Tramways in Lyon

The current tramway network in Lyon is comprised of three lines. Lines T1 and T2 opened in 2001 and line T3 opened at the end of 2006. Line T1 extends from Montrochet to IUT Feyssine via Perrache, Part-Dieu Vivier-Merle and Charpennes. Line T2 goes from Perrache to Saint-Priest – Bel-Air via Jean-Macé, Grange-Blanche and Porte des Alpes. Line T3 goes from Part-Dieu - Villette to Meyzieu Z.I. via Vaulx – La Soie. Service is provided by 57 Alstom Citadis trams.

Original network (1879 – 1957)

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 10 standard gauge, horse-drawn lines totaling 44 km, serving Lyon, Villeurbanne, La Mulatière et Oullins :
* 1 : Bellecour - Monplaisir via le Pont et la Grande Rue de la Guillotière
* 2 : Bellecour - Montchat
* 3 : Cordeliers - Villeurbanne
* 4 : Parc de la Tête d'Or - La Mouche (now Jean Macé), extended to Perrache
* 5 : Bellecour - Pont d'Écully via Pont du Change
* 6 : Terreaux - Gare de Vaise via Quai Saint-Vincent
* 7 : Perrache - Brotteaux via Pont Morand
* 8 : Pont Morand - Saint-Clair
* 9 : Bellecour - Saint-Paul via Pont Tilsitt (now Pont Bonaparte)
* 10 : Bellecour - Oullins.

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.

OTL extensions

* 11 : Bellecour - Bon-Coin (Villeurbanne)
* 12 : Bellecour - Saint-Fons, extended to Vénissieux
* 13 : Cours Bayard (south of Perrache) - Place Commandant Arnaud (at the Croix-Rousse)
* 14 : Pont d'Oullins - Chaponost
* 15 : Charité - Pierre-Bénite
* 16 : Bellecour - Meyzieu
* 17 : Tolozan - Miribel
* 18 : Gare Saint-Paul - La Mouche, extended to Gerland
* 28 : Cordeliers - Brotteaux
* 31 : Pont-Mouton - Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe
* 32 : Charité - Vitriolerie.

La Société du Tramway d'Écully

Metric gauge lines to the northwest, acquired by the OTL in 1894.
* 19 : Pont-Mouton - Écully
* 20 : Pont-Mouton - Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or
* 21 : Pont-Mouton - Champagne-au-Mont-d'Or
* 22 : Pont-Mouton - Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or.

La Compagnie Lyonnaise des Tramways (CLT)

Metric 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
* 25 : Cordeliers - Montchat
* 26 : Rue Casimier-Périer - Parc de la Tête d'Or
* 27 : Cordeliers - Croix-Luizet.

La Compagnie du Fourvière Ouest Lyonnais (FOL)

Fourvière and Saint-Just funiculars and trams in the west plateau. Acquired by the OTL in 1910.
* 29 : Saint-Just - Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon
* 30 : Saint-Just - Francheville.

La Compagnie du Tramway de Caluire (CTC)

Acquired by the OTL in 1914. Originally metric gauge, converted to standard gauge in 1925.
* 33 : Croix-Rousse - Caluire.

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 after 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 1956 and the last suburban tram, the "Train bleu" in Neuville-sur-Saône, was abandoned in 1957.

The current network (since 2001)

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 January 2, 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 on October 27, 2003 and Line T1 was extended to Montrochet on September 15, 2005. Line T3 (codenamed LEA) was opened on December 4, 2006 along the former Chemin de Fer de l'Est Lyonnais tracks from Part-Dieu Villette to Meyzieu.

Line T1

Operates from 4:52am to 12:27am, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.

*"Musée des Confluences" "extension to Musée des Confluences once the museum opens"
*Montrochet
*Sainte-Blandine
*Suchet
*Perrache train station (transfers : Gare de Lyon-Perrache SNCF, Metro A, Tram T2, Bus 8 - 31 - 32 - 46 - 49 - 49D - 55 - 63 - 73 - 91 / Navette Presqu'Île - 96 - N4 - 101 - 105 - 125 - 175 / Airport shuttle - 182 - 184 - 185)
*Quai Claude Bernard
*Rue de l'Université (transfers : Bus 53)
*Saint-André
*Guillotière (transfers : Metro D, Bus 12 - 23)
*Liberté
*Saxe - Préfecture (transfers : Bus 4 - 18 - 23 - 28 - 99)
*Palais de Justice - Mairie du 3ème (transfers : Metro B at Place Guichard - Bourse du Travail, Bus 28 - 99)
*Part-Dieu - Servient ( _fr. correspondances : Bus 28 - 99)
**Part-Dieu (transfers: Part-DieuSNCF, Metro B, Bus C1 - 25 - 28 - 36 - 37 - 41 - 47 - 59 - 59E - 70 - 99 - 175 / Navette Gares Aéroport - Express Crémieu Bourgoin, Tram T3, Bus 198 - 296)
*Thiers - Lafayette (transfer : Bus 1)
*Collège Bellecombe (transfers : Bus 34)
*Charpennes - Charles Hernu (transfers : Metro B - Metro A, Bus 27 - 34 - 37 - 59 - 59E - 70)
*Le Tonkin
*Condorcet (transfer : Bus 38)
*Université Lyon I
*La Doua - Gaston Berger
*INSA - Einstein (transfer : Bus 69)
*Croix-Luizet
*IUT - Feyssine. P+R Tramway.

Line T2

Operates from 4:55am to 12:35am, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.

*Perrache train station (transfers : Gare de Lyon-Perrache SNCF, Metro A, Tram T1, Bus 8 - 31 - 32 - 46 - 49 - 49D - 55 - 63 - 73 - 91 / Navette Presqu'Île - 96 - N4 - 101 - 105 - 125 - 175 / Airport shuttle - 182 - 184 - 185)
*Centre Berthelot
*Jean Macé (transfers : Metro B, Bus 4 - 11 - 18 - 35 - 47 - 53 - 96 - 175 / Navette Gares Aéroport)
*Garibaldi - Berthelot (transfers : Bus 12 - 35)
*Route de Vienne (transfers : Bus 12 - 35)
*Jet d'Eau - Mendès France (transfers: Bus 36 - 53 - 296)
*Villon
*Bachut - Mairie du 8ème (transfers: Bus 23 - 24 - 26)
*Jean XXIII - Maryse Bastié
*Grange-Blanche (transfers: Metro D, Bus 9 - 28 - 34 - 38 - 79 - 175 / Navette Gares Aéroport)
*Ambroise Paré (transfers: Bus 28 - 38)
*Vinatier
*Essarts - Iris
*Boutasse - Camille Rousset (transfers: Bus 81)
*Hôtel de Ville - Bron (transfers: Bus 9 - 24 - 79)
*Les Alizés
*Rebufer (transfers: Bus 52 - 78)
*Parilly - Université (transfers: Bus 81)
*Europe - Université
*Porte des Alpes (transfers: Bus 26 - 81). P+R Tramway
*Parc Technologique
*Hauts de Feuilly
*Salvador Allende
*Alfred de Vigny (transfers: Bus 62 - Zi1)
*Saint-Priest - Hôtel de Ville (transfers: Bus 50 - 53 - 54 - 62 - 94 - Zi1)
*Esplanade des arts (transfers: Bus 50 - 62)
*Jules Ferry (transfers Bus 50 - 53 - 94)
*Cordière
*Saint-Priest - Bel Air (transfers: Bus 50E - 53). P+R Tramway.

Line T3

Operates from 4:27am to 12:08am, 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 from the Gare de l'Est de Lyon to Saint-Genix-d'Aoste (via Crémieu, Jallieu et Montalieu) ["Le Chemin de fer de l'Est de Lyon" de MM. Domengie, Alquati, Moulin et Roze, Les Éditions du Cabri, 1996] .
*Gare Part-Dieu (transfers : Part-Dieu SNCF, Bus 198 - 296. Metro B] , Tram T1, Bus C1 - 25 - 28 - 36 - 37 - 41 - 47 - 59 - 59E - 70 - 99 - 175 / Navette Gares Aéroport - Express Crémieu Bourgoin)
*Dauphiné - Lacassagne (transfers: Bus 25 - 28 - 34)
*Reconnaissance - Balzac (transfer: Bus 99)
*Gare de Villeurbanne (transfer: Bus 38). P+R Tramway
*Bel Air - Les Brosses (transfer: Bus 81)
*Vaulx-en-Velin - La Soie (transfer: Metro A, opening September 20, 2007, Bus 16 - 64 - 68 - Direct Eurexpo). P+R Métro et Tramway
*Décines - Centre (transfer: Bus 67). P+R Tramway
*Décines-Charpieu - Grand Large (transfers: Bus 7 - 16 - 67 - 85 - 95). P+R Tramway
*Meyzieu - Gare (transfer: Bus 67). P+R Tramway
*Meyzieu - ZI (transfer: Bus Zi2). P+R Tramway.

Line T3, which is 14.6 km long, runs largely on ballasted railroad track. It takes 23 minutes to go from 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.

Future extensions

LESLYS

Liaison ExpresS LYon Saint-Exupéry is an express line which will link Part-Dieu Villette to Saint-Exupéry airport, with intermediate stops at Vaulx-en-Velin – La Soie (transfer to Metro Line A) and Meyzieu ZI. It will open in 2009. The Conseil général of the Rhône franchised the operation of this line for 30 years to Rhônexpress, a consortium including VINCI (28.2 %), Veolia Transport (28.2 %), Vossloh Infrastructure Service (4.2 %), Cegelec Centre Est (2,8 %) and the Caisse des dépôts et consignations ["Ville et transports - magazine", January 17, 2007] .

The route will be served by 6 tram-trains, which will be built by the Swiss builder Stadler. [http://www.stadlerrail.com/default.asp?ms=6&h=1&id=211&n=203&s=2 Tango] . The route will have a length of convert|23|km and it will take 25 minutes to go from Part-Dieu to the airport; service will be every 15 minutes at peak times. The project includes building convert|8.5|km of new track, while remainder of the route will run along the tracks of the existing T3 tram line, which is built with passing tracks to allow express service. The service will not be run by TCL.

Line T4

Line T4 will open in April 2009 between Jet d'Eau et Cliniques Feyzin [The names of the stations of Line T4 come from [http://www.sytral.fr/index.php?id=1927.0.html&plan=10&page=174 site Internet du Sytral] ] . A future extension is planned from Gare Part-Dieu to Jet d'Eau.

*Jet d'Eau - Mendès France ( _fr. correspondance [Revised bus network when new line opens to be determined later] : Tram T2)
*Lycée Lumière
*États-Unis - Tony Garnier
*États-Unis - 8 Mai 1945
*États-Unis - Viviani
*Carrefour Sembat Curie
*La Borelle
*Gare de Vénissieux (transfer: Metro D). P+R Métro
*Paul Bert - Vénissieux
*Marcel Houël - Vénissieux Hôtel de Ville
*Démocratie
*Président Édouard Herriot
*Vénissy
*Cerisiers
*Thorez
*Corsière
*Darnaise
*Cliniques Feyzin.

Bibliography

* Lyon du tram au tram / Jean Arrivetz. - La Régordane, 2001. - ISBN 2-906984-37-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. - ISBN 2-84494-134-6
* [http://www.20minutes.fr/articles/2006/06/27/Lyon_Le_tramway_Lea_fait_ses_premiers_pas.php 20 Minutes - Le tramway Léa fait ses premiers pas] .

References

External links

* [http://www.tcl.fr/ Official site of the Transports en commun lyonnais (operator of the public transit network)] (fr)
** [http://www.tcl.fr/site/05_histoire_transport_01/index.asp History of the network on the TCL site] (fr)
** [http://www.tcl.fr/site/01_tram/index.asp Section on trams on the TCL site] (fr)
* [http://www.sytral.fr/152.0.html Section of the SYTRAL site discussing lines T3 and T4] (fr)
* [http://doc-iep.univ-lyon2.fr/Ressources/Documents/Etudiants/Memoires/MFE2001/brunelj/these_front.html Autour du nouveau tramway lyonnais, retour sur une politique locale de transports urbains (Julien Brunel, mémoire de fin d'études, IEP de Lyon, 2001] (fr)
* [http://www.lyon-en-lignes.org Lyon en Lignes ::Toute l'actualité des transports de Lyon et sa région::] (fr)
* [http://mediathequepartdieu.free.fr/ La médiathèque des transports de l'agglomération Lyonnaise] (fr)