Lille Metro

Lille Metro

Oscar Lambret metro station
Overview
Native name	Métro de Lille
Locale	Lille, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Transit type	Rapid transit
Number of lines	2[1]
Number of stations	60[1]
Daily ridership	271,230 (2011)[2]
Annual ridership	99 million (2011)[2]
Website	Transpole
Operation
Began operation	1983[3]
Operator(s)	Transpole
Technical
System length	45 km (28 mi)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
System map

Lille Metro
Legend
Line 2    CH Dron depôt CH Dron Bourgogne Pont de Neuville Phalempins Colbert Tourcoing - Centre Tourcoing - Sébastopol Carliers Mercure Canal de Roubaix Alsace Gare - Jean-Lebas Roubaix - Grand-Place Eurotéléport future Line 3 Roubaix - Charles-de-Gaulle Épeule - Montesquieu Croix - Mairie Saint-Philibert depôt Croix - Centre Saint-Philibert Wasquehal - Hôtel de Ville Wasquehal - Pavé de Lille Bourg Jean-Jaurès Maison des Enfants Mitterie A 22 Pont Supérieur Les Près Lomme - Lambersart Canteleu Fort de Mons storage Bois Blancs Fort de Mons Canal de la Deûle Mairie de Mons Port de Lille Mons Sarts Cormontaigne Saint-Maurice - Pellevoisin Montebello Gare Lille Europe Gambetta République - Beaux-Arts Wazemmes Rihour Porte des Postes Gare Lille Flandres connection between lines Mairie de Lille Porte d'Arras Lille Grand-Palais Porte de Douai future Gare de Lille- Saint-Sauveur SNCF Porte de Valenciennes CHR Oscar-Lambret Caulier CHR B-Calmette Fives Jeanne de Flandre Eurasanté Marbrerie Hellemmes Lezennes Pont de Bois Villeneuve-d'Ascq Hôtel de Ville RN 227 Triolo Cité Scientifique Quatre Cantons Quatre Cantons depôt    Line 1

The Lille Metro (French: Métro de Lille) is a driverless metro located in Lille, France. It was opened on 25 April 1983 and was the first to use the VAL (French: véhicule automatique léger, English: light automated vehicle) system. This VAL system was the first fully automated driverless metro of any kind in Europe.^[4] The metro is made up of 2 lines that serve 60 stations, and runs over 45 kilometres (28 mi) of route.^[1]

The metro forms part of a multi-modal public transport system covering the Lille metropolitan area, along with buses and trams, operated under the Transpole brand.

History

Construction started in 1978, and the first section was opened on 25 April 1983 between Quatre Cantons ("Four Townships") and République. On 2 May 1984 line 1 was completed, with a length of 13.5 kilometres (8.4 mi) (8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) underground), linking CHR B Calmette (centre hospitalier régional: "regional hospital centre") to Quatre Cantons via Gare de Lille Flandres. All 18 stations have doors between the platform and the train.

Line 2 opened on 3 April 1989 and it reached CH Dron (centre hospitalier: "hospital centre") near the Belgian border on 27 October 2000. It is 32 kilometres (20 mi) long with 43 stations.

Operations

Line 1 is 13.5-kilometre (8.4 mi) long (8.5 kilometres (5.3 mi) of which is underground) and serves 18 stations.^[5]

Trains are 2 metres (79 in) wide and 26 metres (85 ft) long (composed of permanently coupled two-car sets), and are rubber-tyred. Platforms are 52 metres (171 ft) in length (though only half of the platform length is currently open to the public), long enough for two units. Each unit can carry 156 passengers.

The metro operates from 5:00 a.m. until midnight, with trains every 1½ to 4 minutes (every 66 seconds during rush hour), and every 6 to 8 minutes early mornings and evenings.^[6] On Sundays there is a train every 2 to 6 minutes.^[6] A one-way ticket costs €1.50.^[7]

Planned capacity expansion

Since January 2013, work to double the capacity of Line 1 has been ongoing. The platforms are being lengthened to be used with new 52 metres (171 ft) long trains built by Alstom. This expansion should be complete in autumn 2017.^[8] The former VAL 208 of the first line will then be transferred to Line 2 to increase its passenger capacity as well.^[9]

Gallery

• 

  Port de Lille station.

• 

  One of the 60 Siemens VAL 208 trains.

See also

• Lille tramway
• List of metro systems

References

1. "Les chiffres clés" [Key figures] (in French). Transpole. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
2. "Les chiffres de fréquentation Transpole 2011" [The figures of frequentation Transpole 2011] (in French). Lille Transport - Parlons mobilité. February 11, 2012. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
3. "Qui sommes-nous? - Notre Histoire" [Who are we? - Our History] (in French). Transpole. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
4. Bushell, Chris, ed. Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1995-96. Surrey, United Kingdom: Jane's Information Group; 1995. p178, 472
5. "De 26 à 52 métres : un métro deux fois plus long pour une capacité de transport renforcée" [From 26 to 52 meters: a subway twice as long for increased transport capacity] (in French). Lille Metropole Communauté Urbaine. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
6. "Les lignes de métro" [The lines of the metro] (in French). Transpole. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
7. "Les titres occasionnels" [The occasional (titles)] (in French). Transpole. Retrieved 2013-09-25.
8. "Nouvelle ligne 1: Alstom entame la modification des rames" [New Line 1: Alstom starts the modification of trains] (in French). Lille Metropole Communauté Urbaine. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-26.
9. "La nouvelle ligne 1 : plus de de fluidité, plus de confort, plus de services" [The new line 1: more fluidity, more comfort, more services] (in French). Lille Metropole Communauté Urbaine. Retrieved 2015-06-26. Menés entre 2013 et 2017, ces travaux répondent à la hausse constante du trafic de la ligne 1. Ils visent à anticiper sa saturation future, par une augmentation de sa capacité de transport. [Carried out between 2013 and 2017, these works respond to the constant increase in traffic on line 1. They aim to anticipate its future saturation by increasing its transport capacity.]

External links

Media related to Lille Metro at Wikimedia Commons

• Interactive Lille Metro Map
• Transpole (French)
• Lille at UrbanRail.net (English)
• Lille VAL Automated Urban Metro (English)