Rouen tramway

The tramway consists of two lines that share a common route in the north in and diverting into two southern branches to Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray and Le Grand-Quevilly. The northernmost section of the line within Rouen city centre runs through a underground (subway) section in the Rouen city centre encompassing stations Joffre–Mutualité through Bouvoisine. At the Théâtre des Arts station, transfers between the tramway and Rouen's three bus rapid transit lines (T1-T3) can take place; while transfers between the tramway and the SNCF railway line take place at Gare–Rue Verte station. The remainder of the tramway to the south of the underground portion runs on the road surface and on reserved track. Although the system is technically a tramway, it is commercially branded and commonly called the "métro" by both the operator (TCAR) In September 1997 the tramway was extended to the Technopôle du Madrillet. Technical data • Length of the network : • Number of stops : 31 • Number of tramcars : 27 • Average commercial speed : • Maximum speed: • Daily traffic: 65,000 journeys • Opening hours: 5:00am to 11:30pm • Frequency of service: every 3 minutes (peak); every 20 minutes (off peak) Rolling stock The original rolling stock used by the system until 2012 was the GEC Alsthom Tramway Français Standard (TFS), All TFS trams were removed from service in 2012 and were subsequently shipped to Gaziantep, Turkey as an expansion fleet for a newly built tram line in that city. == Network Map ==

Rouen's first-generation tram network operated from 1877 to 1953. Horse-drawn carriages and omnibuses were introduced in the late 18th century but proved insufficient for the growing city. Steam trams followed, with the first line authorised to use steam power from Maromme from 29 December 1877 and full electrification by Thomson Houston in 1896, resulting in 15 million passengers carried that same year. The network expanded to 70 km (43 mi) in 1915, the longest electric network in France at the time. Despite a record year in 1928 with over 30 million journeys, the rise of private motoring, buses, trolleybuses, the Great Depression, and World War II led to the tramway's decline. In March 1950 the municipality decided to close the tramway, and the last trams of this system ran in 1953. == See also ==