The Lille tramway () is a public transit system in the city of
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
in
Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...
, France. The tramway 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 ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, depar ...
and
Tourcoing
Tourcoing (; ; ; ) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Roubaix, Tourcoing is the chef-lieu of two ca ...
, 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 or wide road in a commercial district.
In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...
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 tram
A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individ ...
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, ...
, but in 1994 were diverted into a tunnel and underground terminus at the
Gare de Lille Flandres
Lille-Flandres station (, ) 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 de Lille'', but was renamed in 1993 when Lille Europe station ...
, 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 ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
electrified at 750
volt
The volt (symbol: V) is the unit of electric potential, Voltage#Galvani potential vs. electrochemical potential, electric potential difference (voltage), and electromotive force in the International System of Units, International System of Uni ...
s
DC.
The system is operated by
Ilévia, the public transport operator for the
Lille Métropole
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
. Ilévia also operates the
Lille Metro
The Lille Metro () is a driverless light metro system located in Lille, France. It commenced operations on 25 April 1983 and was the first system to implement the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL, ) technology. While sometimes cited as the ...
, a two-line underground and elevated
VAL system, and 68 urban bus routes, all of which share a common ticketing system.
In 2023, 24 new trams were ordered from Alstom to replace the 1990s trams built by Breda.
Network Map
See also
*
Lille Metro
The Lille Metro () is a driverless light metro system located in Lille, France. It commenced operations on 25 April 1983 and was the first system to implement the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL, ) technology. While sometimes cited as the ...
*
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 ''Regions of France, 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 c ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lille Tramway
Transport in Lille
Tram transport in France
Metre-gauge railways in France
750 V DC railway electrification