Marseille Metro

The Marseille Metro ( French : Métro de Marseille ) is a subway / rapid transit system serving the city of Marseille , in southern France . The Marseille Metro opened in 1977. As of 2013, the system included two lines, partly underground, serving 28 stations, with an overall route of 21.5 kilometers (13.4 mi). [1] The first line (Line 1) opened on November 26 1977. After the opening of a second line and multiple extensions, the metro currently serves 28 stations, two of which (Saint-Charles) and (Castallane) provide interchange with another line.

The Metro uses the rubber-tyred metro technology developed by the RATP Paris transit operator ( French : RATP Group ) for Some lines of the Paris Metro . In 2013 the Marseilles Metro Approximately the carried 76.7 million passengers in 2012 [2] , making it a core portion of the transportation network in the Marseille urban area, with 49% of journeys using the metro.

Since 1986 the Metropolitan Transport Authority has operated the network, operating it since 2016 on behalf of Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropolis .

 

Timeline

Dated line Event
November 26th 1977 Line 1 First section opened between La Rose – Technopole of Château-Gombert and Saint-Charles
March 11th 1978 Extended southwards from Saint-Charles to Castellane
Marc 3rd 1984 Line 2 Section opened between Joliette and Castellane
February 1st, 1986 Extended southwards from Castellane to Sainte-Marguerite Dromel
February 14th 1987 Extended nortwards from Joliette to Bougainville
September 5th 1992 Line 1 Extended from Castellane to La Timone
May 5th, 2010 Extended eastwards from La Timone to La Fourragère
2018 Line 2 Planned extension northwards from Bougainville to Geze (1 new station – 0.9 miles (0.56 mi)) [3]
2025 Planned extension eastwards from St. Marguerite Dromel to St. Loup – Pagnol (5 or 6 new stations – between 4.1 km (2.5 mi) and 4.6 km (2.9 mi)) [4]
2029 Line 3 Planned opening between Bright and St Charles (15 new stations – between 9.6 km (6.0 mi) and 10 km (6.2 mi)) [4]

History

The first plans for a metro system in Marseille appeared in the early years of the 20th century, following the opening of the Paris metro. [5] Many plans were put forward, but quickly abandoned due to lack of financing. The most serious proposal emanated in 1918 from the Marseille Electricity Company , which proposed to build an underground network similar to the Paris metro. This proposal was made with fierce opposition from the Compagnie Générale Française de Tramways , which owned and operated the city’s tramway system . This project has been successfully completed, and the idea of ​​building a metro in Marseille has been abandoned for many decades.

The tramway system, badly damaged during the Second World War, was almost completely scrapped during the 1950s and replaced by nozzles (with the exception of line 68). However, by 1960, the city was suffering from severe congestion due to growth in automobile use. New metro projects resurfaced in the mid-1960s, as a means to alleviate traffic congestion. After several years of studies, the city council voted unanimously in 1969 for the creation of a metro system. [6]

Construction of the first line started on August 13, 1973 and lasted until early 1977. [7] Revenue operation started on November 26, 1977 is a portion of the line, between La Rose and Saint-Charles . The plan for the second line was approved in 1978. Construction began in 1980. [8] The central portion of the line, between Joliette and Castellane , opened on March 3, 1984. Southern and northern portions of the line were opened in February 1986 and February 1987 respectively.

Subsequent extensions took place in the following years on line 1, first between Castellane and Timone on September 5, 1992 (1.5 km, 2 new stations), [9] and then between La Timone and La Fourragère (2.5 km, 4 new stations ) in 2010. [10]

Current network

Infrastructure

This section needs expansion . You can help by adding to it . (February 2013)

Rolling stock

The rolling stock included 36 4-car trains, named MPM 76 . [11] Trains have a capacity of 472 passengers (including 182 seats). MPM 76 trains use the rubber tire metro technology developed by the RATP for the Paris metro.

Trains were built in Valenciennes , France, by a group of companies which are now part of Alstom group. A first batch of 21 3-car trains was delivered in 1976, for line 1. A second batch of 15 was delivered in 1983, for line 2. In 1985, a second batch of 15 was delivered in 1983, in line to increase capacity.

Commercial operation

The metro system is operated by the Marseille Transport Authority, on behalf of the Urban Community of Marseille Provence Métropole , which owns the infrastructure and the rolling stock.

Service is open every day, from 5am to 1am the next day. Trains run every 3 minutes during rush hours, and every 10 minutes during evenings.

The metro system transported 76.7 million passengers in 2012, [2] leading to an average daily ridership of over 210,000.

Planned developments

At 900-meter (0.56 mi) long extension of line 2 to Captain Gèze is expected to open in 2018, [1] north of the current Bougainville terminus station . [12] [13] The new Captain Gèze station will feature a bus station and a park and ridefacility. This short extension will have existing service tracks that currently lead to the Zoccola depot. The cost is estimated to be 80 million euros.

Several other long-term extensions, including a southern extension of line 2 from Sainte-Marguerite to St-Loup, are being considered.

The replacement of the MPM76 is expected to take place by the year 2020. [14] However, no decision has been made as of January 2013.

See also

  • List of Marseille Metro stations
  • Marseille tramway
  • List of metro systems

References

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e “Company ID – LE METRO” [ID card of the company – THE METRO]. rtm.fr (in French) . Retrieved September 28, 2013 .
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d “Corporate Identity Card – TRANSPORT AT THE HEART OF OUR MISSION: An Integrated Network ” [ID card of the company – TRANSPORT AT THE HEART OF OUR MISSION: An Integrated Network] . rtm.fr (in French) . Retrieved September 28, 2013 .
  3. Jump up^ “Metro: Captain Geze will not be delivered until 2018” . Provence . December 15, 2016.
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b “Marseille: The extension of the metro line 2 to the south on good rails” . 20 minutes . December 13, 2016.
  5. Jump up^ (Laupiès 1993, pp. 49-56)
  6. Jump up^ (Laupiès 1993, pp. 71-81)
  7. Jump up^ (Laupiès 1993, pp. 81-86)
  8. Jump up^ (Laupiès 1993, pp. 86-95)
  9. Jump up^ (Laupiès 1993, pp. 104-114)
  10. Jump up^ Jean-Jacques Fiorito (May 5, 2010). “Marseille: the metro offers four new stations” . Provence (in French).
  11. Jump up^ Bochet, Henri (March 1980). “The Marseille Metro”. General Review of Railways (in French). Dunod: 139-146. ISSN  0035-3183 .
  12. Jump up^ Vinzent, Julien (June 6, 2011). “Buses, coaches, cars and bikes will have an appointment at the future metro station Captain Gèze” . www.marsactu.fr .
  13. Jump up^ Fiorito, Jean-Jacques (September 27, 2011). “Marseille: and here is the future terminus of the metro line 2” . Provence (in French).
  14. Jump up^ Vinzent, Julien (May 25, 2012). “The renewal of the metro will cost” several hundred million euros ” ” . www.marsactu.fr (in French).

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