The Norwegian operator Keolis Norge AS has ordered 10 Solaris Trollino articulated trolleybuses for Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city. Bergen, called ‘the gate to the fjords', a city on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is the only city in Norway and one of only two in entire Scandinavia with a trolleybus system in operation.

In line with the agreement, with a total value of €8 million, the deliveries of Solaris Trollino 18 articulated trolleybuses to Norway will commence in September 2020 and the beginning of line operation is also scheduled for Autumn 2020. The zero-emission vehicles will be used to service the only maintained trolleybus line in Bergen, the length of which currently is 7.5 km.

The Trollino 18 articulated trolleybuses ordered by Keolis will be powered by a 250 kW electric motor. The vehicles will also be equipped with 55 kWh traction batteries, thanks to which it will be possible to cover a distance of more than 11 kilometers without the need to connect to the catenary system.

The batteries will be charged while driving the trolleybus using in-motion charging technology through current collectors mounted on the vehicle connected to the overhead contact line.

As many as 47 seats will be fitted on board the modern Solaris Trollino 18 trolleybuses—all equipped with seat belts. 10 seats will be available from the low floor level, which will make it easier for passengers with reduced mobility to take up their seat.

One of the seats behind the driver’s cabin will have the option of folding, thanks to which a place dedicated to the guide dog accompanying the blind will be created. For those traveling on wheelchairs or with prams, two bays with straps will be provided, as well as a folding ramp located at the second door. The trolleybuses will be fully low-floor and have the kneeling function, further lowering the right side of the vehicle by 7 cm when stopping at the stop.

The trolleybuses ordered by Keolis Norge AS will have a built-in breathalyser to check the driver’s sobriety before starting the vehicle. They will also be equipped by the manufacturer with a special Scandinavian thermal insulation package, which improves the thermal comfort of passengers and reduces energy consumption in harsh Scandinavian atmospheric conditions.

It includes, among others additional insulation of the side walls, the ceiling and the chassis in the area of the wheel arches, as well as double side windows. The vehicles will also be adapted to the use of snow chains.

Solaris has so far delivered two vehicles to Bergen, both operating at the local airport. The Trollino 18 ordered will be the first trolleybuses of the manufacturer delivered to Norway, but not the first in Scandinavia. Solaris has previously delivered five trolleybuses to the Swedish city of Landskrona, the only Scandinavian city besides Bergen that uses trolleybuses in public transport.