The Latvian city of Daugavpils is the second largest city in the Baltic States. It is situated some 200 km south east of the capital Riga, of which the trams and trolleybuses were featured in our previous programme. Electric trams began running as late as 1946, shortly after the Baltic republic was incorporated into the Soviet Union. There are just three tram lines and the tram fleet at the time of filming, in May 2017, consisted of the older style Russian built Ust-Katav (UKVZ) KTM-5 cars, eight new low-floor 71-623 single-section cars as well as four new 71-631 three-section cars from this Russian manufacturer. There is also a small fleet of Tatra T3D trams that were acquired from Schwerin in Germany. Daugavpils trams still operate with trolley poles. Our filming covers the entire tram network, beginning at Vien?bas iela where we take a ride on UKVZ-built tram, 005 on Line 1 to But?erova iela where we see the small tram depot and where one of the 71-631 trams is being manoeuvred. We then travel on tram 102 a UKVZ KTM-5 tram on Line 2 to Saules veikals. The main road, 18. novembra iela, is our next location, and here we see a preserved RVZ-6 tram, on display in an enclosed area. We now board tram 108 on Line 3 to Stropu ezers, which is one of the terminus of Line 3. From here tram 101 takes us to Ventspils iela for more filming. We then travel on tram 102 to the other terminus of Line 2 at Maizes kombin?ts. Staying with tram 102 we return to 18. novembra iela in order to take a ride on board Tatra T3D cars 080+079 on Line 3 back to Stropu ezers and then return back to Vien?bas iela for the Tatra experience! We take a brief look in at the bus station and see a brand new Solaris Urbino 12 100% electric bus passing through. We also film at Stacija, which is the other terminus of Line 1. Our final tram ride in Daugavpils is on Tatra T3D cars 074+075 to the other terminus of Line 3 at Cietoksnis. Here the trams turn around on a large turning circle, which is situated next to the historic Daugavpils Fortress. We conclude our visit with some still photographs taken by Steve Kelly on a journey he made to the city in 2007.
The second visit on this DVD programme is to the Latvian city of Liepaja, which is situated by the coast of the Baltic Sea. The electric tramway was opened in 1899 when Liepaja was part of the Russian Empire. Today there is just one line that runs north-south past the railway station. The tram fleet at the time of filming in May 2017 consisted of just 17 Tatra KT4 trams, 12 having been acquired from the German cities of Cottbus, Gera and Erfurt. Liepaja replaced the trolley pole with the pantograph as early as 1961. Our filming covers the entire system, starting at R?gas iela by the railway station, and continues as we head towards the city centre. We take rides on trams: KT4SU 229 and former Cottbus KT4D 236 as well as former Erfurt KT4D 246, covering the entire route, stopping off as we travel for shots of the trams running in this interesting Latvian city.
We hope you enjoy this journey through the Baltic States as much as we did filming it!
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.