The capital city of Lithuania is Vilnius which is situated in the southeast of the country and part of the three Baltic States, the others being Estonia and Latvia. Between 1893 and 1916 Vilnius had a narrow-gauge horse tramway. Electric traction was introduced in Vilnius in 1956 when the trolleybus system was opened. There is an extensive network covering the entire city but not serving the streets in the old town. In 2013 the network was restructured, reducing a number of lines. At the time of the visit of the independent transport videos cameras, in May 2017, the trolleybus fleet consisted of over 230 Škoda 14Tr trolleybuses built between 1982 and 1997, some being acquired from Czech cities, plus a smaller number of Škoda 15Tr and 14TrM trolleybuses. There are also some 45 low-floor Solaris T15AC three-axle trolleybuses that date from 2004/6 and two MAZ 203T Amber Vilnis 12AC trolleybuses manufactured in Lithuania in 2012, of which number 1719 appears in this programme. The fleet is operated by VVT (Vilniaus viešasis transportas).
Our filming begins in the city centre, where we see most types of trolleybus in operation. The cameras move along Vilniaus g. and Pylimo g. as we make our way to the busy forecourt of the main railway station – Geležinkelio stotis – to film the action. We then ride trolleybus 1655 on route 20 to Žirm?n? žiedas, a busy place and terminus for routes 6, 12, 17, 20 and 21. From here we join trolleybus 1116, another Škoda 14Tr, on route 17 to Kraži? st. in the city centre for more filming which also includes shots taken along the picturesque bank of the River Neris. The next location is Senoji plytine, the terminus for routes 2, 10, 14, 19 and 21. Here we see the end of the morning rush and then travel back to the city centre on another Škoda 14Tr, 1658 on route 10, getting the driver’s eye view as we travel along. On arrival we see Tallinn Transport, Volvo 7900 hybrid single-decker bus, 2498 which appears to be on loan for evaluation, and one of the two MAZ 203T Amber Vilnis 12AC trolleybuses running in service on route 19.
Our second visit on this DVD programme is to Lithuania’s second largest city – Kaunas, situated some 90km northwest of Vilnius. Like the capital, Kaunas operated a horse tramway from 1892 until 1929. The first electric transport arrived as late as 1965 when the trolleybus was introduced. At the time of filming, in May 2017, the system had a network of some 14 lines, with the latest sections being introduced in 2004. The trolleybus fleet at the time of filming was made up of Škoda 14Tr trolleybuses, of which some had been acquired from Plze? and Tallinn and forty two low-floor Solaris T12 trolleybuses. Almost all trolleybuses are now in an all-over bright green livery, buses in overall red. The fleet is operated by AB Autrolis. Our filming begins at the railway station - Geležinkelio stotis – and then continues along Vytauto pr. in the city centre. Our cameras then ride on trolleybus 271, a Škoda 14Tr on route 7 to Partizan? g., which is the terminus for routes 7, 10, 15 and 16. With filming completed we ride on 003, a Solaris T12 along route 15, which returns us to the railway station, on the way passing a former Southern Vectis Bristol Lodekka open topper now an exhibit at a small transport museum! We have also included some still photographs taken by Steve Kelly on journeys he made to both Vilnius and Kaunas in 2004/7 and 2014. We are sure you will enjoy this cornucopia of trolleybuses when you view this programme from the lovely Baltic State of Lithuania!
Produced by - Independent Transport Videos
Running time - 75 minutes (approx)
Format - 16:9 Widescreen
DVD only
Release date - January 2018
Brighton & Hove Buses 2017
It is some six years since the independent transport videos cameras visited the Sussex coastal resort of Brighton to record the bus scene. A good deal has changed making the contemporary bus scene just as enjoyable in 2017 as it was in 2011. In 2017 the bus services are still chiefly in the hands of the Brighton & Hove Bus and Coach Company which is part of the GoAhead group. We also see buses from Stagecoach, Compass Bus, The Big Lemon and Metrobus, as each company operate services into and out of the city. This programme covers two visits our cameras made to the city, the first in April and the second in July 2017. We begin filming at Old Steine where we see the spectacular lime green and mid-blue liveried, Wrightbus StreetDeck double-deckers operating the frequent route 12 group of services that run along the coast connecting Brighton with Eastbourne. We continue filming around Old Steine and view most types of the contemporary Brighton & Hove fleet as well as the Enviro400 double-deckers of Stagecoach on the frequent 700 Coastliner service that links Brighton with Portsmouth to the west. Our cameras then move to Castle Square, North Street and the busy Churchill Square. Look out for the new low-height Wrightbus StreetDeck double-deckers on service 1 and the silver liveried Wrightbus StreetDeck demonstrator, numbered 293 (SN64 CTU). We also see the Volvo B9TL Wrightbus Gemini 2 double-deckers in the smart purple/maroon and buff livery that operate on the Regency route linking Tunbridge Wells with the city. Filming continues along Queens Road and York Place to the Railway Station to catch up with the action at this busy interchange. St George’s Place, Gloucester Place and Grand Parade are our next locations where we view the buses as they go about their business. Further filming along Pavilion Parade and Old Steine takes us to Marine Parade where we catch up with the action here. We see the Coasters running alongside the red and cream liveried buses in the Brighton & Hove fleet. Our April visit concludes with filming on Eastern Road and Edward Street as well as catching up with the evening rush at Old Steine, North Street and Churchill Square. Look out for the former GHA Coaches Volvo B7RLE, a Wrightbus Eclipse Urban, registered BA58 GHA now with Compass Bus. Our cameras return to the city on a hot day in July 2017. Again our locations are similar to the April visit taking in Old Steine, Castle Square, North Street, the Railway Station area and Churchill Square. Now it is time to sample the Coaster service! We board 940 (BX15 ONS) a Wrightbus StreetDeck with a H81F body for a ride along the coast to Seaford Library on service 12X. We pass a number of similar vehicles as they head towards Brighton. At Seaford we film the action on Sutton Park Road, Station Approach and Clinton Place. Our cameras then return to Brighton on board 925 (BX15 OMY) arriving at Marine Parade. Our final scenes are at Old Steine where we also see the solar powered Optare Solo of the Big Lemon company, YK55 ENM, together with buses from Stagecoach and of course Brighton & Hove buses. We hope you enjoy your visit.
