Rustam Minnikhanov and Ilsur Metshin inspect twenty-five MAZ-303T22 trolleybuses of the latest generation

Today, the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov and Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin inspected a batch of twenty-five new trolleybuses MAZ-303T22of the latest generation. The model was specially developed for the capital of Tatarstan at JSC Minsk Automobile Plant (Belarus). New trolleybuses will replace 2,007 vehicles that have used up their resources. Kazan became the first Russian city to start operating this model. The event was attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Belarus to the Russian Federation Dmitry Krutoy.

Rustam Minnikhanov looked around the driver's cab and, together with Ilsur Metshin, inspected the interior of the trolleybus. It is equipped with padded seats, USB connectors and buttons for passengers with disabilities, as well as a folding ramp and a tilt function. The lighting is made using LED technology, sound and light indications were placed on the doors. In the event of a power failure, the emergency autonomous system will allow vehicles to travel another 2 km. In addition, for the safety of people there is a device for continuous monitoring of leakage currents.

“Receiving modern trolleybuses is an important step towards modernizing the rolling stock of the municipal electric transport. Despite all the current difficulties, we are not reducing, but increasing the requirements for the quality of public transport. The new trolleybuses are air-conditioned, they are low-floor, equipped with more seats and phone -chargers. This is not just a replacement of old vehicles, but a step forward in comfort for passengers and for the driver. Kazan was the first Russian city to try out a new model of Belarusian trolleybuses. I hope Kazan residents will like the new trolleybuses,”- Ilsur Metshin said.

Six vehicles will operate routes 1, 5 and 8, five trolleybuses will be distributed on route 3, and two new vehicles will run on route 12. The trains will appear on the roads within the next week.

According to Aidar Abdulkhakov, the entire batch has been debugged and run-in, equipped with a video surveillance system. The new trolleybuses are equipped with air conditioner, which works both in cold and heat mode. For winter periods, trolleybuses were additionally equipped with four heating systems.

In addition, the trolleybuses are now low-floor. The floor height is 320 mm, when the previous ones had 360. This innovation made it possible to make a different layout and accommodate eight more seats (now there are 34, and the total passenger capacity is 90 people). It will also be more convenient for citizens to enter and take seats, avoiding unnecessary climbing up the stairs. The very length of the rolling stock is 12.4 meters, which corresponds to the parameters of intercity buses and gives smooth running and high mobility.

Window space has been increased by 30% – this expands the view. The drivers were not deprived either: a comfortable cab was created for them, a soft multi-steering wheel was installed, on which the main control system was placed. One of the innovations was the possibility of folding pantographs.

With the new batch, the trolleybus fleet has been updated by 22%. Next year, the Municipal Unitary Enterprise Metroelectrotrans plans to replace another 39 vehicles.