Tunis Light Metro
The Tunis Light Metro is a light rail network serving the metropolitan area of Tunis, the capital and largest city of Tunisia. Opened in 1985, the 45.2-km long network consists of 6 lines, and serves 65 stations. It is operated by the Société des transports de Tunis.
The Metro was the first modern light rail system in Africa, the Arab World, and in the Mediterranean region, but it has since been joined by several different networks in places such as Algeria, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.
History
Predecessors
Like most other major North African cities, Tunis had an electric tram network that spanned a large part of the city.On the 5th of September 1885, horse-drawn trams first appeared in the city with the introduction of five lines, all running on metre gauge track. The network, which was operated by the Société Anonyme des Tramways de Tunis of Belgium, was soon joined by the network of the French Compagnie Générale Française des Tramways exactly one year later on the 5th of September 1886. The network of the CGFT was built to the same specifications to that of the Société Anonyme des Tramways de Tunis, that being metre gauge tracks and horse-drawn vehicles. In 1899, however, both of these networks would come under the unified ownership of the CGFT. Starting in 1902, the CGFT began to electrify the existing network, and in the same year created the Compagnie des Tramways de Tunis.
Although the electric trams were popular, starting in the 1930s they began to be replaced by buses and trolleybuses. This replacement accelerated during the 1940s and 50s, and on the 8th of March 1960, the last trams ran on lines 3 and 4, thus signalling the end of the first-generation tramway.
Modern network
Initial planning and construction
After Tunisia gained independence from France in 1956, the country, and especially Tunis, experienced a sharp increase in population. As a result, the existing transport in the city soon proved to be largely inefficient and unprepared for the number of people using it.In 1974, preliminary studies were officially launched for the development of a light rail network, and turnkey construction of the network was later entrusted to the German company Siemens. Siemens based the design of the network on that of the German city of Hanover, and was charged with the supply of the rolling stock, overhead power traction system, signalling and safety equipment, as well as the monitoring and coordination of construction. The first stone of the network was laid on the 23rd of November 1980, and full construction of the first line of the system, from Tunis Marine station to Ben Arous, began in 1981.
The network officially entered service on the 13th of October 1985, with the beginning of operation on Line 1 from Tunis Marine to Ben Arous. Later, on the 5th of September 1989, Line 2 entered service with trains running from Place de Barcelone station on Line 1 north to Ariana, bringing the total length of the network up to 18.7 kilometres.
Extensions
On the 25th of July 1990, two branches were added to the network, serving the western districts of Tunis. This included Line 3 to Ibn Khaldoun, and Line 4 to Bardo, both of which start from Place de la République station on Line 2. Later, on the 7th of November 1992, Line 5 was created as a branch off of Line 3 from Les Jasmins station to Intilaka. Finally, on the 5th of September 1997, Line 4 was extended for 2.8 kilometres from Bardo to Den Den. With the opening of the Line 4 extension, the network, as it was contracted by Siemens, was completed.In April 2003, the Société du Métro Léger de Tunis, the company which had operated the Metro network since its opening in 1985, merged with the Société Nationale des Transports in order to create a unified transport body for the Tunis region, named the Société des transports de Tunis.
In June 2004, Transtu awarded a contract for the construction of a new line of the network, as well as for the supply of 30 new light rail vehicles, to the French company Alstom. The new line, numbered as line 6, would branch off of Line 1 at Mohamed Ali station and continue running south to El Mourouj, over a total length of 6.8 kilometres, while the new LRVs would be based on Alstom's Citadis low-floor design and would increase the overall capacity of the system by around 5 percent.
The first vehicles of the new fleet were delivered in March 2007, and entered service on Line 1 on the 17th of September 2007. The first section of Line 6, from Mohamed Ali to El Montazah, opened on the 11th of August 2008, and the line's second section from El Montazah to El Mourouj 4 later opened on the 12th of November 2008. The network's final extension, of Line 4 from Den Den station to Kheireddine, opened on the 11th of December 2009.
Network
As of 2025, the Metro network consists of six lines and a total of 61.3 kilometres of track, with 65 stations in service.Line 1
;Place de Barcelone – Ben ArousLine 1 is the first and oldest line of the network. Opened on the 13th of October 1985, it runs on a north-south axis from Place de Barcelone station in the city centre south to Ben Arous over a distance of 5.5 kilometres, making it the shortest line of the network in terms of total trackage. Additionally, it is also the line with the least stations of the network, with a total of 11 stations served. It shares track with Line 6 for over half of its route, between Place de Barcelone and Mohamed Ali station.
When Line 1 originally opened, it started at Tunis Marine station rather than its current terminus at Place de Barcelone. However, as more lines of the network opened, the line was curtailed to Place de Barcelone, and the branch to Tunis Marine was taken over by lines 3 and 6. The line connects to the SNCFT national rail network, as well as the RFR lines A, D, and E, at Place de Barcelone station, and is operated with low-floor Alstom Citadis 302 vehicles.
Line 2
Place de la République – ArianaLine 2 runs on a north-south axis, similar to Line 1, from the city centre at Place de la République station to Ariana. Opened on the 5th of September 1989, the line covers a length of 6.3 kilometres over 11 stations. Upon its opening, the line originally ran from Place de Barcelone station, however services were later cut back to Place de la République in order to reduce high amounts of congestion in the city centre. Line 2 is the only line of the network to run entirely on its own trackage, with no shared sections present, and is operated with older high-floor Siemens-Duewag TW 6000 vehicles.
Line 3
Tunis Marine – Ibn KhaldounLine 3 runs from Tunis Marine station in the city centre to Ibn Khaldoun on an east-west route, over a distance of 6.5 kilometres and a total of 13 stations. The line, which opened on the 25th of July 1990, shares a large majority of its trackage with other lines, and the only section of track on which Line 3 trains exclusively run is the 0.6 kilometre long branch from Les Jasmins to the line's terminus at Ibn Khaldoun. Connections on the line are possible to the Tunis-Goulette-Marsa commuter railway at Tunis Marine station, and to the SNCFT national rail network and the RFR lines A, D, and E at Place de Barcelone station. Line 3 is operated with high-floor Siemens-Duewag TW 6000 vehicles.
Line 4
Place de Barcelone – KheireddineLine 4 is the longest line of the network, extending for 10 kilometres from Place de Barcelone to Kheireddine on an east-west alignment, serving 20 stations along its route. The line originally opened from Bab Saadoun to Bardo over a distance of 2.2 kilometres on the 25th of July 1990, and was later extended further east to Den Den on the 5th of September 1997. The line's final extension, from Den Den to Kheireddine, opened on the 11th of December 2009. Line 4 is operated with low-floor Alstom Citadis 302 vehicles.
Line 5
Place de Barcelone – IntilakaLine 5 runs on an east-west alignment from Place de Barcelone to Intilaka over a distnace of 7.1 kilometres, with 14 stations served along its route. Opened on the 7th of November 1992, the line shares track with Line 3 for most of its route, and is operated with high-floor Siemens-Duewag TW 6000 vehicles.
Line 6
Tunis Marine - El Mourouj 4Line 6 is the newest line of the network, and runs on a north-south alignment from Tunis Marine station to El Mourouj 4 over a distance of 6.8 kilometres, with 18 stations. The tender for the construction of Line 6 was awarded in June 2004 to the French company Alstom, and work started in 2005. The first section of the line, from Mohamed Ali to El Montazah, opened on the 11th of August 2008, and the full line up to El Mourouj 4 opened on the 12th of November 2008.
The line shares most of its track with Line 1, with the section from Place de Barcelone until Mohamed Ali also being used by Line 1 trains. Additionally, Line 6 is one of only two lines to terminate at the Tunis Marine transfer station, the other being Line 3. Since its inception, Line 6 has been operated with low-floor Alstom Citadis 302 vehicles.