How did Lausanne build the tunnels? Cut and cover or TBM?
Rennes is quite compact and as they control their finances (VT) chose to go for a metro rather than tramway. Probably helps given how wet and wild it can get there in winter.
TBM – if you look at the alignment on a map, they’d have to dig up the whole of the Old City for a TBM!
Re Rennes, what I’m curious about is why they went for a metro, given that there’s no obvious reason why a tram wouldn’t work like in Lausanne. (And much-bigger Bordeaux, conversely, went for a tram even though it’s big enough to have a metro…)
Well De Gaulle did say when they have a million inhabitants they could have a metro 😉
But looking as best I could through the various French sources about the history of the Rennes metro it seems like the mayor originally wanted to reinstall the fairly recently closed tramway but after they did concurrent technical studies went with a metro/VAL as it was entirely self contained and could grow easily eg adding capacity/frequency and wouldn’t cause more congestion issues which they felt a tramway would.
Have a look at Philippe Chapleau, Le métro de Rennes Métropole : Chroniques d'un chantier, Éditions Ouest-France, 2002 (ISBN 2-7373-3001-7).
Thank you! At this rate I’m going to have to learn French so I can give the same amount of attention to transit in the French-speaking world as I do to places where they speak German.
I happened to be in Rennes in 2006(?), when the Metro was being built. I was astounded that such a small conurbation had found the funding. I must go back and ride the system.
How did Lausanne build the tunnels? Cut and cover or TBM?
Rennes is quite compact and as they control their finances (VT) chose to go for a metro rather than tramway. Probably helps given how wet and wild it can get there in winter.
TBM – if you look at the alignment on a map, they’d have to dig up the whole of the Old City for a TBM!
Re Rennes, what I’m curious about is why they went for a metro, given that there’s no obvious reason why a tram wouldn’t work like in Lausanne. (And much-bigger Bordeaux, conversely, went for a tram even though it’s big enough to have a metro…)
Well De Gaulle did say when they have a million inhabitants they could have a metro 😉
But looking as best I could through the various French sources about the history of the Rennes metro it seems like the mayor originally wanted to reinstall the fairly recently closed tramway but after they did concurrent technical studies went with a metro/VAL as it was entirely self contained and could grow easily eg adding capacity/frequency and wouldn’t cause more congestion issues which they felt a tramway would.
Have a look at Philippe Chapleau, Le métro de Rennes Métropole : Chroniques d'un chantier, Éditions Ouest-France, 2002 (ISBN 2-7373-3001-7).
Thank you! At this rate I’m going to have to learn French so I can give the same amount of attention to transit in the French-speaking world as I do to places where they speak German.
I happened to be in Rennes in 2006(?), when the Metro was being built. I was astounded that such a small conurbation had found the funding. I must go back and ride the system.
https://benhopkinson.substack.com/p/britains-second-cities-are-stuck It’s almost certainly the Versement Mobilité