The Lille tramway (french: Tramway de Lille) is a public transit system in the city of
Lille
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
in
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. The
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
way is often called the Mongy, after
Alfred Mongy, the engineer who created the interurban lines that make up the current system.
The system consists of two interurban lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of
Roubaix
Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...
and
Tourcoing
Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a Communes of France, commune within the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), ...
, and has 36 stations.
The lines were built at the same time as the
boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
s linking Lille to its two neighbours, and the lines run on
reserved track
Reserved track, in tram transport terminology, is track on ground exclusively for trams (in the US, typically called a "private right-of-way").
Description
Unlike street running track embedded in streets and roads, reserved track does not need ...
within the boulevards for most of their length.
[Based on a translation of the article '' Transpole'' from the French Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.]
The first tram line in Lille was built 1874,
and the electrification of the town system started in 1894.
The current interurban lines were built in 1909.
While most urban lines in Lille were abandoned after 1950, the Mongy remained in service as the backbone of the public transport network of the TCC, the predecessor of Transpole. Whilst the expansion of the Metro initially threatened the trams, they were kept in service.
[Based on a translation of the article '' Transpole'' from the German Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.]
The lines originally terminated in the street outside the
Opéra de Lille
The Opéra de Lille is a neo-classical opera house, built from 1907 to 1913 and officially inaugurated in 1923. Closed for renovation in 1998 it reopened in 2003 for Lille 2004. The Opéra de Lille is a member of the European Network for Opera, M ...
, but was diverted into a tunnel and underground terminus at the
Gare de Lille Flandres
Lille-Flandres station ( French: ''Gare de Lille-Flandres'', Dutch: ''Rijsel Vlaanderen'') is the main railway station of Lille, capital of French Flanders. It is a terminus for SNCF Intercity and regional trains. It opened in 1842 as the ''Gare d ...
, offering interchange with both lines of the Metro. The system was renovated between 1991 and 1994, and new low-floor trams were provided. The system is
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
electrified at 750
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units (SI). It is named after the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta (1745–1827).
Defi ...
s
DC.
The system is operated by
Ilévia
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 s ...
, the
public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
operator for the
Lille Métropole
Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...
. Ilévia also operates the
Lille Metro
The Lille Metro (french: Métro de Lille) 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 (french: véhicule automatique léger, en, light automated vehicle) syst ...
, a two-line underground and elevated
VAL
Val may refer to: Val-a
Film
* ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo
Military equipment
* Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies
* AS Val, a Sov ...
system, and 68 urban
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
routes, all of which share a common ticketing system.
Network Map
See also
*
Lille Metro
The Lille Metro (french: Métro de Lille) 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 (french: véhicule automatique léger, en, light automated vehicle) syst ...
*
Trams in France
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 perio ...
*
List of town tramway systems in France
This is a list of town tramway systems in France by ''région''. It includes all tram systems, past and present. Cities with currently operating systems, and those systems themselves, are indicated in bold and blue background colored rows. Those ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lille Tramway
Transport in Lille
Tram transport in France
Metre gauge railways in France
750 V DC railway electrification