Lausanne tramway

Lausanne tramway line T1
Construction of the tram line in Renens
Overview
Locale	Vaud, Switzerland
Termini	Lausanne-Flon station Renens railway station (phase 1) Croix-Péage (phase 2)[1]
Stations	10 (phase 1) +6 (phase 2)[2]
Website	https://tramway-lausannois.ch/
Service
Type	Tramway
Operator	Transports publics de la région lausannoise[1]
History
Planned opening	late 2026 (phase 1) 2027 (phase 2)[1]
Technical
Line length	4.6 km (2.9 mi) (phase 1) 3.4 km (2.1 mi) (phase 2)[1]
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge[1]
Electrification	750 V DC Overhead catenary[3]

The Lausanne tramway (French: tramway lausannois or French: tramway de Lausanne) is a second generation tramway. Line T1 of the Lausanne tramway will link Lausanne-Flon, in the centre of Lausanne, to Renens, to the west of the agglomeration. Its opening in late 2026 will mark the return of trams (streetcars as opposed to light rail) after the former tram system closed in 1964, over 60 years prior.^[1]

Line T1 is part of the Projet d’Agglomération Lausanne-Morges (PALM), a project that also includes a third metro line between Lausanne-Gare and Blécherette, three BRT lines, the development of RER Vaud and CFF lines, and the modernization of the Lausanne–Échallens–Bercher line.^[4]

Stations

The following table lists tram stations from east to west, including stations for phase 2:^[2]

History

The modern tramway was outlined as early as 2004 and then submitted to the Confederation in 2007 as part of the agglomeration project. In 2012, there was a public inquiry to construct the new tramway along Rue de Genève as well as the construction of the Rampe Vigie-Gonin, a road project to compensate for the closure of two roads. The rampe would have taken space from La forêt du Flon, a wooded area that environmentalists wanted to preserve.^[6]

In August 2021, construction officially started after nine years of procedural delays to address criticisms of the project. One of the delays was over whether La forêt du Flon could be kept intact while constructing the tramway, which was possible.^[7] Another delay was over the construction of the Rampe Vigie-Gonin, which had been cancelled by 2019.^[8]

Description

Line T1 is being built in two phases: Phase 1 runs 4.6 km (2.9 mi) between Lausanne-Flon and Renens railway stations and is expected to open in late 2026. Phase 2 extends the line by 3.4 km (2.1 mi) from Renens station to Croix-Péage in Villars-Sainte-Croix, and is expected to open in 2027.^[1]

Phase 1 of line T1 runs roughly in an east–west direction from Lausanne-Flon to Renens stations roughly paralleling the railway line between the two stations on the north side of the railway line. From Lausanne-Flon, the line runs along the streets: Rue de Genève, Avenue de Morges, Route de Renens and Rue de Lausanne before arriving on the north side of Renens train station.^[9] Between the tram stops Flon and Port-Franc, the line runs in mixed traffic. Between Port-Franc and Galicien, the line runs in a central reservation on the street. Between Galicien and half way to Renen-Gare, the line runs on the side of the road. Approaching Renens-Gare, the line again runs in mixed traffic.^[2] The 10 stations for phase 1 are spaced approximately 500 metres (1,600 ft) apart.^[9]

Phase 2 extends the line from Renens-Gare curving north to Croix-Péage in Villars-Sainte-Croix. From Renens-Gare, the line will follow the streets Rue du Terminus, Route de Bussigny, Boulevard de l’Arc-en-Ciel, Route de Crissier, Route de Bruyères and Route de Sullens arriving at the Croix-Péage terminus near Route 9.^[10] From Renens-Gare to just beyond Pont-Bleu the line will be in mixed traffic, then in a centre-of-road reservation to mid-way between Arc-en-Ciel and Buyère and then on the side of the road to Croix-Péage. Between Bernie and Croix-Péage, the line will be on a green right-of-way.^[2]

The line will have seven sub-stations. Line T1 is the first tramline in Switzerland to use standard gauge tracks, the others using metric gauge.^[3]

At tram stations, boarding platforms will be 40 metres (130 ft) long and level with the tram floor for accessibility. With the exception of Renens-Gare, the same design will be used for all tram stations.^[5]

The planned trip time will be 15 minutes between Lausanne-Flon and Renens-Gare, and 24 minutes between Lausanne-Flon and Croix-du-Péage. The frequency between trams is expected to be every 6 minutes. The annual ridership is expected to be 18 million by 2030.^[11]

Fleet

The tram line will use 10 Stadler Tramlink trams which will run on standard gauge tracks. The seven-section, low-floor trams are 45 metres (148 ft) long and 2.650 metres (8 ft 8.3 in) wide, and have capacity for 316 passengers, 75 seated. The bidirectional trams have eight double-leaf door on each side^[1][4] with a system to fill the gap between the tram door and platform edge. Trams will operate at an average speed of 18 kilometres per hour (11 mph) versus 14 kilometres per hour (8.7 mph) for a standard trolleybus. The trams were constructed in Valencia, Spain.^[3]

The tram depot (garage atelier du tramway) is located just west of the Perrelet stop, on the south side of the line.^[2] It is connected to the mainline by a single-track bridge (Pont du Closel) over the CFF's Sébeillon railway line. With 5,600 square metres (60,000 sq ft) of surface area, the depot building can accommodate up to 15 trams. The building's basement has an area of 800 square metres (8,600 sq ft), and its roof has photovoltaic panels, green spaces and access to bring light and natural ventilation into the hall.^[12]

See also

• Trams in Lausanne - the first generation tramway network
• Lausanne Metro
• Lausanne–Bercher line

Notes and references

External links

• Tramway lausannois: project website for the modern Lausanne tramway (in French)
• Transports Lausannois (TL): official website (in French)