A tram is a type of urban rail transit consisting of a rail vehicle, either individual railcars or self-propelled trains coupled by a multiple unit, that runs on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are called tramways or simply trams/streetcars. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail.
The Métropole Européenne de Lille is the métropole, an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities whose major city is the city of Lille. It is located in the Nord department, in the Hauts-de-France region, northern France – bordering both the Flemish and Walloon regions of Belgium. It was created in January 2015, replacing the previous Communauté urbaine de Lille, and covers that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France. Its area is 671.9 km2. Its population was 1,179,050 in 2019, of which 234,475 in Lille proper. The annual budget of the métropole is €1,865 billion (2018).
A tram-train is a type of light rail vehicle that both meets the standards of a light rail system, and also national mainline standards. Tramcars are adapted to be capable of running on streets like an urban tramway but also be permitted operation alongside mainline trains. This allows services that can utilise both existing urban light rail systems and mainline railway networks and stations. It combines the urban accessibility of a tram or light rail with a mainline train's greater speed in the suburbs.
The Gothenburg tramway network is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The system's approximately 160 kilometres (100 mi) of single track — making it the largest tram network in Northern Europe — is used by around 200 trams as of 2006, which serve twelve day-time and five night-time lines with a combined line length of 190 km. These figures are expected to increase when the second stage of Kringen is finished. The trams perform about 2,000 trips and cover 30,000 km per day. In 2018, 131 million journeys were made.
Europe has an extensive number of tramway networks. Some of these networks have been upgraded to light rail standards, called Stadtbahn in Germany, premetros in Belgium, sneltram in the Netherlands, trem ligeiro in Portugal and fast trams in some other countries.
The Lille Metro is a driverless light metro system located in Lille, France. It was opened on 25 April 1983 and was the first to use the VAL system. While often referred to as the first fully automated driverless metro of any kind in the world, the Port Liner in Kobe, Japan predates it by two years. The light metro system is made up of two lines that serve 60 stations, and runs over 45 kilometres (28 mi) of route.
Le Havre tramway is a modern two-line tram system in the city of Le Havre in Normandy, France. The modern tramway opened on 12 December 2012.
The Rouen tramway is a tramway / light rail network in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France. Construction began in 1991 and the network opened for service on 17 December 1994.
The Nantes tramway is a tramway system operating in the city of Nantes in Pays de la Loire, France. The first tramway in Nantes opened in 1879 and closed in 1958 due to bombing damage during World War II, while the present tramway was re-introduced to the city in 1985.
The Nice tram is a 27.5-kilometre (17.1 mi), triple-line tram in the city of Nice in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is operated by the Société nouvelle des transports de l'agglomération niçoise division of Transdev under the name Lignes d'azur.
The Marseille tramway is a tramway system in Marseille, France. The city's modern tram network now consists of three lines, serving 32 stations and operating over 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) of route. The current, modern Marseille tram network opened on 7 July 2007.
Although tram systems date to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many old systems were closed during the mid-20th century because of the advent of automobile travel. This was especially the case in North America, but postwar reductions and shutdowns also occurred on British, French and other Western European urban rail networks. However, traditional tramway systems survived, and eventually even began to thrive from the late 20th century onward, some eventually operating as much as when they were first built over a century ago. Their numbers have been augmented by modern tramway or light rail systems in cities which had discarded this form of transport.
Ilévia is the public transport operator for the Lille Métropole, the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Lille in northern France. It operates a mixed system, comprising buses, trams and a driverless light metro system. The company is a subsidiary of Keolis, the largest private sector French transport group. Keolis is itself 70% owned by SNCF and 30% owned by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. In January 2019, the company changed from its former name 'Transpole' to 'ilévia'.
Trams in France date from 1837 when a 15 km steam tram line connected Montrond-les-Bains and Montbrison in the Loire. With the development of electric trams at the end of the 19th century, networks proliferated in French cities over a period of 15 years. Although nearly all of the country's tram systems were replaced by bus services in the 1930s or shortly after the Second World War, France is now in the forefront of the revival of tramways and light rail systems around the globe. Only tram lines in Lille and Saint-Étienne have operated continuously since the 19th century; the Marseille tramway system ran continuously until 2004 and only closed then for 3 years for extensive refurbishment into a modern tram network. Since the opening of the Nantes tramway in 1985, more than twenty towns and cities across France have built new tram lines. As of 2024, there are 28 operational tram networks in France, with 3 more planned. France is also home to Alstom, a leading tram manufacturer.
The Athens Tram is the modern public tram network system serving Athens, Greece. The system is owned and operated by STASY, which replaced Tram S.A. in June 2011.
The Casablanca Tramway is a low-floor tram system in Casablanca, Morocco. As of 2019, it consists of two lines - T1 from Sidi Moumen to Lissasfa, and T2 from Sidi Bernoussi to Aïn Diab—which intersect at 2 points and form a 47 km (29 mi) network with 71 stations. Two additional lines, T3 and T4, are scheduled to open in 2024.
Alfred Mongy (1840–1914) was a French engineer. He was born on March 21, 1840, in Lille, and died June 30, 1914. He was actively involved in the development of Lille, particularly in the field of urban transport.
The Neuchâtel tramway is a tramway forming part of the public transport system in Neuchâtel, a city in Switzerland.
There are several rapid transit systems in France. Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Paris, Rennes and Toulouse all have metro systems. Twenty-six French cities have light rail and tram systems.
Alstom APS, also known as Alimentation par Sol or Alimentation Par le Sol, is a form of ground-level power supply for street trams and, potentially, other vehicles. APS was developed by Innorail, a subsidiary of Spie Enertrans, but was sold to Alstom when Spie was acquired by Amec. It was originally created for the Bordeaux tramway, which was constructed from 2000 and opened in 2003. From 2011, the technology has been used in a number of other cities around the world.
