page_title: Trams in France
section_title: Today's tram networks
hierarchical_section_title: Trams in France / Today's tram networks
caption_attribution_description: Une rame Euromed - Les Caillols à la station Longchamp
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.
context_section_description: Over the past 35 years, a rapidly growing number of France's cities have developed modern tramways or light rail networks. In 2020, there are 27 modern tram systems spread right across the country (excluding the two trams-on-tyres services). Many of these are being extended while at least seven other municipalities are in the process of planning or acquiring new tram networks.
caption: A Flexity Outlook tram in Marseille
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