Bordeaux tramway

The Bordeaux tramway network (french: Tramway de Bordeaux) consists of four lines serving the city of Bordeaux in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. The system has a route length of , serving a total of 133 tram stops.

The first line of Bordeaux's modern tramway opened on 21 December 2003. The system is notable for using the Alstom APS ground-level power supply system in the city centre. It has been operated by Keolis Bordeaux since 1 May 2009.

History

Original tramway

The first public transport service in Bordeaux was a horse-drawn omnibus, introduced in 1830. In 1880, the first horse-drawn tramway was introduced, and eventually 752 horses were used to pull 71 cars. The horse-drawn tramway was limited to the city of Bordeaux and, as a consequence, the first electric tramway was introduced in the neighbouring suburbs in 1890. The city's horse-drawn trams were replaced by electric trams in 1900.

In 1920 the various tramways were unified, allowing expansion of the system. By 1946, the public transportation system in Bordeaux had 38 tram lines with a total length of , carrying 160,000 passengers per day. A rudimentary system of ground-level power supply was used on some stretches with mixed success.

As in other French cities at the time the mayor, Jacques Chaban-Delmas (first elected in 1947), embraced anti-tram arguments and decided to terminate the operation of the tramway. He found the tramway to be old-fashioned compared to the bus and its attachment to set tracks on the ground hindered the increasing flow of cars. In 1958 the last line of tramway was closed.

Without a tramway

By the 1970s the failure of the "all car" transport policy had become obvious, but Chaban was not prepared to backtrack. A grandiose automated underground railway scheme using the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) system was promoted; it even received the backing of a majority of the city's councillors, but fell victim in the end not just to the fierce opposition of the local transport users' association TRANSCUB but to the hard reality of the fine sandy nature of the city's soil. The VAL idea was dropped. Chaban remained.

Bordeaux had to wait until 1995 and the election of Alain Juppé as mayor – as well as the total strangulation of the city by its transport problems – before the situation was tackled. Following two years of studies, the Bordeaux Urban Community adopted the tramway plan in 1997. Recognized by the central government in 2000 as a Public Interest Project, the scheme got under way.

The new tramway - phase 1

Construction of the new tramway started in February 2000, with preliminary works for the tramway. In May 2000 a contract was signed with Alstom for the supply of the tram fleet, and in October the first track was laid. Construction and testing continued through 2001 to 2003, and the first section of the tramway opened on 21 December 2003 in the presence of President Jacques Chirac, and the mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé. The newly open section, known as line A, ran from ''Lormont-Lauriers'' and ''La Morlette'', to ''Mériadeck''.

The opening of the first section of line A was followed by that of lines B and C, on 24 April 2004. At that stage line B ran from ''Quinconces'' to ''Saint-Nicolas'', whilst line C whilst line C ran from ''Quinconces'' to ''Gare St-Jean''. On 3 July 2004, line B was extended from ''Saint-Nicolas'' to ''Bougnard''. In September 2005, line A was extended from ''Mériadeck'' to ''Saint-Augustin''.

With the extension of line A to ''Saint-Augustin'', the first phase of the new Bordeaux Tramway was complete. The system was in length, served 53 tram stops, and cost 690 million euros to build.

The new tramway - phase 2

Preparatory work for a second phase of the tramway started in 2004, with construction work starting in October 2005. Phase 2 consisted of a series of incremental extensions to the existing three lines, opening throughout 2007 and 2008:

* On 27 February 2007, line A was extended from ''La Morlette'' to ''Floirac Dravemont''.
* On 29 May 2007, line B was extended from ''Bougnard'' to ''Pessac Centre''.
* On 21 June 2007, line A was extended from ''Saint-Augustin'' to ''Mérignac Centre''.
* On 27 July 2007, line B was extended from ''Quinconces'' to ''Bassins à Flot''.
* On 19 November 2007, line C was extended from ''Quinconces'' to ''Grand-Parc''.
* On 27 February 2008, line C was extended from ''Grand-Parc'' to ''Les Aubiers'' and from ''Gare Saint-Jean'' to ''Terres Neuves''.
* On 31 June 2008, line A was extended from ''Lormont-Lauriers'' to ''La Gardette - Bassens - Carbon Blanc''.
* On 20 October 2008, line B was extended from ''Bassins à Flot'' to ''Claveau''.

When completed, phase 2 added 36 new stations and of additional tracks to the tramway system.

The new tramway - phase 3

Planning and consultation for phase 3 of the tramway started in 2008. The ''déclaration d'utilité publique'' for the extensions of lines A, B and C was signed by the prefect on 24 December 2010, followed by that for the new line D on 30 November 2011. Preparatory work for the extensions of lines A, B and C started in early 2011, whilst the first preparatory work on line D started in August 2013 with an archaeological survey. There were some legal delays, with the ''déclaration d'utilité publique'' for line D and the extension of line C to '' Gare de Blanquefort tram stop'' being cancelled by the Bordeaux Administrative Tribunal on 23 October 2014 before being reinstated by the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux on 21 July 2015.

The extension to the existing lines eventually opened as follows:

* On 1 February 2014, line C was extended from ''Les Aubiers'' to ''Berges du Lac''.
* On 20 June 2014, line B was extended from ''Claveau'' to ''Berges de la Garonne''.
* On 24 January 2015, line C was extended from ''Berges du Lac'' to ''Parc des Expositions''.
* On 24 January 2015, line A was extended from ''Mérignac Centre'' to ''Le Haillan-Rostand''.
* In March 2015, line C was extended from ''Terres Neuves'' to ''Lycée Vaclav Havel''.
* In April 2015, a new branch of line B was opened from ''Bougnard'' to ''France Alouette''.
* On 17 December 2016, a new branch of line C was opened from ''Cracovie'' to ''Gare de Blanquefort''.
* On 2 February 2019, line C was extended from ''Lycée Vaclav Havel'' to ''Villenave Pyrénées''.

The new Line D tramway opened in two phases, on 14 December 2019 and 29 February 2020. This new line runs from Carle Vernet northwest from Bordeaux through Le Bouscat, Bruges and Eysines, ending at Eysines Cantinolle. The first from Carle Vernet to Quinconces shares tracks with line C, the only part of the Bordeaux tram system where two lines share tracks. Construction of the new line starting in 2017.

In May 2016, the stop ''Bassins à Flot'' on line B was renamed to ''La Cité du Vin'', to coincide with the opening of the adjacent Cité du Vin wine museum and tourist attraction.

Network

The network consists of four lines, with a total route length of . The routes serve a total of 130 tram stops, counting the nine stops on the section of track shared by lines C and D, and the three interchange points in the city centre ( ''Hotel de Ville'', ''Porte de Bourgogne'' and ''Quinconces'') once only.

Line A

Line A of the Bordeaux tramway starts at ''Le Haillan Rostand'' in the western suburbs of Bordeaux and runs in an easterly direction towards the city centre. An intermediate terminus is passed at ''Pin Galant'', where some trams from the east terminate. In the city centre it crosses and has an interchange with line B at ''Hôtel de Ville'', and with lines C and D at ''Porte de Bourgogne''. It then crosses the Garonne river on the ''Pont de pierre'' bridge and runs east to ''Buttinière''. Here the line divides into two branches, one running north to ''La Gardette Bassens Carbon-Blanc'' and the other south to ''Floirac Dravemont''.

The line is in length and serves 46 tram stops. The line is double track throughout, with the exception of the approach to and terminal platform at ''Le Haillan Rostand'', which takes the form of a single-track stub.

For most of the day on Mondays to Fridays, trams run at least every five minutes between ''Pin Galant'' and ''Buttinière'', with services every ten minutes on the branches and outer sections. Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Line B

Line B of the Bordeaux tramway starts at ' in the north of Bordeaux and runs in a southerly direction towards the city centre, running parallel to the left bank of the Garonne river. An intermediate terminus is passed at ', where some trams from the south terminate. In the city centre it crosses and has an interchange with lines C and D at ' and with line A at '. It then runs south-west to '. Here the line divides into two branches, one running north to ' and the other west to '.

The line is in length and serves 37 tram stops. The line is double track between ''La Cité du Vin'' and ''Bougnard'', but includes significant stretches of bi-directional single track in its branches and outer sections. Just north of ' the line crosses over the entrance lock to the ''Bassins à flot'', with trams normally using a route over a swing bridge at the downstream end of the lock, but with an alternative route available via the other end of the lock if the main bridge is swung open.

For most of the day on Mondays to Fridays, trams run at least every five minutes between ''Claveau'' and ''Bougnard'', with services every ten minutes on the branches and outer sections. Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Line C

Line C of the Bordeaux tramway commences with two branches to the north of Bordeaux. One branch starts at ''Parc des Expositions'' and runs south to ''Cracovie''. The other branch starts at ''Gare de Blanquefort'' and runs alongside the SNCF as far as ''Ausone'', from where it follows a disused railway line to ''Cracovie''. From here the combined line runs south to the city centre. In the city centre it joins and shares tracks with line D at ''Quinconces'', where it also has an interchange with B. Lines C and D continue to run south together, and share an interchange with line A at ''Porte de Bourgogne'' and with the city's main railway station at ''Gare Saint-Jean''. At ''Carle Vernet'', line D terminates, leaving line C to continue by itself. An intermediate terminus is passed at ''Gare de Bègles'', where some trams from the north terminate, before the final terminus is reached at ''Villenave Pyrénées''.

The line is in length and serves 35 tram stops. The line is double track between ''Cracovie'' and ''Gare de Bègles'', but includes significant stretches of bi-directional single track in its branches and outer sections. In particular the section alongside the line to ''Pointe-de-Grave'' is single-track sharing the same right of way as the (also single-track) main line railway. This section is sometimes called the ''Tram train du Médoc'', although strictly speaking it does not meet the normal definition of a tram-train as the tram and train do not share track.

For most of the day on Mondays to Fridays, trams run at least every five minutes between ''Cracovie'' and ''Gare de Bègles'', with services every ten minutes on the branches and outer sections. Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Line D

Line D of the Bordeaux tramway starts at ''Eysines Cantinolle'' to the north-west of Bordeaux and runs in a south-easterly direction towards the city centre. An intermediate terminus is passed at ''Hippodrome'', where some trams from the south terminate. In the city centre it joins and shares tracks with line C at ''Quinconces'', where it also has an interchange with B. Lines C and D continue to run south together, and share an interchange with line A at ''Porte de Bourgogne'' and with the city's main railway station at ''Gare Saint-Jean''. The line terminates at ''Carle Vernet'', leaving line C to continue by itself.

The line is in length and serves 24 tram stops. The line is double track between ''Hippodrome'' and ''Carle Vernet'', but includes significant stretches of bi-directional single track between ''Eysines Cantinolle'' and ''Hippodrome''.

For most of the day on Mondays to Fridays, trams run at least every eight minutes between ''Hippodrome'' and ''Carle Vernet'', with services every fifteen minutes beyond ''Hippodrome''. Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Operations

A particular feature of the new Bordeaux tram network is its ground-level power supply system which is used in the city centre to avoid overhead wires spoiling the view of buildings. This was the source of many difficulties and breakdowns when first introduced. Improvements since then, however, have increased reliability and the network is now one of Bordeaux's principal plus points, valued not just for enabling the people of the city to get about easily but also for its contribution to the aesthetics of the city and its quality of life. The new trams are an essential part of Bordeaux's current tourist redynamization strategy. The three lines were extended in 2007 and 2008 to reach several housing estates as well as the suburb of Mérignac. The whole system is under video surveillance, with a camera installed inside each vehicle.

Hours of operation and headways

Trams operate on all lines from around 4.30am until midnight, seven days a week with later service on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until around 1.30am. All stops have panels showing the waiting time until the next tram. On Sunday and holiday mornings, trams run every 30/40 minutes until around 1000am then every 20 minutes. Weekday and Saturday services operate every 10 – 12 minutes with additional service during 'rush hour' and for special events. However, there is no service at all on May 1, Labour Day holiday.

Traffic

In 2018, the tram system carried 96.77 million passengers.

Electric power / Ground-level power supply

By demand of the Municipality of Bordeaux (CUB), part of the system uses the Alstom APS system of ground-level power supply. There is no overhead wire, and electric power to the tram is supplied by a center rail with only the portion directly under the tram electrically live. This prevents electrocution of pedestrians and animals. See the adjacent photograph.

Rolling stock

, the fleet is composed of 130 Alstom Citadis trams delivered between 2000 and 2020:
* 118 Citadis 402 — length: , width: , weight: . 7 segments with 4 bogies and 3 motors and power. These trams support up to 300 passengers with 70 seated, and are used on all lines.
* 12 Citadis 302 — length: , width: , weight: . 5 segments with 3 bogies and 2 motors and power. These trams support up to 218 passengers with 48 seated, and are normally used on line C.

All trams are air conditioned and have a low floor. The rails are and power is 750 V DC. The maximum speed is with an acceleration of . The deceleration obtained from emergency braking is .

Depots

There are tram depots at:

* ''Thiers Benauge'', accessed by a line from near ''Thiers-Benauge'' tram stop on line A
* ''Rue Achard'', adjacent to ''Rue Achard'' tram stop on line B
* ''La Jallere'', accessed by a line from ''Parc des Expositions - Stade Matmut-Atlantique'' tram stop on line C

Network Map

See also

* Transports Bordeaux Métropole
* Trams in France
* List of town tramway systems in France

References

External links

*
*

Plan Touristique TBM - tramway and bus network map
(pdf)

Tramway - Bordeaux Métropole

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordeaux Tramway

Tram transport in France
750 V DC railway electrification