| Lausanne Metro | |
|---|---|
| Info | |
| Locale | Lausanne |
| Transit type | Light rail, Rapid transit[1] |
| Number of lines | 2 |
| Number of stations | 28 |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 1991 |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) |
The Lausanne Metro system includes two lines in Lausanne, Switzerland, owned by two distinct companies and operated by a third. The Line M1 is a light metro, while the Line M2 is a fully automated metro which opened on 27 October 2008. A third line M3 is in planning. Lausanne has replaced Rennes as the smallest city in the world to have a full metro system.
Contents |
Line M1 |
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|---|---|
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1991 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 8 km (5.0 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge |
The Lausanne Métro Line 1 was opened on 24 May 1991. The line is owned by a company named TSOL (Tramway du Sud-Ouest lausannois) and this acronym is widely used by the commuters who use the line. Trains on the line are operated by the Transports publics de la région lausannoise (TL, formerly Tramways Lausannois). The M1 is a light metro with only three underground stations.
The line, which is 8 km (5 mi) long, links the centre of Lausanne, the major Universities (EPFL, UNIL) and Renens. The line is generally single track. At most stations a passing loop is provided to allow trains to pass, and a dedicated platform is provided for each direction. Exceptions to this are Bassenges, UNIL-Sorge and Provence stations, where the line is still single track serving one bidirectional platform.
| Station | Altitude | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Lausanne-Flon | ||
| Vigie | ||
| Montelly | ||
| Provence | ||
| Malley | ||
| Bourdonnette | ||
| UNIL-Dorigny | ||
| UNIL-Mouline | ||
| UNIL-Sorge | ||
| EPFL | ||
| Bassenges | ||
| Cerisaie | ||
| Crochy | ||
| Epenex | ||
| Renens CFF |
Line M2 |
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| Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stations | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Operation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 2008 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line length | 6 km (3.7 mi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) Standard gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lausanne Métro Line M2 uses the track formerly used by the Lausanne-Ouchy, and then a brand new extension towards Epalinges, crossing the whole city of Lausanne from north to south.
A Rubber-tyred metro is able to climb at high speed the Lausanne slopes (12% in some places ; 5.7% average on the whole line).
The Line M2 is entirely automated, managed from a central command station. This means that the operation is cheaper and that allows more adaptability during peak hours. The stations are equipped with platform screen doors and a dedicated station personnel assists commuters.
The M2 runs on its own right-of-way, with a double track (except in the tunnel under the CFF station due to high costs), underground for most (70%) of the route. The metro is the ideal solution to the security and congestion problems of the urban public transportation, since the subway can run without interfering with surface traffic.
The underground stations are located as close as possible to the surface. They are equipped with stairs, lifts and facilities for handicapped people. The Lausanne slopes have been used to create multi-level access, make ramp access easier and take advantage of natural light as much as possible .
(¹) Calculated with an average of 70 kg per passenger.
| Number of passengers/m² | Passengers per train | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominal load | 4 pax/m² | 222 |
| Full load | 6 pax/m² | 314 |
| Maximum load | 8 pax/m² | 406 |
The first train was delivered on 2 March 2006 in Lausanne. Since then, all the other trains have been delivered at a rate of two per month. When they arrived, the trains were stored in the CFF storage of Lausanne. Then, by autumn of 2006, the subway workshop facility having been completed, the vehicles were moved finally to the Vennes facility.
On 23 February 2005, part of the tunnel under construction collapsed under the Saint-Laurent square in the centre of Lausanne. More than 500 m³ of debris (water and earth) fell into the tunnel, forming a huge fifteen metre gap. The area was completely evacuated for a few days and consolidation and geological analysis work started. A large pocket of water had not been noticed during the initial explorations.
Repair work lasted for a few months. The incident fortunately had no major consequence; nobody was in the area of the collapse which had heavily damaged a shopping mall. Part of the budget had been allocated for such risks and the deadline for the construction in December 2008 was not directly affected.
On 27 October 2006, a construction worker died from injuries. He had fallen a few days before on the construction site at the level of the entrance of the CHUV.
On 28 July 2008 a high level manager for Alstom who had responsibility for the security system for the new lines was found hanging in the stairwell at the entrance to the Vennes station of the M2. The 45-year-old French man's death appeared to have been a suicide. [2]
| Station | Altitude | New/existing | Situation | Stopping time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ouchy | 373 m (1,224 ft) | existing | Outdoors | 70" |
| Jordils | 392 m (1,286 ft) | existing | Outdoors | 25" |
| Délices | 408 m (1,339 ft) | new | Indoors | 25" |
| Montriond | 420 m (1,378 ft) | deleted | Outdoors | - |
| Grancy | 425 m (1,394 ft) | new | Outdoors | 25" |
| Lausanne Gare CFF | 451 m (1,480 ft) | existing | Underground | 35" |
| Lausanne-Flon | 473 m (1,552 ft) | existing | Underground | 35" |
| Riponne - Maurice Béjart | 492 m (1,614 ft) | new | Underground | 35" |
| Bessières | 500 m (1,640 ft) | new | Underground | 25" |
| Ours | 517 m (1,696 ft) | new | Underground | 35" |
| CHUV | 570 m (1,870 ft) | new | Underground | 35" |
| La Sallaz | 610 m (2,001 ft) | new | Indoors | 35" |
| Fourmi | 651 m (2,136 ft) | new | Underground | 25" |
| Vennes | 683 m (2,241 ft) | new | Underground | 25" |
| Les Croisettes | 711 m (2,333 ft) | new | Underground | 70" |
The end station Les Croisettes has been designed to allow a future extension of the line to the north towards Epalinges-Village, or even Le Chalet-à-Gobet.
A line M3 is proposed to serve the new development area of La Blécherette [3] and the west of Lausanne (Malley, Renens Bussigny). Line M3 could be a metro similar to the M2 and would be in correspondence with M1, M2 and LEB railway at the station Lausanne-Flon. The M3 could take over the M2 line from Ouchy to Lausanne Gare and a new terminus for the M2 would be established[4].
The Lausanne-Ouchy railway was inaugurated in 1877 as a funicular. In 1959 the first overhaul took place by transforming the funicular into a rack railway under the name "métro". At that time, Flon and Gare CFF stations were demolished and replaced by concrete underground equivalents. The line was however always nicknamed "La Ficelle" (The String) by its users due to its funicular past and circulation above ground in the greenery for more than half of its run.
Connected to the Flon facilities, the freight trains from the main station to the storage area of the harbour (in Flon) travelled through this line until the construction of a direct connection between the freight station of Sébeillon and the Flon valley in 1954.
The line was finally closed to all traffic on 22 January 2006. The rolling stock will be sold to the French city of Villard-de-Lans which foresees the construction of a new rack railway, La Patache to ensure a link between the center of Villard and Le Balcon de Villard in 2008.
A bus service was put into operation to replace "La Ficelle" until the opening of the new metro M2. This service was called Métrobus (MB): the south loop linked Ouchy to the CFF station and the north loop linked the station to Montbenon (which is located right above the Flon area).
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