End Of The Line For Moscow's Trolleybuses
After running for almost 90 years, Moscow's trolleybus service has ended with five routes switching to diesel operation on August 25. The city's first trolleybus ran in November 1933, with the system at its peak reaching 80 routes covering 1,300 kilometers, operated by 1,700 vehicles. The network was the largest in the world until 2015.
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Moscow's trolleybus service began on November 15, 1933.
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The Soviet capital's first LK-1 trolleybus in 1934.
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A view of Gorky street in Moscow in 1939, before it underwent reconstruction.
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The trolleybus as witness of war. Soldiers march past on their way to the front in November 1941.
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A trolleybus drives past barricades at the Kirov Gate in Moscow, in November 1941.
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In 1941, there were three trolleybus fleets in Moscow, serving 17 routes. Traffic in the city was complicated not only by the blackout but also by damage to roads and overhead power lines.
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In this shot of Moscow in June 1957, the city is bustling and full of trolleybuses.
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Trolleybuses in busy traffic on Moscow streets, 1960.
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A view of Sverdlov Square, Moscow, May 1962.
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Trolleybuses standing in a garage at Shepetilnikov Trolleybus Depot No. 4 in 1974.
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Visitors at a museum opened in Trolleybus Depot No. 1 in 1996.
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A Russian militiaman passes a security cordon as experts work inside a blown-up trolleybus on Prospekt Mira (Peace Avenue) in Moscow, July 12, 1996. A bomb left in a bag ripped through the vehicle in the morning rush hour.
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This vintage model, photographed in 2013, was part of a parade marking 80 years of the trolleybus. Officials had already announced plans to phase out the service, although nostalgic Muscovites launched a campaign to save them.
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Inside one of Moscow's sleek modern trolleybuses, a driver walks up the aisle to check her vehicle. This picture was taken in 2016, amid rumors that some trolleybus routes would be finished overnight.
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Passengers on a trolleybus in February 2020. The last trolleybuses went out of service on August 25, 2020.