February 16, 2019
State Govt to introduce environment-friendly trolley buses in Kolkata
The West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) has signed an agreement with the German development agency, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) to introduce trolley buses in Kolkata. The announcement was made during a session on transport and logistics at the Bengal Global Business Summit on February 8.
Trolley bus, also called trackless trolley, is a vehicle operated on the streets on rubber tyres and powered by electricity drawn from two overhead wires by trolley poles (and hence the name). There is zero emission which make them environmental-friendly.
Thus trolley buses are in several ways similar to trams. In fact, the agreement proposes to leverage some portions of the existing infrastructure of the tram network.
GIZ works on capacity building and has already carried out a feasibility study and submitted the report. An official associated with the project said that trolley buses won’t replace trams but will function separately to provide an integrated transportation system that is environmentally friendly.
He said that various proposals are being studied regarding the routes on which the trolley buses would be run. They can be used as feeders on upcoming Metro rail networks, and can also be operated in parts of the central business district (CBD) and in parts of New Town and Salt Lake.
Source: The Times of India
File Image
