Lyon
For everyone interested in urban public transportation, Lyon is surely one of the multifaceted and most interesting travel destinations in France. At the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône there are more than half a dozen different modes of public transportation: Suburban railways, buses, three rubber-tyred metro-lines of which one is operated fully automatic without any drivers, a rack-railway extended as a conventional adhesion railway and labelled as Metro as well, two funiculars, the biggest trolleybus-network in France – and since 2000 a new tramway system. Currently, there are five lines labelled T1-T5 and the express tramway "Rhônexpress" to Saint Exupéry airport. The most important function of Line T1 is the connection of a large university campus; it acts also as a link between the two main railway stations, Perrache and Part-Dieu. Line T2 has a quite long interurban stretch at the eastern end, as well as line T3, which was developed out of an ancient railway line. Lines T4 and T5 are mainly feeders to the metro. Finally, the Rhônexpress service uses the route of T3 and an adjacent section to the airport. It serves only four stations, Part-Dieu, La Soie, Meyzieu Z.I. and Aéroport Saint Exupéry. At the common stretch with tramline T3 there are some passing loops. But there are already the next projects: In September 2012, the tram-train de L'Ouest lyonnais started operation in the western parts of the city, it will be extended in the following years.
Lines
Tramway
T1 IUT Feysinne - Debourg (11,5 km)
T2 Perrache - Bel Air (14,9 km)
T3 Part-Dieu - Meyzieu Les Panettes (15,1 km)
T4 La Doua Gaston Berger - Hôpital Feyzin (14,8 km)
T5 Grange Blanche - Eurexpo (7,0 km)
Rhônexpress
Part Dieu - Aéroport Saint Exupéry (23,0 km)
Métro
A Perrache - La Soie (9,3 km)
B Oullins - Charpennes (7,7 km)
C Hôtel de Ville - Cuire (2,4 km)
D Gare de Vaise - Gare de Vénissieux (12,9 km)
Funiculars
Vieux Lyon - Saint-Just (0,8 km)
Vieux Lyon - Fourvière (0,4 km)
Upgraded Trolleybus ("Cristalis")
C1 Part-Dieu - Cuire (8,0 km)
C2 Part-Dieu - Rillieux Semailles (10,5 km)
C3 Saint-Paul - Vaulx La Grappinière (11,8 km)
Tram-Train de L'Ouest lyonnais
Saint-Paul - L'Arbresle - Sain-Bel
Saint-Paul - Brignais
History
Tramway
22/12/2000 T1 Perrache - IUT Feysinne (8,3 km)
22/12/2000 T2 Perrache - Porte des Alpes (9,5 km + 0,6 km shared section with line T1)
27/10/2003 T2 Porte des Alpes - Bel Air (4,8 km)
06/09/2005 T1 Perrache – Montrochet (1,2 km)
27/11/2006 T3 Part-Dieu Vilette - Meyzieu Z.I. (14,7 km)
20/04/2009 T4 Jet d'eau - Hôpital Feyzin (9,5 km)
09/08/2010 RE Part-Dieu Vilette - Meyzieu Z.I. - Aéroport Saint Exupéry (~23 km) - 14,6 km shared section with line T3
17/11/2012 T5 Eurexpo - Les Alizés (3,7 km)- further via line T2 to Grange Blanche
29/08/2013 T4 Jet d'eau - Part-Dieu Vilette (1,7 km + 0,5 km shared section with T3)
02/09/2013 T4 Part-Dieu Vilette - Thiers-Lafayette (0,5 km)- further via line T1 to La Doua Gaston Berger
19/02/2014 T1 Montrochet - Debourg (2,0 km)
10/06/2014 T3 Meyzieu Z.I. - Les Panettes (0,4 km)
Métro
02/05/1978 A Perrache - Laurent Bonnevay (7,9 km)
02/05/1978 B Charpennes - Part-Dieu (1,3 km)
02/05/1978 C Hôtel de Ville - Croix-Rousse (0,9 km)
14/09/1981 B Part-Dieu - Jean Macé (2,3 km)
08/12/1984 C Croix-Rousse - Cuire (1,5 km)
03/09/1991 D Gorge de Loup - Grange Blanche (6,6 km)
15/12/1992 D Grange Blanche - Gare de Vénissieux (4,7 km)
28/04/1997 D Gorge de Loup - Gare de Vaise (1,6 km)
04/09/2000 B Jean Macé - Stade de Gerland (2,3 km)
02/10/2007 A Laurent Bonnevay - La Soie (1,4 km)
11/12/2013 B Stade de Gerland - Oullins Gare (1,8 km)
Funiculars
01/06/1862 Rue Terme - Croix-Rousse
14/07/1878 Vieux Lyon - Saint-Just
13/04/1891 Croix-Paquet - Croix-Rousse
06/09/1900 Vieux Lyon - Fourvière
31/10/1900 Saint-Paul - Fourvière
28/02/1901 Vieux Lyon - Saint-Just - closed for conversion to rack railway (reopened may 1901)
25/12/1937 Saint-Paul - Fourvière - closed permanently
04/07/1957 Vieux Lyon - Saint-Just - closed for reconstruction
29/04/1958 Vieux Lyon - Saint-Just - reopened as funicular
31/12/1967 Rue Terme - Croix-Rousse - closed permanently
02/07/1972 Croix-Paquet - Croix-Rousse - closed for reconstruction
06/12/1974 Croix-Paquet - Croix-Rousse - reopened as rack railway
Bus (selected projects)
12/10/2006 C1 Part-Dieu - Cité Internationale (3,6 km)
29/10/2007 C3 Saint-Paul - Vaulx La Grappinière (11,8 km)
20/01/2011 C1 Cité Internationale - Cuire (4,4 km)
07/09/2011 C2 Part-Dieu - Rillieux Semailles (10,5 km) - 2,8 shared section with line C1
04/11/2013 LEOL Lignes Express de l'Ouest Lyonnais, Bus Rapid Transit on former "Train de Vaugneray" alignment
24/02/2014 C13 Grange Blanche - Montessuy (12,6 km) - Electrification
Tram-Train de L'Ouest lyonnais
22/09/2012 TT Saint-Paul - L'Arbresle - Sain-Bel
08/12/2012 TT Saint-Paul - Brignais
Projects
T3 Branch to Grand Stade (2015)
T5 Eurexpo - Chassieu René Cassin (2014, 1,7 km)
TT Tram-train Saint Paul - Lozanne (2015)
Rolling Stock
73 Citadis 302, delivered as from 2000/2006/2008
6 Tango, delivered as from 2009 for Rhônexpress
24 Dualis, delivered as from 2011 for the tram-train de L'Ouest lyonnais
12 Citadis 402, delivered as from 2012
Links
Transports en Commun Lyonnais - http://www.tcl.fr/
Sytral - http://www.sytral.fr/
Rhônexpress - http://www.rhonexpress.net/
Métro Lyon at UrbanRail.Net
Photos
Please click here to visit the Lyon Photo Gallery!
© http://www.trams-in-france.net by Christoph Groneck