Nice tramway

This article is about the new tramway of Nice, for the old network, see Tramway de Nice et du Littoral

Tramway de Nice
Background
Locale	Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Transit type	Tram
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	21
Daily ridership	70,000 (2010)
Operation
Began operation	2007
Operator(s)	ST2N
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
System map Tramway de Nice Line 1 Legend Las Planas Comte de Falicon Le Ray Gorbella Valrose Université Borriglione Libération (For Nice CP station ) Marseille-Ventimille Railway line Gare Thiers (For Nice Ville station) Jean Médecin Points allowing half-line operation if place Masséna is closed Masséna Unelectrified section (crossing of place Masséna) Opéra-Vieille Ville Points allowing half-line operation if place Masséna is closed Cathédrale-Vieille Ville Unelectrified section (crossing of place Garibaldi) Garibaldi Acropolis Palais des Expositions Marseille-Ventimille Railway line Vauban St-Jean d'Angely Université St-Roch Virgile Barel St-Charles Pont Michel

The Nice tramway is a tram system of 8.7-km rail in Nice, France, currently composed of one line, and operated by the Société nouvelle des transports de l'agglomération niçoise, under the trade name of Lignes d'azur. Opened on 24 November 2007, it replaces bus lines 1, 2, 5 and 18. At its start-up, twenty Alstom Citadis trains were put into circulation, providing a frequency of seven minutes.

Since its inception, the number of passengers has increased from 70,000 per day in 2008 to 90,000 per day in 2011. The frequency of trams is to gradually increase from seven to five minutes, even four minutes by 2011.

Given the success of the T1 line, mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi decided to create two other lines, which are planned to go into service beginning in 2015. Line 2 is to serve the Nice airport to the west through the construction of a multimodal center and the Port of Nice to the east. Line 3 will cross the valley of the Var. In addition, the Nice Côte d'azur urban region decided to extend line 1 to the Pasteur neighbourhood.

History

The former tram

Main article: Tramway de Nice et du Littoral

The first tramway in Nice, the Tramway de Nice et du Littoral, appeared in 1900, and was followed by a departmental network in 1906. The entire network was electrified in 1910. In the 1920s, the network had 11 lines, some of which were partially used for goods transport. However, the tram was criticised and was replaced by buses on some lines beginning in 1927. The last tramway in Nice disappeared on 10 January 1953.

The current tram

A Nice tramway car at Place Massena.

Part of the Nice tramway track is lined by grass.

Like many other French cities, Nice has major traffic problems, including the fact that most economic activities are concentrated in the centre. To overcome these problems, studies on the implementation of transit in dedicated lanes were conducted in 1987. The city of Nice began to implement dedicated bus lanes in 1997, and launched a study on the implementation of a tram line in 1998.

Trams were chosen because they appeared to be more reliable than buses, since they are not subject to the vagaries of traffic, but they are less expensive than a subway line. The tram was declared a public utility in 2003 and work began the same year; the line was placed in service on 24 November 2007 after several weeks of technical trials, even though construction was not fully completed.

In the months following the launch of the tram, there were between 65,000 and 70,000 passengers daily; the number rose to 90,000 by January 2011.

Network

The Nice tramway was designed to serve most of the population of Nice. As the city is situated on hilly ground by the sea, the line was drawn as a U shape, passing through the city centre.

There is currently only one line, served by two termini: Las Planas and Pont Michel. A second line, which would connect the city centre with the airport, is under discussion.

Las Planas terminus

A Nice tramway car pulling into the depot at Las Planas.

The tram depot is situated at the northwestern terminus of the line in the neighbourhood of Le Rouret, where the Count of Falicon and the Marquis of Rouret once owned large villas and many farms dotted the land.

Above the tram terminus sport and cultural centres have been built. The plaza in front of the station has been raised and planted, with a fountain of water jets installed.

Fontaine du Temple

The Fontaine du Temple neighbourhood where the Comte de Falicon tram stop is built has been remodelled for the arrival of the tramway. The plaza has been repaved and will host an outdoor market.

Tram and art

Art works are used throughout the line, including sculptures of figures by Jaume Plensa, on the top of pylons on the Place Massena. Michel Redolfi designed the sound system. Artists Benjamin Vautier, known as "Ben" (who designed the station name signs), the Mado la Niçoise, Michael Lonsdale and others make voice announcements inside the tram. Sounds and voices are different depending on the hours, seasons, etc. The thirteen artists selected to decorate the tramway are:

• Ben (Benjamin Vautier)
• Michael Craig Martin
• Gunda Förster
• Yann Kersalé
• Ange Leccia
• Stéphane Magnin
• Maurizio Nannucci
• Jean-Michel Othoniel
• Pascal Pinaud
• Jaume Plensa
• Emmanuel Saulnier
• Pierre di Sciullo
• Sarkis Zabunyan
• Jacques Vieille.

Rolling stock

The cars of the Nice tramway are unique and have been designed to blend in with the Niçois architecture. They are based on the Alstom Citadis family of tramcars and were built near La Rochelle, Poitou-Charentes. A standard 5-car tram measures 35 m but extra carriages may be added, bringing the length to 45 m. The tram is 2.65 m wide and can carry 200 passengers at 18 km/h compared to 11 km/h for the bus. It uses the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge.

Power supply

Nice tramway was originally to use the ground-level power supply third rail system as used by Bordeaux tramway. However, this was abandoned in favour of the more conventional overhead power supply cables providing 750V DC, except where the tram crosses the Place Masséna and Place Garibaldi, when it lowers its pantograph and relies on its onboard nickel metal hydride batteries to cross these large open spaces, where overhead wires would be an eyesore.

See also

• Trams in France
• List of town tramway systems in France

External links

Media related to Nice tramway at Wikimedia Commons

• (French) Official website
• (French) ST2N official website
• (English) The Nice tramway