Line C () of the Lyon Metro is the modern incarnation of the ''Funiculaire Croix-Rousse - Croix-Paquet'' (''Croix-Rousse - Croix-Paquet Funicular''), an old cable-hauled railway operating on part of the current alignment. In 1891, the original

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

line was opened, running between its namesake stations. After surviving the closure of the nearby ''funiculaire Rue Terme - Croix-Rousse'' in 1967, this line closed in 1972 for refurbishment and conversion to

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with th ...

technology, reopening for service in 1974 (four years before lines A and B opened). When it was integrated with the metro as Lyon Metro Line C in 1978, the line's southern end was extended from ''Croix-Paquet'' to ''Hôtel-de-Ville'' (City Hall), also equipped with rack rail. A further extension of Line C opened on December 8, 1984, when its northern end was extended from Croix-Rousse to ''

Cuire Caluire-et-Cuire (; frp, Caluéres-et-Cuéres) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. It is the fifth-largest suburb of the city of Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' al ...

'' as an

adhesion railway An adhesion railway relies on adhesion traction to move the train. Adhesion traction is the friction between the drive wheels and the steel rail. The term "adhesion railway" is used only when it is necessary to distinguish adhesion railways from ...

(no rack). The line now serves five stations, and is long. It was constructed using various methods: the original route used by the former funicular line runs up a steep incline rising from a deep tunnel to an exposed trench, the newly built level segment at ''Croix-Rousse'' using

cut-and-cover A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube constr ...

, and the latest section beyond ''Hénon'' running on the surface. ''Croix Paquet'' station claims to be the steepest

metro station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...

in the world, with an incline of 17%. The repurposed alignment of the original funicular from ''Croix-Paquet'' to ''Croix-Rousse'' is among the world's oldest

structures A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

currently used by metro trains, having first opened in 1891.

List of the stations

* Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel * Croix-Paquet * Croix-Rousse * Hénon * Cuire

Chronology

* December 9, 1974: Croix-Paquet—Croix-Rousse * May 2, 1978: Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel—Croix-Rousse * December 10, 1984: Hôtel de Ville - Louis Pradel—Cuire

References

External links

Transports en Commun Lyonnais (TCL)
1st arrondissement of Lyon 4th arrondissement of Lyon Rack railways in France Railway lines opened in 1862 Railway lines opened in 1978 C 1862 establishments in France {{France-metro-stub