Tramway de Valenciennes
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The Valenciennes tram is a light rail system in the Valenciennes urban area in the Nord département of northern France. One line has been completed, and eventually the network will include four lines, be 48 km long and serve sixteen cities and villages.
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[edit] Former network
The former Valenciennes network was opened in 1881, and at the peak of its development reached the Belgian border. It closed in July 1966.
[edit] Network
[edit] Line 1
Line 1 (Université - Dutemple, 19 stations) opened on July 3, 2006. It is 9.5 km long, services five cities or villages of the Valenciennes area, at a cost of €242.75 million. Citadis 302 from Alstom has been selected to transport the first passengers.
The line starts in a nearly rural area in the grounds of the University of Valenciennes, then goes north through a commercial mall and the poorer housing areas of La Briquette. It runs through the center of Valenciennes, from Porte de Paris stop to the railway station. Originally the line was to go through the Place d'Armes in front of the city hall, but instead it uses the nearby Rue de la Vieille-Poissonnerie. Beyond the railway station, the line reaches the suburban city of Anzin, where it runs through former industrial areas, now abandoned, and then reuses the former Abscon - St-Waast railway line from St-Waast stop to Dutemple terminus.
A study on a single-track extension from St-Waast stop to Valenciennes hospital is being carried out.
[edit] Line 2
Line 2, from Valenciennes to Denain (Dutemple - Espace Villars, eight stations), was formally opened on August 31, 2007. Commercial services began three days later.[1] It is 8.8 km long.
The second largest city of the Valenciennes area, Denain wants to improve its transportation capabilities. The line reuses a 6.5 km long section of the former railway platform from Denain to Valenciennes, which was one of the oldest railways in France (line Abscon - Saint-Waast: opened in 1838). The cost of the line is 69 M€.
Two additional intermediate stations, Les Grémonts and Barrière Fifine, could be added in a second phase.
[edit] Future lines
Line 3, Anzin - Vieux-Condé, 13 km long single track tramway (23 stations) with crossings at the stations, scheduled for 2010. Construction should start in 2008.
Line 4, Valenciennes - Quiévrain (Belgium), study underway, scheduled for 2011.
Beyond these two lines, the following extensions are envisaged:
- from Denain to Douchy-les-Mines: the terminus of line 2 at Espace Villars in Denain provides the right orientation towards the city of Douchy-les-Mines.
- towards Raismes: along avenue Anatole-France to place de Raismes. The three-way junction in Anzin may be difficult, so it will be necessary to use either the Raismes branch or the Vieux-Condé branch (Line 3) as a shuttle.
[edit] Gallery
 Université station |
 Northern end of line 1 (Dutemple) awaiting extension towards Denain |
 Southern end of line 1 (Université) |
 Platform on the former Denain - Valenciennes railway (June 2006) awaiting its transformation into Line 2 of the Valenciennes tram |
 Same location on the platform on the former Denain - Valenciennes railway in February 2007 |
 Citadis in front of Valenciennes railway station |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official web site
- Construction
- Abscon - Saint-Waast-la-Haut
- Pictures of construction of Line 2 on the web site of the city of Hérin
- Trams in France page
[edit] References
- ^ Valenciennes tramway extends. Railway Gazette International (October 2007).
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