List of town tramway systems in France

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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 tram systems that operated on other than standard gauge track (where known) are indicated in the 'Notes' column.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes[edit]

Clermont-Ferrand Translohr tramway
Grenoble
Lyon
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Aix-les-Bains Compressed air 18 Apr 1897 1908 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Annemasse Steam 22 Oct 1883 1902 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 2 Jan 1902 31 Dec 1958 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Clermont-Ferrand Electric 7 Jan 1890 17 Mar 1956 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Clermont-Ferrand's modern transport system, the Clermont-Ferrand tramway (opened: 2006), is a Translohr system rather than a traditional rail-based tram system.
  Évian-les-Bains Electric 1898 1908  
  Grenoble Electric 17 Apr 1897 31 Aug 1952 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[1]
Grenoble tramway Electric 5 Sep 1987   [1]
  La Bourboule Electric 1904 1914  
  Le Puy-en-Velay electric 12 Nov 1896 4 Aug 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Lyon Horse 21 Jun 1897 ?  
Steam 1888 ? Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 26 Aug 1894 30 Jan 1956 [2]
Lyon tramway Electric 23 Dec 2000    
  Moûtiers Electric 1899 1929 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Roanne Electric 1901 1935  
  Saint-Chamond Electric 1906 1931 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Saint-Étienne tramway Saint-Étienne* Steam 4 Dec 1881 1912 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[3]
Electric 17 Apr 1897   Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[3]
  Valence Electric 1927 1950 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Vichy Compressed air 15 Dec 1895 31 Mar 1927  

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté[edit]

Besançon
Dijon
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Beaucourt Electric 1904 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Belfort Electric 29 May 1898 1952 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Besançon Electric 21 Mar 1897 24 Dec 1952  
Besançon tramway Electric 30 Aug 2014    
  Dijon Electric 1 Jan 1895 1 Dec 1961 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Dijon tramway Electric 2012[4][5]    

Brittany (Bretagne)[edit]

Brest
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Brest Electric 1898 1945 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Brest tramway Electric 23 Jun 2012   [6]
  Lorient Electric 1901 1944 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Saint-Malo Electric 1927 1948 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)

Centre-Val de Loire[edit]

Orléans
Tours
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Blois Electric 1910 1934 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Bourges Electric 1898 1949 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Orléans Horse 6 May 1877 ? [7]
Electric 28 Jun 1899 31 Mar 1938 [7]
Orléans tramway Electric 20 Nov 2000   [8]
  Tours Electric 1900 1949 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Tours tramway Electric 31 Aug 2013    

Corsica (Corse)[edit]

Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Ajaccio Horse ? ?  

Grand Est[edit]

Strasbourg
Mulhouse
Nancy Guided Light Transit
Reims
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Châlons-en-Champagne Electric 1897 1938 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Charleville-Mézières Electric 1900 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Colmar Electric 16 Mar 1902 31 Jan 1960 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Épinal Electric 1906 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Forbach Electric 1912 1950 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Hagondange - Maizières-lès-Metz Electric 1913 1964  
  Longwy Electric 1902 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Metz Electric 1902 1948  
  Mulhouse Steam 1 Oct 1892 1894 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 1894 2 May 1956  
Mulhouse tramway Electric 13 May 2006    
  Nancy Horse 12 Aug 1874 c.1903  
Electric 1898 2 Dec 1958 [9]
  Novéant-sur-Moselle Electric 1911 1933  
C.T.R. Reims Horse 19 Jun 1881 Apr 1901 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[10]
Electric 1 Jun 1900 15 Oct 1939
Reims tramway Electric 16 Apr 2011    
  Ribeauvillé Horse ? ?  
Steam ? 1937  
  Saint-Avold Electric 1910 1940 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Sedan Electric 1899 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Strasbourg Horse 22 Jul 1878 1899 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Steam 1883 12 Aug 1926 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric May 1895 30 Apr 1960 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[11]
Strasbourg tramway Electric 25 Nov 1994   [11]
  Thionville Electric 9 May 1912 22 Sep 1952 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Troyes Electric 1899 1950 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Turckheim Electric 3 Jun 1899 1 Apr 1937 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)

Hauts-de-France[edit]

Lille
Valenciennes
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Amiens Electric 1899 1940 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Armentières Electric 1901 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Boulogne-sur-Mer Electric 1897 1951  
  Calais Electric 1906 1940  
  Cambrai Electric 1903 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Cassel Electric 1900 1938 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Douai Electric 1898 1950  
  Dunkerque Horse 1 June 1880 ?  
Accumulator (storage battery) 1899 1903  
Electric 1903 3 Nov 1952  
  Étaples Electric 1900 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Laon Electric 9 jul 1899 27 jan 1971 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Lille Horse 7 June 1874 ? Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)(?)[12]
Electric 1900 29 Jan 1966 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in). Urban tramlines abandoned by 1966.[12]
Lille tramway Electric 4 Dec 1909   Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in). Interurban lines not abandoned, and in continuous operation since 1909.[12]
  Maubeuge Electric 16 Mar 1902 1951 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Roubaix Horse 19 Mar 1877 ?  
Electric 1894 15 July 1956 [12]
  Saint-Quentin Electric 6 Mar 1899 27 May 1956 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Tergnier Electric 1910 1939 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Tourcoing Horse 19 March 1877 ?  
Electric 1894 15 July 1956 [12]
  Valenciennes Steam 1 Jan 1881 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)[13]
Electric 1914 2 July 1966 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Valenciennes tramway Electric 3 July 2006   [13]

Île-de-France[edit]

Paris:Line T3
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Trams in Fontainebleau Fontainebleau Electric 29 Sep 1896 31 Dec 1953 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Melun Electric 1901 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Trams in Paris Paris Horse 1855 ?  
Electric 1895 14 Aug 1938 [14]
Tramways in Île-de-France Electric 6 Jul 1992   Has grown to a system comprising 14 lines, 186.6 kilometres (115.9 mi) of track and 278 stops (2024)
Trams in Versailles Versailles Horse 11 Nov 1876 1896  
Electric 1896 3 Mar 1957  

Normandie[edit]

Caen
Le Havre
Rouen
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Avranches Electric Apr 1907 2 Aug 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Trams in Caen Caen Electric 21 Dec 1901 1937 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Caen Guided Light Transit Electric 15 Nov 2002 31 Dec 2017 The Caen Guided Light Transit was a Bombardier Guided Light Transit system rather than a standard rail-based tram system.
Caen tramway Electric 27 Jul 2019 Gauge: 1,435 mm. Caen's tramway replaced the former Bombardier Guided Light Transitsystem after one and a half year of upgrading works.
  Cherbourg Steam 22 May 1897 2 Aug 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 1910 1944 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Deauville Horse Oct 1876 c.1905 Gauge: 600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in)
  Elbeuf Electric 1898 1926  
  Le Havre Electric 1894 1951  
Le Havre tramwayLe Havre's old tramway Electric 12 Dec 2012    
  Le Tréport Electric 1902 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Trams in Rouen Rouen Horse 29 Dec 1877 1896  
Electric 1896 28 Feb 1953 [15]
Rouen tramway Electric 17 Dec 1994   [16]

Nouvelle-Aquitaine[edit]

Bordeaux
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Angoulême Electric 1900 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Arcachon Electric 6 Aug 1911 1930 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
B.A.B Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz Steam 2 Jun 1877 23 Apr 1922  
Electric 11 Jul 1922 31 Dec 1952  
B.L.B Steam 18 Oct 1888 31 Jan 1914 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 1 Feb 1914 1 Oct 1948 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
V.F.D.M Electric 3 Dec 1917 31 Jan 1939  
  Bordeaux Horse 4 May 1880 1901  
Electric 17 Feb 1900 8 Dec 1958  
Bordeaux tramway Electric 23 Dec 2003    
  Hendaye Horse 1906 1907 Gauge: 600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in)
Electric 15 Aug 1908 1 Jan 1937 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Limoges Electric 6 Jun 1897 2 Mar 1951 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Pau Electric 8 Sep 1900 1929 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Poitiers Electric 1899 1947 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)

Occitanie[edit]

Toulouse
Montpellier
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Aigues-Vives Steam ? ?  
  Albi Steam ? ?  
Petrol ? ?  
  Lourdes Electric 1899 1930 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Montpellier Electric 1 Jan 1898 31 Jan 1949 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Montpellier tramway Electric 30 June 2000    
  Nîmes Horse 1880 1900  
Electric 1899 1950  
  Perpignan Electric Sep 1900 Oct 1955 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Rodez Electric 1902 1920 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Sète Electric 1901 1935 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Toulouse Horse 31 Jul 1887 ?
Electric May 1906 7 July 1957  
Toulouse tramway Electric 11 Dec 2010   [17]

Pays de la Loire[edit]

Nantes
Angers
Le Mans
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
  Angers Electric 21 May 1896 May 1949  
Angers tramway Electric 25 June 2011   [18]
  Le Mans Electric 1897 1947 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Le Mans tramway Electric 17 Nov 2007    
  Les Sables d'Olonne Electric 1898 1925 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  Nantes Compressed air 13 Feb 1879 1917  
Electric 1913 25 Jan 1958  
Nantes tramway Electric 7 Jan 1985   [19]

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur[edit]

Marseille
Nice
Aubagne
Name of System Location Traction
Type
Date (From) Date (To) Notes
Aubagne tramway Aubagne Electric 1 sept 2014    
  Avignon Electric 1901 1932 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
New 1.435 metre standard gauge tramway due to be inaugurated on 19 October 2019.
  Cannes Electric 1899 1923 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
  La Ciotat Electric 1935 1955  
  Marseille Horse 21 Jan 1876 ?  
Steam 1892 ?  
Marseille tramway Electric 1900    
Trams in Nice Nice Horse 27 Feb 1878 ? Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Electric 1900 10 Jan 1953 Gauge: 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in)
Nice tramway Electric 24 Nov 2007    
  Toulon Horse Jul 1886 ?  
Electric Jul 1897 15 Apr 1954  

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Inline citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b Hamal, p16
  2. ^ Hamal, p44-45
  3. ^ a b Hamal, p112
  4. ^ "Pioneering PPP energises Dijon tram". Railway Gazette International. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  5. ^ "Accueil :: Le Tram - Grand Dijon". letram-dijon.fr. Archived from the original on 18 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Brest tramway opens". Railway Gazette International. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  7. ^ a b Hamal, p140
  8. ^ "Urban rail news in brief - November 2008". Railway Gazette International. 19 November 2008. Retrieved 6 January 2011.
  9. ^ Hamal, p72
  10. ^ Jaillard, Michel; Chenu, Marcel (1990). Plus d'un siècle de transports en commun à Reims (in French).
  11. ^ a b Hamal, p123
  12. ^ a b c d e Hamal, p28-29
  13. ^ a b Hamal, p147
  14. ^ Hamal, p87
  15. ^ Hamal, p106
  16. ^ Hamal, p107
  17. ^ "False start for tram line T1 in Toulouse". Railway Gazette International. 16 December 2010.
  18. ^ "Angers tram opens". Railway Gazette International. 29 June 2011.
  19. ^ Hamal, p78

Bibliography[edit]

  • Hamal, Thierry; De Coster, Roland; Stas, Dominique (1997). Flash 1997 - France (in French). Tram 2000.

Sources, references and external links: