New Almaty trolleys can run 5 km off wire

50 new public trolley buses equipped with rechargeable batteries for driving without wires was held in Almaty at Astana Square, Tengrinews.kz reported. According to Talgat Abdrakhmanov, head of Almaty Public Transport Department, the trolley buses were designed based on Germany's Neoplan and made in China. The key feature of the trolleys is their capability to cover a distance of up to 5 kilometers without electricity from wires. The head of the department says that this enables the electric buses to keep moving in case of a wire break or power shutdown. The trolleys are equipped with ticketing validators. Abdrakhmanov said that these 50 trolleys were only the first batch ordered by Almaty Akimat (Mayor's office) as part of the loan agreement with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The total of 195 these trolleybuses will be delivered to Almaty. The EBRD provided a 10 year loan of $36 million to AlmatyElectroTrans company for the trolleys. The next batch will be delivered to Almaty on December and the rest of the electric buses will arrive in March or April of 2013. Besides the goal of replacing and expanding the existing fleet of trackless trams, the procurement of more trolleybuses is part of the effort to overcome the excessive air pollution of the southern city of Kazakhstan. Almaty city is campaigning for transfer of as many public and private vehicles to environmentally friendly fuel. Abdrakhmanov reminded that about 200 new buses running on liquid gas will be delivered to the city in summer 2013.