page_title: Trolleybuses in Rosario
section_title: Decline
hierarchical_section_title: Trolleybuses in Rosario / History / Decline
caption_attribution_description: Español: Foto retocada del trolebús ZIU-9 No. 5, puesto en servicio en mayo de 1980, dentro de las instalaciones de la Empresa, por entonces en Av. Pellegrini 2870 (Rosario)
context_page_description: The Rosario trolleybus system is part of the public transport network in Rosario, the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina.
  Opened in 1959, the trolleybus system presently comprises two routes, designated as lines K and Q. The latter opened in 2017, using new vehicles, but did not require any new overhead wires.
context_section_description: On 16 September 1969, during the protest movement known as the Rosariazo, eight Fiat vehicles were destroyed, and three MAN and 14 other vehicles were damaged to varying degrees.  Following these events, services on line H were suspended, because the 32 surviving units could only cover the requirements of lines K and M.
  In 1970, 12 Mercedes-Benz "0 km" trolleybuses (manufactured in 1953 for the city of Bahía Blanca, but not used there) entered the Rosario fleet, plus 11 vehicles that had been withdrawn from service in Mendoza. The arrival of these 23 units enabled the reintroduction of services on line H in 1971.
  In 1979, during the military dictatorship (1976–1983), the trolleybus system was privatised. The new operator was Empresa Martín Fierro SRL (the Martin Fierro Company, or EMF). Only two trolleybus routes were still operating at that time, K and M. Route H reopened in March 1980, but it was merged with route M on 10 September 1980. EMF began rebuilding some of the trolleybuses.
  Around May 1980, concessionaire EMF acquired five large Soviet ZiU trolleybuses with three doors, but these vehicles had been poorly maintained, and were in service in Rosario for a very short time before being scrapped in 1984. During their limited time in service, they nevertheless created a favorable impression, due to their size and interior capacity, and air suspension.  They had a front entrance door and two exit doors: one in the middle and another at the rear of the vehicle. Shortly after being put into service, the middle door was closed off.
  Rebuilding of older vehicles was not found to be cost-effective, and EMF instead proceeded to construct a fleet of new trolleybuses, using new chassis purchased from Mercedes-Benz Argentina, new bodies constructed in EMF's own workshops, and electrical equipment recycled from old Mercedez-Benz trolleybuses withdrawn in the 1970s. A total of 15 such vehicles were built, in 1980–1983 (numbered 10–24).
  Trolleybus service on line M (composed of former lines H and M) ended on 3 November 1984, its trolleybuses being transferred to line K. This left only route K, which was 10.2 km (6.3 mi) in length, in operation.
  After a long series of vicissitudes and mismanagement by the private concessionaire, the trolleybuses on the system were declining in quality of service and maintenance.  They had been gradually replaced by diesel-powered units, and one of two the two trolleybus lines had been converted to buses.
  On 31 December 1992, trolleybus service ceased on line K, the last Rosario trolleybus line still in operation, after the municipal transport authority revoked the Martín Fierro Company's concession for the service.  Only four trolleybuses were active at the time. The EMF-built vehicles were placed in storage, and eventually were scrapped.
caption: Rosario's first Russian-built ZIU trolleybus when brand new, in 1980
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