The Lyon tramway (French: Tramway de Lyon) comprises eight lines, seven lines operated by TCL and one by Rhônexpress in the city of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. The original tramway network in Lyon was developed in 1879, and the modern network was built in 2001.[1]
Lines T1 and T2 opened in January 2001; T3 opened in December 2006; line T4 opened in April 2009; line Rhônexpress (airport connector) opened in August 2010; line T5 opened in November 2012; line T6 opened in November 2019 and line T7 opened in February 2021. The tramway system complements the Lyon Metro and forms an integral part of the public transportation system (TCL) in Lyon. The network of 7 tram lines (T1-T7) operated by TCL runs 66.3 kilometres (41.2 mi);[1] the single line operated by Rhônexpress runs for 22 kilometres (14 mi)[2] (including approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) shared with the T3 tram line[2]). The network is currently served by 73 Alstom Citadis 302 and 34 Alstom Citadis 402 trams.
History: the original network (1879 - 1957)
Tram station at Place Carnot at the beginning of the 20th century
The first steam-driven tram line, the number 12, linked Lyon and Vénissieux in 1888. The network was electrified between 1893 and 1899. Extensions to the suburbs were built until 1914. This was the height of the network - high quality service, low price, high frequency and high profitability for shareholders. The inflation between World War I and World War II made the network unprofitable. Beginning in the 1930s, tramways were progressively replaced with trolleybuses and later buses. A modernization plan, including underground sections in the city centre, planned in the 1940s was rapidly abandoned. The last urban tram ran on line 4 in January 1956 and the last suburban tram, the "Train bleu" in Neuville-sur-Saône, was abandoned in June 1957.
Animated map depicting the evolution of the rail infrasture, including the former and current tramway networks, in the greater Lyon region from 1860 to 2020.
Original OTL network
The first tram network was built and operated by the Compagnie des Omnibus et tramways de Lyon (OTL), founded in 1879. It consisted of ten 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) (standard gauge), horse-drawn lines with a total length of 44 km serving Lyon, Villeurbanne, La Mulatière et Oullins .
In 1894, new electric trams were in service with these lines:
1 : Bellecour – Monplaisir via Pont de la Guillotière and Grande Rue de la Guillotière
The first line to open was line 5, from Place Bellecour to Vaise along the Saône river, competing with riverboats. Lines 1 and 7 followed the approximate routes of the current metro lines D and A, respectively. The network was gradually extended, by the OTL and by acquisitions of competing operators, between 1894 and 1914.
Metre gauge, steam powered lines on the left bank of the Rhône river. Became the Nouvelle Compagnie Lyonnaise des Tramways (NLT) in 1902, then acquired by the OTL in 1906.
23 : Pont Lafayette - Cimetière de la Guillotière, extended to Monplaisir-la-Plaine. The extension of the line, electrified to Saint-Priest used the number 34 from 1925 à 1935.
24 : Pont Lafayette - Asile de Bron, extended to Bron (Village).
Following a decline in the 1950s and 1960s, public transit in Lyon was revived in the 1970s with the opening of the Lyon Metro. In 1996 a decision was made to build a new tram network to complement the metro. The first two lines were opened on 2 January 2001: Line T1 from Perrache to IUT–Feyssine via Part-Dieu and Charpennes and line T2 from Perrache to Porte des Alpes via Jean Macé and Grange Blanche. Line T2 was extended to Saint-Priest–Bel Air on 27 October 2003 and line T1 was extended to Montrochet on 15 September 2005, then again to Debourg on 19 February 2014. Line T3 (codenamed LEA) was opened on 4 December 2006 along the former Chemin de Fer de l'Est Lyonnais tracks from Gare Part-Dieu–Villette to Meyzieu–ZI. Line T4 opened on 20 April 2009, running from Jet d'Eau–Mendès France to Hôpital Feyzin Vénissieux, and was extended to La Doua on 29 August 2013. Line T5 opened on 17 November 2012, running from Grange Blanche to Eurexpo.
Line T2 has been extended from Perrache to Hôtel de Région–Montrochet on 24 March 2021, sharing the track of line T1.
Line T3
Line T3 at Gare Part-Dieu–Villette stationLine T3 at Gare de Villeurbanne station
Operates from 04:32 to 00:06, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Meyzieu.
Codenamed "LEA" (Ligne de l'Est de l'Agglomération), Line T3 runs along a portion of the former CFEL (Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est de Lyon) train line which extended from the Gare de l'Est de Lyon to Saint-Genix-d'Aoste (via Crémieu, Jallieu et Montalieu).[4]
Gare Part-Dieu–Villette (connections at Gare Part-Dieu–Vivier Merle with walking distance: )
Line T3, which is 14.6 km long, runs largely on ballasted railroad track. It takes 23 minutes to go from Gare Part-Dieu - Villette to Meyzieu - ZI, and runs at a maximum speed of 70 km/h (60 km/h at intersections, of which 26 are equipped with crossing gates). 7 km run near residential areas and are equipped with a noise barrier.
Line T4
Line T4 at Beauvisage–CISL stationLine T4 at Gare de Vénissieux station
Operates from 04:39 to 00:45, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
La Doua–IUT Feyssine (7.30am to 9am only, as of November 2013)
Croix-Luizet (7.30am to 9am only, as of November 2013)
INSA–Einstein (7.30am to 9am only, as of November 2013)
From its opening to 4 October 2020, line T5 served the stop Eurexpo only on exhibition days and only from 08:00 to 22:00 (sometimes to 00:00). Since 5 October 2020, line T5 serves Eurexpo everyday, except in July and August.[5]
A projected extension to Chassieu, which would have added two new stations, Eurexpo 2 and René Cassin, was not approved by the public enquiry and has been postponed (possibly indefinitely) due to lack of support from local councillors.[6]
Planning documents do however still include a future study of an extension to line T5 via Chassieu to meet line T3 close to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais spur.[7] This link is considered to be strategic by the owners of the Eurexpo conference centre, as it could enable direct travel from Eurexpo to Lyon Part-Dieu railway station and to the airport.[8]
Line T6
Line T6 near Debourg station
Operates from 05:00 to 00:56, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
Line T6 has been built as an extension of line T1 from its terminus at Debourg to Lyon's eastern hospital complex.[9]
A subsequent 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) extension with 10 new stations from Hôpitaux Est–Pinel to La Doua–Gaston Berger, university campus in Villeurbanne, is under construction since the beginning of 2023 and is expected to open in 2026. This extension will be connected with lines T1, T3, T4 and future line T9.[10]
Since its opening, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais is connected to the Lyon tram network with a specially built railway track, but this track was only used by special tram shuttles running on game or event days in the stadium. Line T7 has been launched as a daily tram service to serve the Parc Olympique Lyonnais and its developing neighborhood named OL Vallée.
This line didn't require the construction of any new railway, it only uses an infrastructure that already existed before, including a part of line T3 and the railway track that links line T3 to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.
The route is served by 6 tram-trains, constructed by Swiss builder Stadler Rail. Its route consists of the existing T3 tram line, which is built with passing tracks to allow express service, and an 8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) new track extension[citation needed] from Meyzieu–ZI to the airport. Total length of track is 22 kilometres (14 mi)[2] needing approximately 30 minutes to go from Part-Dieu to the airport.[2] Service runs from morning until last flight arrival, with departures every 15 minutes at peak times.
The TCL fleet is composed of 106 articulated Alstom Citadis X02 vehicles. 73 Citadis 302s, numbered N°801 - 873, were built between 2000 and 2009, and serve on lines T1, T2, T5, T6 and T7. 34 Citadis 402s, numbered N°874 - 906, were built between 2012 and 2020, and serve on lines T3 and T4. In August 2021, it was announced that Alstom will supply 35 additional Citadis trams to Lyon. These will be identical to the fifteen 43-metre trams delivered in 2020 and 2021, which feature a redesigned nose for better visibility and driving comfort.[13]
Six Stadler Tango vehicles are used for the Rhônexpress service.
Development projects
After the victory of a coalition led by the French green party at both the 2020 Lyon municipal election [fr] and the metropolitan election [fr] (both in the context of the 2020 French municipal elections), new plans for extensions of the tramway network are drafted.
Four projects are proposed, including an extension of the newly finished line T6 to La Doua, via Gratte-Ciel, and three new lines:
T8 : Bellecour - Part-Dieu - La Doua
T9 : La Doua - Vaulx-en-Velin Hôtel de Ville - Carré de Soie
After a period of consultations, the projects of extension of the T6 line and the new T9 and T10 lines are approved in their entirety in 2021, but not the T8, deemed of lesser usefulness since benefiting areas already well covered by the existing network.[14][15] Construction started in 2023 on the future T9 and T10 lines as well as on the T6 extension, and is expected to be completed in 2026 for the three of them.[16][17][18]
Lyon du tram au tram / Jean Arrivetz. - La Régordane, 2001. - ISBN2-906984-37-X
Sur les rails du Lyonnais : volume 2 : les réseaux secondaires, tacots, ficelles et métro / José Banaudo. - Les éditions du Cabri, Gérad Tisserand et De Borée 2002. - ISBN2-84494-134-6
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