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4.5. Period from 1996 to 2000
In March 1996 the new maintenance hall with car wash was completed. Subsequent the administration building were reconstructed.
Furthermore on the previous parking space was built in the years 1996 and 1997 a new 3200 m² large parking hall in cantilever construction method for the parking of the entire trolleybus and motorbus fleet.
Because of extensive construction works at the roads in our city came it in the year 1996 several times to diversions for the trolleybuses as well as to extensive trolleybus replacement bus service.
Due to the new building of the Schwärze-Brücke (bridge over the rivulet Schwärze) in the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße became fully closed in March 1996 for vehicle traffic and therewith for the trolleybuses. For this period of the full closure on the Eisenbahnstraße between Puschkin-Straße and Friedensbrücke was built a trolleybus overhead system. The trolleybuses drove this diversion.
During the construction work in the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße were middle of the year 1996 the trolleybus overhead system, the switches and crossings at the market renewed. Furthermore the trolleybus overhead system including the railway poles between the crossing Freienwalder Straße/Saarstraße and the terminal stop Ostend were renewed.
On 25 August 1996 the construction work at the Friedrich-Ebert-Straße was terminated and the full closure was suspended. Therewith also the diversion for the trolleybus at the Eberswalde main post office could be canceled.
The articulated trolleybus no. 002 of the Hungarian type was separated in February 1997, but first 1999 delivered to Timisoara/Romania.
Starting from 05 April 1997 the trolleybus traffic at Saturdays, Sundays and holidays was stopped for reasons of economy. On the trolleybus lines S 1 and S 2 the trolleybus replacement bus service was driven with buses with Diesel engine.
On 04 August 1997 with the introduction of a new weekend timetable and due to the joining of the Barnimer Busgesellschaft Ltd. to the Transport Association Berlin-Brandenburg - VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg - VBB) were modified the line numbers. The trolleybus line S 1 was renamed in trolleybus line 861 and the trolleybus line S 2 in trolleybus line
862 .
At the weekend and holidays in the time between 08:00 and 18:00 o'clock operate the trolleybuses in the 30 minute interval, otherwise only every 60 minutes.
On 22 November 1997 a new bus stop on the trolleybus line 862 between the bus stops Friedhof (cemetery) and Saarstraße toward Ostend was opened. The new bus stop was called Freienwalder Straße.
Starting from December 1997 the trolleybus weekend traffic was resumed in part. On the trolleybus line 861 trolleybuses operated again and on the trolleybus line 862 further trolleybus replacement bus service were accomplished.
Starting from 05 January 1998 a new timetable for the trolleybus lines 861 and 862 was put into force. On workdays from 06:00 clock to 08:00 clock drove the trolleybus at 10 minute intervals, from 08:00 clock to 18:00 clock at 12 minute intervals. Outside of these times the timetable intervals are extended up to 60 minutes.
End of January 1998 the articulated trolleybuses no. 021, 023 and 024 of the Hungarian type Ikarus 280.93 were decommissioned and sold to Chelyabinsk/Russia.
On 20 February 1998 the first radio-controlled contact line switch was put into operation. It is in the quarter Nordend at the branch to the depot.
In spring 1998 the trolleybus overhead system was renewed in Freienwalder Straße.
Further became in the months February, March and April 1998 the trolleybus overhead system on the depot Nordend completely reconstructed and comprehensively extended. Among other things the maintenance hall and the vehicle hall
were equipped with the trolleybus overhead system.
The articulated trolleybus no. 30 of the Austrian type ÖAF Gräf & Stift
NGE 152 M17 of the Barnimer Busgesellschaft Ltd. Eberswalde was in the period of 21 August 1998 to 22 September 1998 to test purposes by Stadtwerke Solingen GmbH in Solingen/FRG in use.
On 01 April 1999 the Transport Association Berlin-Brandenburg - VBB (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg - VBB) started.
With it became the assortment of tickets and also relations more extensive. It made itself necessary to equip to this date the trolleybuses and also all other buses with new ticket validators.
On 27 December 1999 the radio-controlled contact line switch at the branch to the depot Nordend was rebuilt to conventional electrical control with relay. The reliability of the signal distance "bus - switch control" was insufficient. The radio controll of the switch has not proved its worth.
On 31 January 2000 came into force some small changes in the timetable of the trolleybus line 862 . In the time from 17:30 clock to 19:00 clock trolleybuses drove to Ostend only very thinned out. Several trolleybuses of the trolleybus line 862 drove already from the market to the depot Nordend. That was changed. The trolleybuses drive now again to Ostend and move then from there to the depot Nordend. In addition the installation of a trolleybus overhead line, which the direct connection between Ostend and Nordend creates, was planned.
A tragic accident occurred on 24 February 2000 on the trolleybus line 861 . At the Breite Straße, about 100m before the stop Dr. Gillwald-Höhe, jumped a patient of the national mental hospital Eberswalde from the roadside before the arriving trolleybus. The driver could unfortunately not prevent the accident and rolled over the man with the front axle of the trolleybus. The man was killed thereby.
Starting from 15 April 2000 on the trolleybus line 862 trolleybus traffic was taken up again on weekend.
Due to construction work at Friedrich-Ebert-Straße and also the junction Puschkinstraße the trolleybus traffic was diverted starting from 24 July 2000 for four weeks. The diversion led from the crossing
Eisenbahnstraße/Friedrich-Ebert-Straße over Eisenbahnstraße past at the Eberswalder Hauptpost for crossing Eisenbahnstraße/Breite Straße and aback. On the trolleybus lines 861 and 862 was driven trolleybus replacement bus service.
With the coming into force of the changed VBB tariff to 01 August 2000 the fare for a single ticket was hiked up from 1.60 DM to 1.80 DM. Further the passengers may enter daily starting from 20.00 o'clock only by the first door (driver's door). By changes of the wirings of the door steering and the additional installation of a timeswitch the outside operating keys of the doors 2, 3 and 4 are switched off automatically.
In October 2000 the last two articulated trolleybuses of the Hungarian type Ikarus 280.93, the cars 022 and 025 were decommissioned.
From cause of the 60th anniversary of the Eberswalde trolleybus a guest vehicle, a trolleybus of the German type Henschel/Kiepe HS160OSL of the Städtischen Verkehrsbetriebe Esslingen am Neckar (SVE) was stationed from 27 October 2000 to 07 November 2000 on the depot Eberswalde/Nordend. The trolleybus was used to special trips.
On 03 November 2000 was the 60th anniversary of the Eberswalde trolleybus. On 04 November 2000 this anniversary was committed with a public relations open day. Further on 04 and 05 November 2000 special trips with historical trolleybuses were accomplished.
On 14 December 2000 the decommisioned articulated trolleybuses no. 022 and 025 of the Hungarian type Ikarus 280.93 were removed to Szeged/Hungary.
