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| Geneva tramway network | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 AStadler Tango in Geneva. | |||
| Operation | |||
| Locale | Geneva,Switzerland | ||
| Open | 1862 (1862) | ||
| Status | Open | ||
| Lines | 5 | ||
| Operator(s) | Transports Publics Genevois | ||
| Infrastructure | |||
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge | ||
| Electrification | 600VDCCatenary | ||
| Stock | 46 Duewag-Vevey 39BombardierCityrunner 32Stadler Tango | ||
| Statistics | |||
| Route length | 44.33 km (27.55 mi)(2022) | ||
| |||
| Website | http://www.tpg.ch Transports Publics Genevois(in French) | ||
TheGeneva tramway network (French:Réseau tramway de Genève) is anetwork oftramways forming the core element of thepublic transport system inGeneva, Switzerland. It is operated byTransports Publics Genevois (TPG), and is supplemented by theGeneva trolleybus system and theGeneva bus system.
Opened in 1862, the network had grown sufficiently by 1920 to serve large parts of the surrounding countryside. However, by 1960 it had contracted to just one line. Since 1995, it has been greatly expanded. It presently has five tram lines, and further expansions are planned. The network extends into France, with line 17 going toAnnemasse, making Geneva one of the only cities in the world with a tram system that crosses an international border (the only others beingStrasbourg, between France andGermany, andBasel, between France, Germany and Switzerland).
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Geneva's and Switzerland's first trams ran on 19 June 1862, with the opening of ahorsecar tramway betweenPlace Neuve andCarouge. In 1889, asteam tramway was opened, and in 1894 Geneva's first electric tram entered service. Finally, in 1899, theCompagnie Genevoise des Tramways Électriques (CGTE), predecessor of the TPG, was inaugurated.
The CGTE set itself the goal of unifying the various systems. All lines were electrified andconverted to a uniformmetre gauge.
For nearly three months in 1904, the CGTE also operated the steepestadhesion railway in Switzerland. The incline reached 11.8%, but the dangers posed by such steep inclines brought about the swift demise of this line.
In the 1920s, the city and the canton had a large network of urban and suburban tramways. As of 1923, a total of 120 km (75 mi) of tramways had been built. The network extended into the countryside, and even across the border into France.
In 1925, the CGTE began to convert itsinterurban lines to bus operation. This process continued in the city centre, where the lines were partly replaced bytrolleybuses. By 1969, the network had shrunk to just one 8 km (5.0 mi) long tramway, which was served byline 12 (Moillesulaz–Carouge). The good technical condition of the tramcars and the fact that they had not yet been written off, led to the provisional retention of the last tramway.
In the 1970s, concepts were developed to connect the relatively large suburban communities ofMeyrin andOnex to the remaining tramway once again, with an appropriately modernlight railway. However, all of these ideas, and also the investments necessary for the maintenance of the remaining infrastructure in the medium term, exceeded the abilities of the privately owned CGTE. Apopular initiative demanding the nationalization of the CGTE was then adopted, and on 1 January 1977 the CGTE was transformed into the TPG, an autonomous government agency of the canton of Geneva.
In 1978, the tracks of the last remaining tramway were renewed under the auspices of the "new" TPG. Planning of the proposed new lines was addressed. However, it was only on 12 June 1988, with the adoption of a new cantonal law about public transport, that the first concrete building proposals were presented. From 1995, these proposals then became the basis of larger network extensions.
By that time, the most pressing modernisation of existing operations had already occurred. In 1984, inBachet-de-Pesay in themunicipality ofLancy, construction work had begun on the new Bachet tram depot. To connect the new facility with the existing network, the route ofline 12 was extended on 27 September 1987 by one kilometre (0.6 mi) fromCarouge toBachet. The sidings and maintenance facility in Bachet were opened in 1988, and in 1990 the associated tram and trackwork construction workshop was commissioned. Finally, in 1992, the new administration building was opened. Since then, it has been the headquarters of the TPG.
In 1987–1989, the TPG procured a total of 45 new, partlylow floor,articulated trams, based on the prototype Be 4/6 tram no. 741, which had joined the TPG fleet in 1984. The new trams were supplied byAteliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey (ACMV) inVilleneuve, Vaud, in collaboration withDuewag andBBC /ABB. The colloquial expression "DAV", which is used to denote these vehicles, is an acronym forDüwag - Ateliers de Vevey. Following this new procurement, TPG's existing fleet of old trams could be completely withdrawn, as future network expansion, including the introduction of new lines 13 and 16, had already been taken into account when the order for the new trams was placed.
In 1988, areferendum on the proposed new network expansion projects was unsuccessful. The first phase of development of the network therefore became the construction of a centralPlainpalais–Carouge–Bachet–Palettes–Acacias–Plainpalais ring link, and the crossing of theRhône to theGenève-Cornavin railway station, with a continuation to thePlace des Nations andUnited Nations Office at Geneva.
On 28 May 1995,line 13 (Cornavin–Bachet) was opened, and trams returned to the other side of the Rhône. On 28 June 1997,line 13 was extended fromBachet toPalettes and on 28 March 1998,line 16 (Moillesulaz–Cornavin) was put into operation. On 14 December 2003,line 13 was extended fromCornavin to Nations.
The following year, on 11 December 2004,line 15 entered service; it ran on a new route fromLancy-Pont-Rouge viaAcacias toPlainpalais, and continued from there viaCornavin station toNations. From 10 December 2005, this new section was also served byline 17, which ran fromPlainpalais toEaux-Vives station.
Due to the increased need for rolling stock resulting from the network expansions after 2000, more trams were procured. Initially, the TPG ordered 21Flexity Outlook Cityrunners fromBombardier Transportation for delivery in 2004-2005, with an option on another 17 vehicles; the option was exercised at the end of 2007.
On 13 May 2006, upon the entry into service of a new section betweenPalettes andLancy-Pont-Rouge, the ring link was completed, and with it the first phase of the network's expansion. The new ring link section facilitated the extension ofline 15 andline 17 toPalettes andBachet, respectively. From the day the ring link was completed, the four tram lines operating on it,lines 12, 13, 15 and 17, no longer terminated there, but changed their numbers at designatedstops:line 12 becameline 17 at theBachet stop, andline 13 becameline 15 at thePalettes stop. In 2009, there was another alteration in the way the lines serviced the ring link:line 12 began switching toline 15 at thePalettes stop,line 13 started to reverse at thePalettes loop andline 17 was redirected to turn around at theLancy-Pont-Rouge loop.
The next network expansion phases included theTram Cornavin–Meyrin–CERN (TCMC) project, the construction of which began in early 2006, and theTram Cornavin–Onex–Bernex (TCOB), for which theSwiss Federal Council awarded the concession in January 2007.
The first section of the TCMC, betweenCornavin andAvanchet, was opened on 8 December 2007. Initially, it formed part of the extendedline 16 (Moillesulaz–Avanchet) and the newline 14 (Bachet–Avanchet). On same date,line 17 was extended, fromEaux-Vives station to the disusedChêne-Bourg station, and thus revived scheduled services on the short local branch line, including its terminal loop, after a long absence.
The first TCMC section was built in a double track configuration. However, the absence of anyballoon loop at the provisional terminus atAvanchet, or at the permanent termini atMeyrin–Gravière andCERN, as well as the inclusion on this section of several stations withisland platforms, made necessary the exclusive use of bidirectional vehicles to run services on the section. As the numbers of the Flexity Outlook trams in the fleet were then rather limited, the TPG exercised its existing option for 17 more vehicles, while in the meantime the previous through-connection ofline 12 withline 16 at theMoillesulaz terminus had to be suspended.
According to various sources, the opening of the second stage of the TCMC (Avanchet–Meyrin) took place on 12 December 2009, with the entry into service of the section toMeyrin (Gravière). On 30 April 2011, operations commenced on the section toCERN.
The TCOB route toBernex P+R, which includes, amongst other things, a second crossing of the Rhône, went into service at the end of 2011. The first – very short – section of this route, betweenCoutance andGenève-Cornavin station, had already commenced operations at the timetable change in December 2010. A newline 18 ran on the route, and was extended toCERN in May 2011.
For the inauguration of the TCOB route, the TPG ordered 32Tango trams, made by the Swiss companyStadler Rail. Like the Cityrunners, the Tango trams are bidirectional.
After the new route toBernex P+R was commissioned, the network was simplified. There are now only four tram lines, nos.12,14,15 and18. The use of the previous lines13,16 and17 were discontinued, and only one line now operates on most section of track. Although these changes simplify tram operations, they also mean that points on the inner city sections, and in particularGenève-Cornavin station, can no longer be reached from all parts of the network (e.g.Genève-Cornavin is no longer directly served byline 12) without the need to change trams en route.
| Line | Route | Year opened | Present route since | Places served | Stops |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Lancy-Bachet, gare ↔ Thônex, Moillesulaz | 1862[Note 1] | 2018 | Lancy-Bachet, gare – Carouge – Plainpalais – Bel-Air – Rive – Moillesulaz | 25 |
 | Bernex, Vailly ↔ Meyrin, Gravière | 2007 | 2021 | Bernex – Onex – Petit-Lancy – Stand – Gare Cornavin – Avanchets – Meyrin | 30 |
 | Grand-Lancy, Palettes ↔ Plan-les-Ouates, ZIPLO | 2003 | 2023 | Palettes – Grand-Lancy – Acacias – Plainpalais – Stand – Gare Cornavin – Nations – ZIPLO | 23 |
 | Lancy-Pont-Rouge, gare ↔ Annemasse, Parc Montessuit | 2019 | 2019 | Lancy-Pont-Rouge, gare – Acacias – Plainpalais – Bel-Air – Rive – Moillesulaz – Annemasse | 26 |
 | Grand-Lancy, Palettes ↔ Meyrin, CERN | 2012 | 2022 | Palettes – Lancy-Bachet, gare – Carouge – Plainpalais – Bel-Air – Gare Cornavin – Avanchets – CERN | 31 |
Interchange stations, which enable transfers between the lines, are located at the following stops:
Two cross-border extensions are planned, one towardsSaint-Julien-en-Genevois viaPlan-les-Ouates, and the other an extension of line 17 towards Lycée des Glières inAnnemasse.[1]
An extension of line 15 is proposed between Place des Nations andLe Grand-Saconnex, with a possible extension toFerney-Voltaire in France. However, the realisation of this project would depend upon the construction of the new Route des Nations, a project the commencement of which is still uncertain.[2]
| Image | Model | Manufacturer | Entered service | Quantity | Fleet nos. | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Be 4/6 | Duewag | 1984 and 1987 – 1989 | 24 | 801, 802 – 822, 825, 826 | 21.9 m (71 ft10+1⁄4 in) |
_70_(8250661816).jpg) | Be 4/8 | 2004 – 2005 and 2009 – 2010 | 21 | 831 – 852 | 30.9 m (101 ft4+1⁄2 in) | |
 | Flexity Outlook Cityrunner | Bombardier | 2004 – 2005 and 2009 – 2010 | 39 | 861 – 899 | 42 m (137 ft9+1⁄2 in) |
 | Tango | Stadler Rail | 2011 – 2014 and 2016 – 2018 | 32 | 1801 – 1832 | 44 m (144 ft4+1⁄4 in) |
Media related toTrams in the canton of Geneva at Wikimedia Commons
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46°12′37″N6°8′36″E / 46.21028°N 6.14333°E /46.21028; 6.14333
