page_title: Trams in France
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Trams in France / History
caption_attribution_description: Carte postale ancienne éditée par ES, N° 2148&#160;: tramway hippomobile de la Compagnie générale des omnibus, ligne TAH, Vaugirard – Gare du Nord.
context_page_description: Trams in France date from 1837 when a 15 km steam tram line connected Montrond-les-Bains and Montbrison in the Loire. With the development of electric trams at the end of the 19th century, networks proliferated in French cities over a period of 15 years. Although nearly all of the country's tram systems were replaced by bus services in the 1930s or shortly after the Second World War, France is now in the forefront of the revival of tramways and light rail systems around the globe. Only tram lines in Lille and Saint-Étienne have operated continuously since the 19th century; the Marseille tramway system ran continuously until 2004 and only closed then for 3 years for extensive refurbishment into a modern tram network. Since the opening of the Nantes tramway in 1985, more than twenty towns and cities across France have built new tram lines. As of 2020, there are 29 operational tram networks in France, with 3 more planned. France is also home to Alstom, a leading tram manufacturer.
caption: An old horse tram in Paris
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