Bordeaux

Overview

For a long time, the French city of Bordeaux had an extensive tramway network. The first horse tramway line opened May 4, 1880 between Place des Quinconces and Boulevard Jean Jaques Bosc. Electric tram service on the network began in February 1900, and a new company was incorporated: Compagnie Française des Tramways Électriques et des Omnibus de Bordeaux (TEOB), which eventually operated 25 different urban routes. In the suburbs, several different companies operated tram lines: Compagnie du tramway de Bordeaux-Bouscat au Vigean (BBV), incorporated May 14, 1892; Compagnie des tramways électriques Bordeaux-Pessac (TPB), incorporated January 16, 1897; and Compagnie du tramway de Bordeaux à Léognan, incorporated April 6, 1897. These companies formed Tramways Suburbains de Bordeaux (TSB) December 31, 1921. Their mainly metre-gauge lines were then rebuilt to standard gauge.

On April 25, 1952, there was a new contract with Compagnie Générale Française de Transports et d'Entreprises (CGFTE) to operate the network. The municipality and the new company wanted to substitute buses for the trams, and the last of the tramway lines was closed in 1958 (lines 9 and 10 on March 1, 1958, and lines 7 and 8 on December 7, 1958).

But, like in many other cities, traffic jams became prevalent in the 1970s and 1980s and the bus transit was not very efficient. Between 1984 and 1994, Bordeaux planned a VAL metro project (similar to those in the French cities of Lille and Toulouse, and at the Orly Airport in Paris), but, when Alain Juppé become the mayor of Bordeaux, he chose to rebuild tramway lines instead. Today the network is operated by TBC (Trams et Bus de la Communauté urbaine de Bordeaux) who assumed operation from CGFTE on July 3, 2004. TBC is a society owned by Connex Bordeaux, a subsidiary of Veolia Transports, who have an 8 year contract to operate the system.

To date, three lines have been built:

• Line A: Initial operating segment between Mériadeck shopping center on the west end, through the city center and across the river Garonne to two eastern branches: Lormont and Cenon. Opened December 21, 2003. The west end was extended to Hôpital Pellegrin and Saint-Augustin, September 26, 2005. Extensions are planned to Mérignac on the west end; from Lormont to Bassens, and from Cenon to Floirac on the east end branches.
• Line B: Initial operating segment between Place des Quinconces on the north end and Pessac in the south, partially opened May 15, 2004 and the rest on July 3, 2004. Extensions are planned to Pessac-Centre on the south end and to Bacalan on the north end.
• Line C: Operates between Place des Quinconces in the north and Gare Saint-Jean in the south. Opened April 24, 2004. Extensions are planned from Gare Saint-Jean to Bègles on the south end and from Place des Quinconces to Les Aubiers on the north end.

Present total length of the network is 24.6km, but the second phase of the construction will nearly double the length to 43.3km. The second phase extensions will begin opening in 2007.

The tram vehicles are Alstom's "Citadis" standard vehicle used in many other cities in Europe. Bordeaux has two types: Type 302, 100% low floor vehicles with five articulated body sections; and Type 402, 100% low floor vehicles with seven articulated body sections. There are 14 Type 302 units and 56 Type 402 units. Part of the system uses a ground level power supply but the outer ends use standard catenary power lines.

The Bordeaux trams are each dedicated to a particular town in the region. For instance tram 2244 is named "Ville de Saint Pétersbourg", and tram 2246 is "Ville de Castelnuovo-Berandenga".

More Information

Travelers should visit the official web site for any updates to the fares and schedules as presented in this article.

Official Site - Communauté urbaine de Bordeaux
Official Site - TBC (Trams et Bus de la CUB)
Official Site - TBC - Map of Bordeaux Transportation Routes
Official Site - TBC - Map of Bordeaux Tramway Extensions