Strasbourg tramway
The Strasbourg tramway, run by the CTS, is a network of six tramlines, A, B, C, D, E and F that operate in the cities of Strasbourg in Alsace, France, and Kehl in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the few tram networks to cross an international border, along with the trams of Basel, Geneva and Saarbrücken. The first tramline in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn, opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built, including several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine.
Use of the system declined from the 1930s onwards, and the service closed in 1960 in parallel with many other tramways at the time. However, a strategic reconsideration of the city's public transport requirements led to the reconstruction of the system, a development whose success led to other large French cities reopening their tramways, such as Montpellier and Nice. Lines A and D were opened in 1994, lines B and C were opened in 2000, line E was opened in 2007 and line F was opened in 2010. It is regarded as a remarkable example of the tramway's rebirth in the 1990s. Together with the success seen in Nantes since 1985, the Strasbourg experiment resulted in the construction of tramways in multiple other French urban areas, and the expansion of tramway systems remains an ongoing project in Strasbourg and throughout France. Since 2017, the tram system also reaches Kehl on the right bank of the Rhine, in Germany. While the prior tram network also included such a Rhine-crossing line at times, this section of the Rhine did not form the border between France and Germany from 1871 to the end of World War I and during World War II when Alsace was annexed to Germany.
History
The first tram line in Strasbourg, which was originally horse-drawn, opened in 1878. After 1894, when an electric-powered tram system was introduced, a widespread network of tramways was built in the largest city of Alsace, including also several longer-distance lines on both sides of the Rhine. The decline of the tramways system began in the 1930s, and ended with the retirement of the service in 1960. After a long drawn out communal political decision process, the tram was reintroduced in 1994. As part of the redevelopment of the city, a track of a total 33 km distance was built, on which 5 tram line services have been developed.Horse-drawn trams
On 5 April 1877 the Strasbourg Horse Railway Company was founded, and the name changed on 25 April 1888 to the Strasbourg Tramway Company. Since May 1897, the AEG electrical manufacturing company was the main shareholder. In 1912 the company was transferred to the possession of the city of Strasbourg. When Alsace became part of France in November 1918, the name of the company was translated into French, "Compagnie des tramways strasbourgeois". In this form it still exists today.Public transport in Strasbourg had begun in 1848 with horse-drawn omnibuses and carriages. The first standard gauge tracks of the Horse/Railway Company were opened on 20 July 1878. These passed through the areas of "Hönheim" and "zur Kehler Brücke". In the inner city, horses were used. In the suburbs, small steam locomotives drew the carriages. By 1885 further lines to the suburbs of Königshofen, Robertsau, Neuhof and Wolfisheim were opened, and in 1886 the meter gauge was first used in extending the track to Grafenstaden.
Electric trams (1894–1960)
The electric company of AEG was engaged to install electric traction of that line in December 1894. Though the contract between town and company had included the maintaining of standard gauge, since 1897, the standard gauge tracks were converted to one-meter gauge. New lines were built and run to Kronenburg, Lingolsheim and Breuschwickersheim. In addition to the network in town, an overland network was built, mainly worked with steam traction, extending from Strasbourg to the Vosges Mountains, Colmar and across the Rhine into Baden.After in 1918 Strasbourg had become French, the 1920 all lines east of the Rhine were taken over at first by the shortly founded general German railway company of Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen, then in 1922 by the regional Mittelbadische Eisenbahnen.
In 1930, the network comprised 234 km of track, about 100 km in town and 130 km overland lines, all in France. There were 55 million passengers in 1930 and 71.5 million passengers in 1943.
The closing of the original tramway
In the 1950s, the tram, already weakened by World War II, faced competition from other modes of transport such as the bus, the bicycle and the private automobile. The tram system was abandoned in 1960 and replaced by buses; the last tram ran on 1 May 1960 and carried a black wreath to resemble a funeral procession. Much of the traffic was absorbed by the private automobile.Reintroduction (1994)
The debate: tram or light metro?
Owing to increasing traffic and pollution, the Urban Community of Strasbourg considered building a Véhicule Automatique Léger network with two lines. The choice of rapid transit system became a major point of debate at the 1989 municipal elections, with the incumbent right-wing majority favouring the VAL, while the opposition Socialists campaigned for a modern tramway.Shopkeepers in the city centre were also in favour of the VAL, on the grounds that the construction of the tramway and subsequent loss of parking spaces would deter customers. Meanwhile, the opposition campaigning for the tramway emphasised its cost-efficiency relative to the VAL and the revitalization and pedestrianization of the city centre that the construction of the tramway entailed.
Victory of the tramway
With Catherine Trautmann's election as mayor of Strasbourg, the VAL project was abandoned in favour of the tramway.The first line, line A, opened on 25 November 1994. At 9.8 kilometres long, it signalled the return of the tramway to Strasbourg. It was the fourth modern tram system in France. The line ran from the western suburb of Hautepierre to Illkirch-Graffenstaden. In order to cross the railway lines near the Strasbourg railway station, a 1 400 m long tunnel was dug with a tunnel boring machine. Situated 17 m under ground in this tunnel and between the Rotonde and Ancienne Synagogue/Les Halles stations, is the Gare Centrale station, serving Strasbourg's railway station.
Artists were commissioned to create artworks relating to the city. In particular, the Oulipo was responsible for writing short texts on the columns in the stations, but with the following four constraints:
- Homophonic variations: sentences formed from the syllables in the sentence ' Le tramway de Strasbourg ' form the basis of a short story ending with the aforementioned sentence.
- Toponymic inscriptions: written in the style of a dictionary entry, they present a fictional etymology for each station name.
- The récit au beau présent is a story written only with the letters present in the station name.
- Finally, there are proverbs which have been transformed by the addition of the word 'tram' or 'tramway'.
In 1995, Trautmann was re-elected which gave a signal to other mayors of French cities that opening a tram is beneficial for re-election.
Extensions
First phase (1998)
On 4 July 1998, a first extension began: line A was extended 2.8 km further south into Illkirch-Graffenstaden. Just under two months later, on 31 August 1998, line D entered service thanks to a short branch near the Place de l'Étoile. This new line uses the line A track for most of its journey, enabling higher tram frequencies in the city centre.Second phase (2000)
The network was further extended on 1 September 2000 as line B and C entered service. They both originate from the same terminus, situated in Elsau, a residential area. They share a trunk line which leads to the city centre, crossing it from the south-east to the north-west. At the Homme de Fer station, the lines cross the track of lines A and D. This junction became the centre of the network. The two lines diverge at the République station: line C leads to the terminus in the Esplanade district via the university area, while line B heads north, serving the Wacken exhibition centre. It then passes through the communes of Schiltigheim and Bischheim before reaching the Hoenheim terminus, in the commune of Hoenheim.Link with regional rail (2002)
In September 2002, the Hoenheim terminus was linked to the Alsace regional train on the Strasbourg-Lauterbourg line. A year later, a new exchange was created at Krimmeri-Meinau: a railway station was built next to the eponymous tram stop, allowing transfers between line A and regional trains running on the Strasbourg-Offenburg line.Third phase (2007)
The tramway remained largely unchanged until 2007, when a new wave of extensions was completed. These extensions should have been finished in 2006, but were delayed by appeals lodged by several associations and three individualsOn 25 August 2007 lines C and D were extended, and line E entered service. Line D was extended to a new terminus, while line C was lengthened by 4.2 km, taking it into the heart of Neuhof, which had previously been enclaved in southern Strasbourg. The two lines share a common track for 600m between Landsberg and Jean Jaures stations. The extensions also created a new north–south route serving the eastern part of the city. Meanwhile, line E brought about a major change in the network, since it was the first branch line. Sharing track with the other lines between Wacken and Baggersee, one of its objectives was to reduce transfer traffic at Homme de Fer, a station not served by the line.
Line E was extended by 2.5 km from Wacken to a new terminus, Robertsau Boecklin, on 23 November 2007, thus servicing buildings in the European district, such as the European Parliament.