Nantes tramway

Tramway network in Nantes, France

The first line constructed was just over long and was a mostly level route operating east–west along the quays of the River Loire. The initial fleet comprised 22 trams, 2 locomotives and four open top trailers. A second line, running north–south and crossing both the original line and the River Loire was opened in 1888.

In 1911 the intention to electrify the network was announced by the mayor, Paul Bellamy, but work did not start until just before the outbreak of World War I. By 1915, 8 lines were in service, and work was not completed until the end of 1919. The company standardized its fleet of 100 tramcars, all on Brill trucks with vestibuled platforms. Further extensions were opened, and by 1932 there were 20 lines serving 14 routes. The network was centered at Place du Commerce, which is still today the center of Nantes's tramway network. During World War II, the network was heavily damaged by continued bombing, and several lines were immediately converted to bus operation due to the prohibitive cost of repairs. After the war, tram was seen as being obsolete, noisy and uncomfortable. The decision to replace all tram services by buses was made in 1949, with the last tram running in 1958.

By the end of the 1970s, transport in Nantes was heavily biased to the motor car. In an attempt to relieve congestion, the construction of a Highway along the quays of the River Edre was proposed. The destruction of the urban fabric this would have caused resulted in an outcry and the proposal was rejected. Various public transport solutions were investigated, including improved bus or trolleybus services (rejected as having too limited a capacity), and a metro (rejected as too expensive). Finally a tramway was proposed. At this point in time, the idea of constructing a new tramway was revolutionary. The trend throughout the world had been to close existing tramways rather than open new ones, and only three relatively small tram systems remained in France (the Lille, Marseille and Saint Étienne systems). In North America the very beginning of a light rail renaissance was just starting to be seen, with the Edmonton Light Rail Transit system opening in 1978, followed by the Calgary C Train and San Diego Trolley systems in 1981. No significant new tramway system had been built in Europe in many years. Against this background, Nantes's municipal council gathered a team of engineers to discuss the possibility of building a new tramway system. The project was set up on 10 February 1981 and financial details sorted. The government accepted financing 30% of the construction. Alstom was chosen for the construction of twenty tramcars. The tramway was finally re opened in January 1985, with a single line connecting Place du Commerce with Haluchère in the north east of the city. A month later the section from Place du Commerce to Bellevue in the west opened, resulting in a line that had 22 stations. This line, the core of the current line 1, was an immediate success and carried 42,000 passengers daily by the end of the first year. Line 1 was extended by and two stations from Haluchère to Beaujoire were added in April 1989. In January 2009, line 3 was extended some from Sillon de Bretagne to the pre existing bus depot of Marcel Paul, which was converted to also accommodate trams. A new terminal stop, also known as Marcel Paul, was created adjacent to the depot. In October 2012, a new branch was created at the eastern end of line 1, running to a terminus at Ranzay, as part of the first phase of the project to make a connection between lines 1 and 2. The same day, the first of the twelve new CAF Urbos trams, ordered in 2010, was commissioned.

The network is now 44 kilometres long and has 83 stations. In 2011, The traffic figures for the Tramway network are 266,300 journeys a day and 66.5 million journeys a year.

This was the first line to open in 1985. Originally running between Bellevue (today Mendes France Bellevue) and Haluchère (today Haluchère Batignolles) and entirely built on reserved track, following the trackbed of a line of the former tramway network. Line 1 serves the Stade de la Beaujoire along with Parc Des Expositions De La Beaujoire (the city's biggest exhibition center), the main railway station of Nantes, the city's main and largest public library and the region's and Nantes's largest shopping mall Atlantis Le Centre along with Nantes's Zenith in the suburb of Saint Herblain. The line is normally operated with two overlapping alternate services, with one running between Beaujoire and François Mitterrand, and the other between Ranzay and Jamet. With 28.7 million journeys made in 2011, line 1 is the busiest line on the network as it serves the very heart of the city as well as major facilities of the city and is one of the busiest Tramway lines in France and Europe. Line 1 is also prone to saturations all year round especially at peak times and on weekends.

Line 2 transported 19.1 million passengers in 2011 making it the second most used Tramway line in Nantes and one of the busiest in France. As with line 1, line 2 at rush hours is subject to saturation as it serves the campus of the University of Nantes at Petit Port, Nantes's hippodrome and main sports facilities, and Hôtel Dieu Nantes's main and largest hospital. In September 2007, Line 2 changed its course on its southern part, giving some of its former tracks to line 3 and having a new southern terminus westward, now located at Pont Rousseau in Rezé adjacent to Rezé Pont Rousseau station.

Line 3 began operation in August 2000 and was extended in 2007. Line 3 now also runs on the former southern tracks of line 2, towards its terminus at Neustrie, an important transport hub near Nantes Atlantique Airport and Airbus facilities. A shuttle bus links the short distance between the airport and Neustrie giving an alternative to the "Navette Aéroport" linking downtown Nantes and Nantes Atlantique Airport. In 2011, 18.7 million journeys were made on the line making line 3 the third most used line on the network. It also serves as line 2 Hôtel Dieu, Nantes's main and largest hospital, Tour Bretagne and the Route de Vannes, a large superstore driving area spreading along several kilometers, coupled with a shopping mall and a hypermarket.

A connection between lines 1 and 2 is due to open in 2013 on the northern part of the network. The link will take the form of an extension of the branch of line 1 to Ranzay, opened in 2012, to Recteur Schmitt on line 2, creating two new stations, "Babinière sud" and "Martin Luther King". The planned tramway expansion has not been realized by march of 2023 according to the network map below.

The new MRT lines 4 and 5 have no longer used a LRT system but BRT. Line 4 named Busway started 2006 on 7 km with 15 bus stops serving 26 500 riders a day. 2015 it attracted twice as many. 2013 it was BRT certified gaining bronce excellence. Due to still increasing ridership bi articulated electric buses were ordered in 2019. Nantes gained the UITP award 2021 for Operational and Technological Excellence of the electric bus system.

The fleet is composed of 91 tramcars of three types, two of which are the TFS 1 and the Adtranz Incentro. Both types serve all three lines.

In June 2020, Semitan ordered 61 Alstom Citadis trams for delivery from 2022 in order to enter service in 2023. The seven section articulated vehicles will be in length and will be 100% low floor. They will replace the TFS 1 trams.

The network is operated by Semitan, known as TAN for short. Semitan is responsible for the whole public transport network throughout the Nantes Metropole (Greater Nantes), and the Metropole has a majority shareholding in the company. Transdev, which is also involved in the operation of several other tram systems, including the Grenoble, Montpellier, Nottingham and Strasbourg systems, has a minority shareholding in Semitan. This allows some exchange of information and assistance between these systems. As an example, the tram drivers for Montpellier were trained in Nantes.

All stations have realtime passenger information LED displays showing realtime estimated passage of the next tram, large round clocks, speakers only used for special announcements, automatic ticket machines which sell a wide range, seating and shelters. Some major stations have staffed ticket offices and connect with other modes of transport such as Nantes buses and Lila buses.

Nantes's Tramways do not run 24 hours a day. Service on the network starts at 04:00 and runs to 01:00 on weekdays and Sundays, and from 04:00 to 03:00 on Saturdays. Delays occur occasionally, mainly due to demonstrators or minor incidents, and maintenance work on the network is done mostly during summers.

The TAN network in Nantes uses paper tickets and passes, though in the near future contactless smartcards will replace them. There are no travel zones on the network in Greater Nantes. Tickets and passes allow free transfer and are universally valid on the Tramway, Busway, Nantes buses, Navibus, and suburban trains within Nantes Métropole. Tickets are not sold inside the trams, but ticket machines (which accept cash and credit cards) are present at every Tramway and Busway station. Tickets must be validated inside the trams when boarding. There are also some staffed ticket offices opened for limited periods only.

Semitan issues singles trip tickets (Ticket 1 h) valid for one hour, a 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets 1h) valid one hour each, a discounted 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets 1h Tarif réduit) valid one hour each, an airport transit ticket (Ticket navette aéroport), a 24 hour ticket (Ticket 24h) valid an entire day for one traveller and a 24 hour ticket valid an entire day for up to four persons (Ticket 24h/4 personnes). Semitan also sells Lila and Métrocéane tickets. Lila: Single trip tickets (Ticket unité Lila) valid two hours on the Lila network (departmental buses in Loire Atlantique) and one hour on the TAN or STRAN (Saint Nazaire buses) networks when transiting from Lila, a 10x saver ticket booklet (Carnet de 10 tickets Lila) valid two hours each on the Lila network and one hour on the TAN or STRAN networks when transiting from Lila.

Semitan issues a wide range of monthly and annual passes for different categories of travellers depending on their age and working conditions. Free transportation is granted to travellers with low revenues. Semitan also sells monthly, termly and annual Lila, Métrocéane and Pratik+ passes, for several categories of persons depending on their age and working conditions.

In 2012, 69.2 million journeys were made on the tramway system, where a journey is defined as a single boarding on a single vehicle. Of these, 30.1 million were on line 1, 20.3 million on line 2 and 18.8 million on line 3. On a typical weekday during the school term in 2012, approximately 274.300 journeys were made on the network, with 113.910 journeys a day on line 1, 85.740 on line 2 and 74.650 on line 3. In providing this service, the cumulative distance travelled by the tram fleet in 2007 was approximately 4.5 million kilometres.