Rennes Metro
Overview | |||
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Native name | Métro de Rennes | ||
Locale | Rennes, Brittany, France | ||
Transit type | Rapid transit | ||
Number of lines | 1 | ||
Number of stations | 15 | ||
Daily ridership | 135,000 (2013) | ||
Annual ridership | 33 million (2013) | ||
Operation | |||
Began operation | 2002 | ||
Operator(s) | Service des Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rennaise (STAR) | ||
Technical | |||
System length | 9.4 km (5.8 mi) | ||
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
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The Rennes Metro (French: Métro de Rennes) rapid transit line serves the city of Rennes in Brittany, France.
Opened in 2002, it is based on the Siemens Transportation Systems VAL (véhicule automatique léger or light automatic vehicle) technology. There is one line, the A Line, with fifteen stations. There are 140,000 passengers each day.
A second line, the B Line, with an orientation north-east to south-west, is scheduled for 2019.
History
- 1986 : City Council decides to create a transport line on a south-western/north-eastern axis.
- 1989 : The municipality decides to use VAL technology.
- 1992 : The A Line project receives planning and environmental approvals.
- 1997 : Beginning of work on Line A.
- 2002 : Opening of Line A.
- 2005 : Three park-and-ride lots were set up
- 2006 : Creation of Korrigo card
- 2007 : City Council decides to create a second metro line (B)
- 2010 : The municipality decides to use CityVal technology.
- 2011 : The B Line project receives planning and environmental approvals.
- 2014 : Beginning of work on Line B
Line A
Opened on 15 March 2002, the A Line is based on the Siemens Transportation Systems VAL (véhicule automatique léger or light automatic vehicle) technology. There is one line, the 9.4-kilometre (5.8 mi) A Line, which runs north-west to south-east from J.F. Kennedy to La Poterie via Gare de Rennes (served by Gares metro station), with fifteen stations (thirteen of which are underground).
Services run between 05:20 and 00:40 each day (except Thursday, Friday and Saturday between 05:20 and 01:35), and with a waiting time of approximately 80 seconds between trains. From end to end, it takes around 16 minutes, with an average train speed of 32 km/h. All stations are equipped with platform screen doors ans lifts.
The system has 30 trains, each weighing 28 tonnes and 26 metres long, with a capacity of 170 passengers.
In January 2005, three park-and-ride lots were set up, offering 900 places to motorists. Two more opened in 2006–2007, able to accommodate an additional 700 vehicles.
On 1 March 2006, a card called KorriGo was created as a supplement to the ticket system to improve the metro traffic and the city's bus network.
The line is maintained by Service des Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rennaise (STAR), and managed by Keolis (an SNCF group company). It has a staff of approximately 100. It is operated from a control centre (poste de commande centralisée) situated in Chantepie. 120 cameras monitor the stations.
The station at La Poterie and viaducts on the line were designed by Norman Foster.
With a population of just 205,000 inhabitants for city proper (in 2002), Rennes was the smallest city in the world to boast a metro until 2008 (when Lausanne Metro opened). However in 2013, 425,000 people (211 000 in Rennes) are served by the network in 43 municipalities. On average, there are 135,000 metro trips each day; this figure is expected to rise to 180,000 in coming years, leading to possible gridlock during the rush hours.
Stations
The stations names has been chosen in the nearest existing streets or of places near the stations emplacements.
- J.F. Kennedy (former US President)
- Villejean-Université : University of Rennes 2
- Pontchaillou (elevated) : Teaching hospital
- Anatole France (French poet and journalist)
- Sainte-Anne (French queen and Duchess of Brittany) : city-center
- République : city-center
- Charles de Gaulle (former French President) : city-center
- Gares (SNCF interchange) : city-center
- Jacques Cartier (French navigator and explorer)
- Clemenceau (World War I French Prime Minister)
- Henri Fréville (former Rennes mayor)
- Italie
- Triangle
- Blosne
- La Poterie (elevated)
Station signage is in French and Gallo at Charles de Gaulle station and French and Breton at Gares station.
Gallery
- An elevated section of Metro
- The subsurface station, Sainte-Anne Quais
- Republique station
- Republique station
- Kennedy station
- Charles de Gaulle station
- Pontchaillou station
Future Plans
A second line, the B Line, with an orientation north-east to south-west, is scheduled for 2019. 19 2-car CityVal trainsets have been ordered for this line.[1]
See also
References
- ↑ "Siemens selected for Rennes metro Line B". Railway Gazette International. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rennes metro. |
- Interactive Rennes Metro Map
- STAR – official website (French)
- Projected metro line for 2015 (French)
- Rennes at UrbanRail.net (English)