The total budget for the first line, re-evaluated in 2008, is around €350m (€47m for the trams), up from the 2004 estimate of €250m. Main features for Line A: • North-South connection across the metropolitan area, connecting
Avrillé (third most populous town ) to
La Roseraie (most populous district in
Angers). • Non-stop service from 5.30 AM until 0.30 AM (19 hours a day) • • 25 stations • End to end journey time of 37 minutes; • Average speed of 20 km/h (13 mph) • 6 minute headways during peak hours. • an estimated 35,000 passengers expected daily. As the line goes on both banks of the
Maine, a new bridge was built to allow the trams to cross the river. It connects Angers' University Hospital Centre to
Saint-Serge. This 270m bridge is accessible to bicycles and pedestrians as well as emergency vehicles.
Stations • Angers-Roseraie • Jean Vilar • Jean XXIII • Bamako • Strasbourg • Place Lafayette • Les Gares • Foch-Haras • Foch-Maison Bleue • Ralliement • Molière • Saint-Serge Université • Berges de Maine • C.H.U-Hôpital • Capucins • Jean Moulin • Les Hauts De Saint Aubin • Verneau • Terra Botanica • Plateau Mayenne • Bois du Roy • Acacias • Saint Gilles • Bascule • Avrillé-Ardenne
Advantages • Good public transport system for
Avrillé (third town in the metropolitan area after
Angers and
Trélazé), bringing more life to the city centre and assisting with the development of new neighbourhoods • Connecting new districts:
Plateaux de la Mayenne and
des Capucins • Tram station close to
Terra Botanica • Connecting important facilities such as the University Hospital Centre (4,500 employees and 3,000 visitors a day),
Angers Saint-Laud railway station and the administrative city • The new bridge on the
Maine is used by trams, bicycles and pedestrians between the hospital and the
Gaumont Film Company studios. • A better connections to the
Angers city centre and improved traffic flows • A more attractive city centre (including a larger pedestrian area) • Complementarity of different transport types around the central connection point,
Angers Saint-Laud railway station and bus station • Connecting
La Roseraie as part of the urban renovation of the district.
Drawbacks • Line A passes through
place du Ralliement, which will still be accessible for pedestrians, emergency and delivery vehicles as well as bicycles, but buses will not have access to it. == Rolling stock ==