The French city of Caen has confirmed its intention to replace its guided bus system with light rail.
On November 5, Joel Bruneau, president of Caen la mer, and Rodolphe Thomas, president of Viacités, said the €230 million project will extend Line 1 of the current system to Fleury-sur-Orne and create a new 1.7-kilometre ‘Peninsula’ line.
Authorities hope to begin construction of the tram network in 2017. According to the current schedule, the guided bus network would be retired in early 2018 and the new light rail system would enter revenue service in September 2019.
The 17.1-kilometre network will be served by a fleet of 24 new trams and 37 stations.
Around 64,000 people are expected to use light rail in Caen every day, up from the 42,000 that use the existing bus transit system.
There will be a frequency of six trams an hour across most of the network and trams every three-and-a-half minutes through the core.
Beyond the first two lines, there would be future plans to extend the system west by 2024.
