom Square — Minin and Pozharsky Square. Runs in the opposite direction to route No. 9.
No. 18 Meschera Lake microdistrict — Meshchersky Blvd. — Sovnarkomovskaya St. — Iyulskikh Dney St. — Lenin Ave. — Komarova St. — Pamirskaya Street. Currently closed due to road closure.
No. 21 Verkhniye Pechyory microdistrict — Brinskogo St. — Vasyunina St. — Beketov St. — Gagarin Ave. — Scherbinki-2 microdistrict. One-way loop within Verkhniye Pechyory.
No. 22 Mineeva Street — Leskov St. — Monastyrka St. — GAZ Gate No. 7. Operates during peak hours only.
No. 23 Pamirskaya Street — Komarova St. — Samochkina St. — Etna OJSC Cultural Centre — Volochilnaya St. — Druzhby St. — Komarova St. — Pamirskaya Street. Temporarily replaced by bus route No. 23a.
No. 25 Moscow Railway Station — Moscow Highway — Kuzbasskaya St. — Puteyskaya St. (return: Gorokhovetskaya St.) — Arkhangelskaya Street (Sortirovochny microdistrict). The "Moscow Railway Station" stop is on the opposite side of the station (across the tracks).
Stories from trolleybus drivers
Nizhny Novgorod residents under the wheels
Galina Mikhailovna Zevyakova, driver at the First Trolleybus Depot:
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"Because of ice on the road I once found myself in a similar situation when I was young. I'm driving along Sverdlovka, and near the State Bank an old woman is crossing the road. She's taking her time. I brake — the trolleybus goes into a skid and spins around. I jump out of the cab, grab the old woman, and she says to me, so innocently: 'Now, now, dear, don't you worry. Don't be upset — come to my place for a cup of tea...' And then near the Sverdlov Cultural Centre a young man fell right under my trolleybus wheels. I managed to swerve a little, and he raised his legs... In short, I didn't catch him, it was all fine. But I couldn't catch up with him either. The moment he got to his feet, he ran off so fast... He was gone just like that..." |
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How a seasoned driver trolled a young one
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"There were two drivers working with us: Ryabinin and Polyakov. Ryabinin was very young, fresh out of the training course, still inexperienced. Polyakov wasn't much older, but he was a good deal craftier...
One day they were both running on the Sormovo line. Ryabinin was in front, Polyakov behind him. Of course, Ryabinin had fallen behind schedule — there was no interval at all. Polyakov put up with it for a while, then lost his patience, jumped out at a stop, pulled down Ryabinin's poles, and slipped in front of him. The buzzer went off, naturally. Well, it went off and so what. But Ryabinin just sat there waiting. He thought his vehicle had lost power. So he waited for it to come back on. And the trolleybuses kept going past him. The passengers started grumbling: why are you just sitting here? He ran outside to look, and saw that his poles had been taken down... They laughed about it for a long time afterwards. But Polyakov had nothing to laugh about. He was disciplined. And went off to drive a bus." |
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How the cursed spot on Gorky Square disappeared
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"On Gorky Square, not far from the Nizhny Novgorod Main Post Office, there was a godforsaken spot — some indestructible pothole in the asphalt. And even the most careful driver, hitting that pothole, would invariably have the trolleybus poles fly off the wires. Drivers wrote to their trade paper 'On City Routes', complained to management, raised the issue at meetings — nothing helped. The pothole would be filled in, but before long it was back.
Then one day — one almost wants to say: one fine day — perhaps the driver was going too fast, perhaps the pothole was deeper than usual — but the current collector flew off the wire, the pole sprang back, made a partial rotation, and struck the points assembly. The assembly held, but the current collector insert flew out and, carried by inertia at great speed, went off... in search of a target. And a target was found. At the time, the head of the city's municipal maintenance department lived in the new building — the very one that housed the toy shop, and later 'Gorky Goods'. Well, believe it or not, the insert flew straight through his window, shattered the glass, and punched a hole in the back of a brand-new, recently purchased chair. Through six layers of glued, pressed plywood. Thank God, no one was hurt. True, the chair — a pity about it, especially as it was part of a matching set — had to be repaired at the First Trolleybus Depot. But then — to this day no one knows quite how it happened — the pothole at that cursed spot disappeared. Disappeared for a long time. At any rate, until the head of the municipal maintenance department moved to a new flat on Osharskaya Street. Where, as is well known, trolleybuses do not run." |
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Materials drawn from the website "Nizhny Novgorod residents for public transport" and from Yu. M. Kossoy's book "50 Years of the Nizhny Novgorod Trolleybus".