Crimean trolleybus rolls on after more than fifty years

Over the past fifty-five years, the trolleybus linking Simferopol and Yalta in Crimea has carried around six billion passengers, almost as much as the world's current population. Duration: 02:20

Published

over 2 years ago

Categories

Arts & Society, Technology, World

Topics

History, Vehicles & Transportation, Europe

People

Nikita Khruschev, Natalia Yudenkova

Places

Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Crimea

Transcript

SCRIPT: For residents of Crimea, the number 52 trolley-bus is like the San Francisco tramway: a unique journey and a symbol of home. At Simferopol station, the one o'clock bus is ready to leave. Its final destination will be Yalta, the seaside resort where the famous conference on Europe's post-war future was held in 1945. The route is bumpy - and the buses have seen better days. But with tickets costing just one euro, the bus is a bargain for sightseers. SOUNDBITE 1 Mavilya, Trolleybus passenger (Russian, 7 secs): "It's interesting for tourists, because they can admire the scenery in Crimea and everyone loves it." SOUNDBITE 2 Yakub, Trolleybus passenger (Russian, 16 secs): "Trolley-buses are out of date. They need to be scrapped So that people can travel more quickly, like in other countries. During the Summer, they block the road for other vehicles, and if there's a trolley-bus, you can be sure that there'll be a long line of cars behind it." Along its 85-kilometre route, the longest of its kind in the world, the number 52 takes in a 750-metre high viewpoint, and even a monument built in its honour. Two-and-a-half hours later, it trundles into Yalta bus station. Natalia Yudenkova has been driving the trolleybus for almost thirty years, and says it hasn't lost its appeal. SOUNDBITE 3 Natalia Yudenkova, Driver on number 52 trolleybus (Russian, 11 secs): "It's the cheapest mode of transport. Everyone's different - those with more money use their car, those with less take the trolleybus." In central Simferopol, there's even a museum dedicated to the line. At the time, it was a visionary project, ordered by the Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev, to link train stations with the south of Crimea. SOUNDBITE 4 Valery Zaikin, Director, Crimea Trolley-bus company (Russian, 22 secs): "Nowadays these trolleybuses seem old-fashioned, but in the 1960s, when the first ones entered into service - and let's not forget this was fifteen years after the end of the war - at the time people were building factories and cities, and so developing this new mode of transport was a step towards civilisation." When its popularity was at its height, in the late 1980s, half a million passengers used the line 52 every day. And its long adventure is not yet over - since Russia took control of Crimea, its has promised to modernise the iconic route. ------------------------------------------------ SHOTLIST YALTA/SIMFEROPOL, Crimea, 28 March 2014 Source: AFPTV - VAR trolleybus on number 52 Simferopol-Yalta line - WS Simferopol bus station - VAR passengers getting on to bus - VAR passengers on-board bus - SOUNDBITE 1 - SOUNDBITE 2 - Pan of road surrounded by hills -VAR mountain -VAR trolleybus monument -Trolleybus -VAR Natalia driving -SOUNDBITE 3 -Pan exterior of Crim Trolleybus, company which manages the line -Valery in museum -CU archive photo of bus passengers -SOUNDBITE 4 -VAR archive photos in museum -Museum -CU uniform // ----------------------------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: