Trolleybuses In Nancy
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The Nancy trolleybus system () is part of the
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
network of the city of
Nancy, France Nancy is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, annexed by France under King Louis X ...
, and the neighboring ''comunes'' (municipalities) of
Essey-lès-Nancy Essey-lès-Nancy (, literally ''Essey near Nancy'') is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department The following is a list of the 591 commun ...
,
Saint-Max Saint-Max () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Geography The city of Saint-Max is located in north-eastern France, a suburb of Nancy. The surrounding communities are: Nancy, Essey-lès-Nancy, Tomblain ...
and
Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy (, literally ''Vandœuvre Lès, near Nancy, France, Nancy'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Vandopériens'' ...
. The
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
system opened in September 1982, and by one year later it had grown to three fully trolleybus routes (3, 4, and 19). Three additional services were introduced that did not require any additional overhead trolley wires, as the fleet consisted of Renault
dual-mode bus A dual-mode bus is a bus that can run independently on power from two different sources, typically electricity from overhead lines like a trolleybus or from batteries like a hybrid bus, alternated with conventional fossil fuel (generally diesel ...
es that could use the wiring of route 3 and then continue (as routes 23, 33, or 43) in
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...
mode beyond the end of the wiring. Trolleybus service on route 3 ended in 1996, leaving only routes 4 and 19 in operation. Trolleybus operation on the remaining routes was suspended in 1999 to permit the conversion of the system's most heavily used corridor into a
guided bus Guided buses are buses capable of being steered by external means, usually on a Bus lane, dedicated track or roll way that excludes other traffic, permitting the maintenance of Public transport timetable, schedules even during rush hours. Unl ...
route, still using trolleybuses but now with the
Bombardier Guided Light Transit Guided Light Transit (GLT, ) was the name of guided bus technology and associated infrastructure manufactured by Bombardier Transportation (now Alstom). Two GLT prototypes were designed and tested from 1987 onwards by BN in the region of Roche ...
(GLT) system over the majority of a new route T1, which was formed by combining the southern part of routes 4 and 19 with the northern part of route 3 and would be marketed as the "tram" line. The Bombardier trolleybuses used the GLT guide rail on around two-thirds of the route, and operated without any surface guidance on a little more than one-third of the route. Passenger service on this route from CHU Brabois to Essey-lès-Nancy began in January 2001. Technical problems related to the guide rail led to a one-year suspension of service soon after route T1 opened, along with much shorter suspensions later in 2002 and in 2003. In 2017, with the Bombardier GLT trolleybuses within a few years of the end of their predicted lifespan, the metropolitan council decided to replace the "tram"-branded trolleybus line with a true
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 individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way by 2022. However, in 2021, those plans were dropped, and an order was placed with
Carrosserie Hess Carrosserie HESS AG is a bus, trolleybus and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Bellach, Switzerland. Their products can be found operating in several countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia. History The company was fo ...
for new, conventional (unguided) trolleybuses to replace the GLT vehicles. The surface guidance system was removed in 2023–2024, with trolleybus service suspended from mid-March 2023 to permit that work and some revisions to the overhead wiring. The first of the new Hess trolleybuses was delivered in March 2024, and the trolleybus system reopened in April 2025.


History


1980s and 1990s

In March 1980, the city council voted to create a network of trolleybus routes, with a planned initial fleet of 48
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...
vehicles. Three routes were planned initially. An order for 48
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
PER 180H dual-mode trolleybuses was approved by the council on 21 November 1980. Construction of the infrastructure was underway by 1981, and the first test trip was made on 20 October 1981 using a prototype PER 180H trolleybus.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 122 (January 1982), p. 21. Delivery of the production series of vehicles began in May 1982. Trolleybus service in Nancy began on 27 September 1982, on the first route, route 19 (Ile de Corse –
Laxou Laxou () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a suburb, adjacent to the west of Nancy. 2002 125cc motorcycle world champion Arnaud Vincent was born here. Population See also * Communes of the Meu ...
, Champ le Boeuf), which was 9.5 km long."Europe's Newest Trolleybus system (January 1983). ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 127, pp. 4–9. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 128 (March 1983), p. 43. National Trolleybus Association (UK). It was the first new trolleybus system to open in France since that of
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...
, in 1952.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 113 (May 1980), p. 95. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Route 4 (Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire HUde Brabois – Beauregard), 10.5 km, was converted to trolleybus operation on 20 December 1982, and lastly route 3 (
Laxou Laxou () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a suburb, adjacent to the west of Nancy. 2002 125cc motorcycle world champion Arnaud Vincent was born here. Population See also * Communes of the Meu ...
Provinces –  Essey), 7 km, became trolleybus-operated on 4 September 1983.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 132 (September 1983), p. 144. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Dual-mode buses were chosen to permit the vehicles to run a portion of each trip in
diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...
mode, on sections not equipped with
overhead wires An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union of Railways for the tec ...
. This was planned to be used on route 3, and from the start of trolleybus service on that route, vehicles proceeded beyond the end of the wires at route 3's Essey terminus, on diesel power, as either route 33 to Pulnoy or route 43 to Seichamps. A similar operation of route 23 to Mouzimpré was introduced subsequently, but was withdrawn in October 1984.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 143 (September–October 1985), p. 115. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The new system include some sections with steep
gradients In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function f of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p gives the direction and the rate of fastest increase. The gra ...
, the steepest being 13 per cent on Avenue Jean-Jaurès just south of St-André stop. Trolleybus operation on route 3 was discontinued around 1996.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 347 (September–October 2019), p. 188. In 1998, route 19 was extended along route 4 to CHU Brabois,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 222 (November–December 1998), p. 134. National Trolleybus Association (UK). which is located in the ''comune'' of Vandoeuvre. Earlier in 1998, plans were under consideration to convert the section between Essey and CHU Brabois, combining the southern half of route 4 (and also later 19) and the northern/eastern half of route 3, into a busway route using guided trolleybuses,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 220 (July–August 1998), p. 91. National Trolleybus Association (UK). and these plans were confirmed at the end of November with the announcement that a contract had been signed with
Bombardier Transportation Bombardier Transportation was a Canadian rolling stock and rail transport manufacturer, with headquarters in Toronto and Berlin. It was one of the world's largest companies in the rail vehicle and equipment manufacturing and servicing industry. ...
for the supply of 25 trolleybuses equipped with its Guided Light Transit technology (''TVR'' in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
),''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 225 (May–June 1999), p. 66. which uses a central guide rail just below the roadway surface. The new service was forecast to begin at the end of 2000, and
compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in ...
motorbuses were expected to be used temporarily during the conversion work.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 228 (November–December 1999), p. 136. As work to convert much of the trolleybus system into a GLT guided busway proceeded, some trolleybus operation continued, but by 1999 many of the Renault dual-mode trolleybuses had had their
trolley pole A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead line, overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current ...
s removed and were operating in diesel mode at all times. The overhead wiring had been temporarily removed along parts of the route by September 1999, during the construction.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 229 (January–February 2000), p. 15. It was later reported that all trolleybus operation had apparently been suspended by mid-September 1999.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 231 (May–June 2000), pp. 64–65. It was planned that route 4's section to Beauregard would be connected to a section of bus route 40 that would be newly equipped with overhead wires and would continue to use conventional trolleybuses. Seven two-axle trolleybuses were on order from
AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
for this service.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 230 (March–April 2000), p. 42. It was also planned that the initial GLT route would split at Vélodrome and have two branches south from there within Vandoeuvre. The main route would run to CHU Brabois, while an approximately branch would run along Boulevard de l'Europe to Avenue Jeanne d'Arc, without guide rail; this would make the total length of route 1, including both branches, . However, the branch to Avenue Jeanne d'Arc was later dropped from the plans.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 245 (September–October 2002), p. 113.


2000s and 2010s: GLT

The first of the 25 new Bombardier GLT/TVR trolleybuses, which were double-articulated vehicles 24.5 metres long, was delivered on 26 May 2000,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 234 (November–December 2000), p. 138. and the first of the seven AnsaldoBreda conventional two-axle trolleybuses had arrived by June 2000.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 237 (May–June 2001), p. 67. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The GLT guided-trolleybus route was officially opened on 8 December 2000, but regular public service did not begin until 28 January 2001.Isgar, Carl F. (March–April 2023). "Transition in Nancy". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 368, pp. 65–67. National Trolleybus Association (UK). It was branded as "Tram" line 1 (or T1) by operator STAN, although it was not actually a
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 individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
line. The route, connecting Vandoevre CHU Brabois with Essey (combining the southern part of former route 4 with the northern portion of former route 3), used a guide rail for about two-thirds of its length; over the remainder of the route the vehicles operated as conventional trolleybuses, without any surface guidance (and thereby able to move laterally away from the overhead wires for a distance of up to a few metres).''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 279 (May–June 2008), pp. 64–65. National Trolleybus Association (UK). The unguided sections were on the outer parts of the route, specifically around 2.4 km between Callot and CHS Brabois, except for 275 metres around the terminus, and a portion of the route section to and from Essey. A section of Avenue Jean-Jaurès in Vandœuvre has only a single lane for both directions, controlled by signals, and trolleybuses are the only vehicles permitted to run in the southbound direction there. However, following accidents on 6 March and 9 March 2001, when trolleybuses were changing from guided to unguided mode and struck adjacent overhead-wire support poles, all trolleybus operation was suspended indefinitely. ''Trolleybus Magazine'' later reported that, "The cause of the accidents that led to the temporary suspension of service was a functional failure of the retraction device for the mini-wheelset caused by deformation as a result of repeated vibration from the metal rail."''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 240 (November–December 2001), p. 139. After additional issues were identified and corrected, service finally resumed on 13 March 2002.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 243 (May–June 2002), p. 63. In 2002, the scheduled daytime service required the use of approximately 14 of the 25 trolleybuses.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 247 (January–February 2003), p. 19. Meanwhile, a service reorganisation on 11 February 2001 saw former trolleybus route 4 renumbered as 121, but the plans to re-introduce trolleybuses on the route had not yet come to fruition, and motorbuses were providing the service.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 238 (July–August 2001), p. 90. All seven of the new two-axle AnsaldoBreda F22 trolleybuses purchased for that service had been delivered by early 2002.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 249 (May–June 2003), p. 65. Ultimately, these vehicles never entered service in Nancy. It was reported in 2011 that six of the seven had never been accepted by the transport company, because they were considered to be out of conformance with the specification, and in June 2010 a settlement was reached with the manufacturer, concluding a legal dispute that had lasted for several years.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 294 (November–December 2010), p. 138. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Those six vehicles were returned to the AnsaldoBreda factory in Italy in March 2011, while the seventh remained in Nancy.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 298 (July–August 2011), p. 89. National Trolleybus Association (UK). (They were subsequently sold to the Ancona trolleybus system.)''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 315 (May–June 2014), p. 78. Trolleybus service had not returned to route 121 (the Beauregard – Place de la République section of former route 4). Occasional problems with the guide rail equipment led to more suspensions of service, including one of 16 days in June 2002 and another lasting 23 days in August 2003.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 251 (September–October 2003), p. 109.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 254 (March–April 2004), p. 44. Plans to build a second guided-trolleybus route were dropped in 2011.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 299 (September–October 2011), p. 114. In 2017, the Nancy city council decided to close the trolleybus system by 2022 and to replace it with a conventional
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 individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 333 (May–June 2017), p. 108. However, with the 12.5% gradient on the part of the route to CHU Brabois thought to be too steep for trams, studies would look at the feasibility of replacing that part of the route with one having a gradient of only 8.5%. Meanwhile, 12 Bombardier GLT vehicles were acquired from the GLT system in
Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...
as a source of spare parts, to keep a sufficient number of Nancy's vehicles operating until then.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 338 (March–April 2018), p. 66.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 339 (May–June 2018), p. 109. Although the Caen vehicles used a
pantograph A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a Linkage (mechanical), mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a se ...
instead of
trolley pole A trolley pole is a tapered cylindrical pole of wood or metal, used to transfer electricity from a "live" (electrified) overhead line, overhead wire to the control and the electric traction motors of a tram or trolley bus. It is a type of current ...
s to collect current, overall they shared about 90% of their components with the GLT vehicles in Nancy. The Caen system had closed at the end of 2017. On 1 January 2019,
Keolis Keolis is a French transportation company that operates public transport systems all over the world. It manages bus, rapid transit, tram, coach networks, rental bikes, car parks, water taxi, cable car, trolleybus, and funicular services. B ...
became the operator of the local public transport system, having won the competitive tender, with a six-year contract. In June 2019, a new
Iveco Iveco S.p.A., an acronym for Industrial Vehicles Corporation, is an Italian multinational transport vehicle manufacturing company with headquarters in Turin, Italy. It designs and builds light, medium, and heavy Commercial vehicle, commercial veh ...
Crealis trolleybus built for the Limoges trolleybus system was tested in Nancy and used the wires of former route 3 to Laxou, revealing that that long-disused overhead wiring (out of use since circa 1996) was not only still in place but had been maintained in a usable condition for possible future use. At the end of the decade, the trolleybus system was expected to close in 2021 or 2022.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 357 (May–June 2021), p. 108.


2020s

Largely because of the forecast high cost, the Metropolitan Council of Greater Nancy voted in February 2021 to postpone the plans to build a
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 individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way and to consider alternatives for replacement of the vehicles serving the trolleybus line. On 26 August 2021, the council voted to replace the existing Bombardier guided vehicles with new conventional (unguided) trolleybuses. In late 2021, this new plan was finalisedconfirming that the trolleybus system would not be closed after alland in January 2022 an order was placed with
Carrosserie Hess Carrosserie HESS AG is a bus, trolleybus and commercial vehicle manufacturer based in Bellach, Switzerland. Their products can be found operating in several countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia. History The company was fo ...
to provide 25 new double-articulated trolleybuses of Hess's lighTram 25DC model.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 362 (March–April 2022), p. 78. The route would remain the same as "tram" line T1, the route from CHU Brabois to Essey-lès-Nancy, but now without any surface guidance system. The final day of guided trolleybus operation, using the Bombardier vehicles, was 12 March 2023.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 369 (May–June 2023), p. 121. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Buses would temporarily serve the route until the new vehicles had arrived and been accepted for service. The first Hess trolleybus was delivered on 12 March 2024.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 375 (May–June 2024), p. 121. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Some sections of the route in the city centre will no longer be equipped with overhead wiring, and the new vehicles (which, like many newer trolleybuses, have batteries allowing part of each trip to be operated "off-wire") will serve those sections on battery power.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 374 (March–April 2024), p. 77. National Trolleybus Association (UK). In December 2024, the trolleybus line was expected to reopen in April 2025. It reopened on 5 April 2025.


Fleet


Past fleet

*48
Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...
PER 180H dual-mode,
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent coupling in its construction. This coupling works as a large pivot joint, allowing it to bend and turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buse ...
vehicles, 18 metres long (nos. 603–650); built 1982–1983."Trolleybus Fleets of Western Europe" (November–December 1989). ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 168, p. 135. National Trolleybus Association (UK). All withdrawn by 1999. One, no. 625, was preserved by a local enthusiast.''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 303 (May–June 2012), p. 68. *25 Bombardier GLT (TVR) double-articulated vehicles, 24.5 metres long (nos. 1–25); built 2000–2001, last units retired March 2023. The following vehicles, Nancy's only non-articulated trolleybuses, were purchased and delivered but never used in service. Years later, in late 2011 or 2012, all but one of them were sold to the Ancona trolleybus system, in Italy, where they entered service in 2014. *7
AnsaldoBreda Hitachi Rail Italy S.p.A. is a multinational rolling stock manufacturer company based in Pistoia, Italy. Formerly AnsaldoBreda S.p.A., a subsidiary of state-owned Finmeccanica, the company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail of Japan. After the dea ...
F22 trolleybuses (nos. 251–257); built 2000–2002. Never used in Nancy; all but no. 251 were sold in 2011/12.


Current fleet

*25
Hess High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) is a system of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) for the investigation of cosmic gamma rays in the photon energy range of 0.03 to 100 TeV. The acronym was chosen in honour of Victor ...
lighTram 25DC double-articulated trolleybuses, 24.4 m long; delivery began March 2024.


See also

* List of trolleybus systems in France


References


External links

*
Nouveau Tramway: l'essentiel du projet
{{in lang, fr Transport in Nancy, France Nancy Nancy 1982 establishments in France de:Oberleitungsbus Nancy fr:Ancien trolleybus de Nancy