Métrolor, as its name suggests (as a contraction of "métro" and "Lorraine"), is a brand for the internal passenger train service of the Lorraine region, where the trains' frequency and network's density are comparable to

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT) or heavy rail, commonly referred to as metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport that is generally built in urban areas. A grade separation, grade separated rapid transit line below ground su ...

systems.

Origins

The idea of Métrolor was originally applied by Alain Scholtès to the half-hourly service on the Nancy –

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

–

Thionville Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

line, started on 2 January 1970, by contractual arrangement between the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

and the departments of

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

and

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a '' département'' in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. Its prefecture and largest city is Nancy and it borders the departments of Meuse to the west, Vosges to the south, ...

. It was the first such contract in France outside of Greater Paris. Over the next ten years or so, the idea was taken up by Stélyrail (1976), Métrazur, TCR () Région

Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

(1978), Métralsace and others. The first services, from 1970 to 1977, were made with SNCF Class RIB 60 rolling stock (, "Stainless steel suburban"), initially destined for the Paris region. Seven

SNCF Class RIB 70 The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic along with that of Monaco, including the TGV, on France's high ...

trains were assigned to the region permanently; these gave a more comfortable ride thanks to air suspension as opposed the mechanical suspension of the RIB 60. Six of these trains were heavily refurbished in 1990, with a shielded driver's cab in the style of

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

s and a new

torque converter A torque converter is a device, usually implemented as a type of fluid coupling, that transfers rotating power from a prime mover, like an internal combustion engine, to a rotating driven load. In a vehicle with an automatic transmission, the ...

. These units were renamed ("Stainless steel

railbus A railbus is a lightweight passenger railcar with an automotive engine. It shares many aspects of its construction with a bus, typically having a bus (original or modified) body and four wheels (2 axles) on a fixed base instead of on bogies. O ...

") RIO 90. Used in support of the

SNCF Class Z 6300 The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

class and the RIO together with the SNCF Class BB 16500, they were soon extending as far as the

city of Luxembourg Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, although most stayed within the limits of Thionville. Duties were shared between the RRR, the

SNCF Class Z2 The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffic along with that of Monaco, including the TGV, on France's high ...

(French and Luxembourg SNCF Class Z 11500), "Caravelles" (

diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...

s) and, for some routes between

and Nancy, a Corail train and some older trains made up of UIC Type Y rolling stock.

New definition: The Métrolor network

In November 2002 the name Métrolor returned to the Lorraine region to designate the regional railway services of

TER Lorraine TER Lorraine was the regional rail network serving Lorraine region, France. In 2016 it was merged into the new TER Grand Est. Network Rail Road * Thionville – Bouzonville – Creutzwald * Remiremont – Bussang * Remiremont – La Bresse ...

, encompassing also the cross-border services to

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. A yellow-and-red

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

was designed, evoking the representative colours of the region.

References

External links

Official Métrolor site
** Transport express régional {{France-rail-transport-stub

Origins

New definition: The Métrolor network

See also

References

External links