As I could not find any appropriate section, I want to open a new thread for this. Eventually there are some postings on this subject elsewere.

In my recent trip to Tehran I could ride the trolleybus (اتوبوس برقی) line 5 between Main Railway Station and Shush Metro station, on Shush Avenue. The line eventually continues on 17 Shahrivar Avenue up to Emam Hossein Square to connect to the other line as written on the destination, but I could not verify this. Any notice about the extension of the trolley bus network would be appreciated.

Here are some pictures I took near Rah Ahan Square

http://share.bahnforum.info/transfer/e825dbc060ecc7caa98ce2687fe5a58c9db17011/Tehran/IMG_8078.jpg

http://share.bahnforum.info/transfer/e825dbc060ecc7caa98ce2687fe5a58c9db17011/Tehran/IMG_8087.jpg

Those are still the old Skoda buses which I could see many years ago on the line from Emam Hossein Square to the eastern bus terminal. They are well maintained but they are obsolete and their speed and acceleration is not what one would expect from a trolley bus. Hopefully they will be replaced by better material soon.

http://share.bahnforum.info/transfer/e825dbc060ecc7caa98ce2687fe5a58c9db17011/Tehran/IMG_8088.jpg
The ticketing system is with touchless magnetic cards - very much state of the art in public transport.

wow thnx for te pics, i thought these werent used anymore. and the card system is truely state of the art :)

Thank you!!!

I had seen them too, the last time I was in Tehran, and I was really surprised. Ever since I wanted to learn more about them.
Line 5 as described by you has a very important route linking important locations. Surely it has a high ridership.

Like you I hope we dont have to wait too long for a modernization. And that modernization would not be to change the buses with newer ones, but to set some rails on that route and convert the whole thing into a tram!:)

http://www.tabriz.ir/uploads/2/Cms/News/Record/b193.jpg
^^ Tabriz's BRT's

http://www.tabriz.ir/uploads/2/Cms/News/Record/b193.jpg
^^ Tabriz's BRT's
These buses are in service in Tehran, too. There is one line on Enqelab and there are others, too. Some are "British" type, it means they have the doors on the left side as the plattforms of some lines are in the center of the street. But technically they are simple buses with (polluting) combustion engines and have nothing to do with the trolley bus, which has an overhead wire and electric motors.

The BRT buses are new built but in my eyes they are nothing new. They are noisy and have the tipical diesel engine vibration like any traditional bus.

Line 5 as described by you has a very important route linking important locations. Surely it has a high ridership.
Is there any bus in Tehran that does NOT have high ridership?
Gender segregation adds another problem. A bus stopping in front of a girls school will be overcrowded in the female section but eventually half empty in the male section. All efforts to organize modern transport are ruined by some ill-minded principles. At least metro has mixed carriages...

the one's I put the pics ain't bad.they have coolers in summer and etc(it's sth basic but alot of urban buses dont have it)

These buses are in service in Tehran, too. There is one line on Enqelab and there are others, too. Some are "British" type, it means they have the doors on the left side as the plattforms of some lines are in the center of the street.
It would be more accurate to call them Brazilian type, because the stations on Brazilian BRT lines have central platforms. If anyone in Britain built a BRT line with centre platforms, the buses would need to have doors on the right. :)

but if im not mistaking, brt in england dont hve central platforms, am i right?

Also the driver would be on the wrong side for the UK. :)

Any new development of this great trolley-bus system lately?

They should replace these trolleys with these Belarus built low-floor ones from Belkomunmash:
http://bkm.by/pub/products/62/321%202.jpeg
They can be articulted too:
http://members.shaw.ca/raising/Minsk-1.jpg

aren't these new red buses in tehran the trolleybuses?

^^ They are only trolleybusses if they have big pantograph poles collecting power from overhead lines.

Oh, I see :lol:

They should bring back double deckers for general use. I understand they were reusing the old ones for tourist trips round tehran but they would help with congestion. as they take up far less room.

Their height is above the standards in the law. That's why all european countries (again except Britain) reemoved those busses.

Belarus is Iran's closest partner in Europe. They should be able to get safe reliable Belarussian trolleybuses for cheap.

^^ That's if anyone in the public transport authority gives replacing the current ones a second thought.

Update May 2013: as I could see on my recent trip to Tehran the old Skoda Trolleybusses have been withdrawn. The former trolleybus line to the Central Station (Rah Ahan) is now served by normal busses (elder type, no fancy red busses), but the wires are still in place. Hopefully there will be new trolleybuses in the future. Could not get any information about that.

^^ Oh cr@p! I doubt they will come back any time soon.. :ohno: