Tram crossing Place Garibaldi, where it lowers its pantograph and is powered by batteries.
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Overview | |
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Native name | Tramway de Nice |
Locale | Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France |
Transit type | Light rail tram |
Number of lines | 1 |
Number of stations | 21 |
Daily ridership | 70,000 (2010) |
Operation | |
Began operation | 2007 |
Operator(s) | Veolia Transdev |
Technical | |
System length | 8.7 km (5.4 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Electrification | 750 V DC Overhead line |
The Nice tramway (French: Tramway de Nice) is a 8.7-kilometre (5.4 mi), single-line tramway in the city of Nice in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is operated by the Société nouvelle des transports de l'agglomération niçoise division of Veolia Transdev under the name Lignes d'azur .
Opened on 24 November 2007, it replaced bus lines 1, 2, 5 and 18. From the start, the system had 20 Alstom Citadis trams in service, providing a tram every 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 has gradually increased to a tram every four minutes in 2011.
Given the success of the T1 line, mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi decided to create additional lines. The West-East Line is to serve the Nice airport to the west through the construction of a multimodal center and the Port of Nice to the east. This line will run through a tunnel in the center of Nice. A future extension of the West-East line, north along the Var valley, is proposed. Another extension, running further west from the airport, across the Var, is also proposed. In addition, the Nice Côte d'azur urban region decided to extend line 1 to the Pasteur neighborhood.
The first tramway in Nice opened in 1879, was electrified 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 ceased service on 10 January 1953.
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.