Bordeaux Tram network – France

The Bordeaux tramway network is one of the most iconic of the revival of this urban
transport mode in France. From 1997 to 2020, SYSTRA led the project management consortium TISYA, responsible for the design and execution of 4 tram lines in total.

Maximise the transport offer while reducing road traffic in the city in order to highlight the architecture of the historic centre: it is to this complex equation that the Bordeaux tramway network provides an answer, approved by more than 100 million passengers each year.

The ‘Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux’, now known as ‘Bordeaux Métropole’, chose the tramway to transform its image and integrate its public transport networks with its entire agglomeration. More than two decades after this decision, the success is obvious with a network of 4 lines, all in correspondence, linking all the activity, employment, residential and tourism hubs. Present at all project phases, SYSTRA and its partners signed a transport mode that is safe, reliable, robust and accessible to all.

An additional challenge was the installation, as discretely as possible, of the tramway at the heart of the 18th and 19th century architecture, enabled especially thanks to ground-level power supply technology (APS) which dispenses with the overhead contact line. This innovation was tested as a world first in the hyper-centre of Bordeaux, before setting an example for many other networks in France and throughout the world (Angers, Reims, Tours, Rio de Janeiro, Dubai, Lusail…).

In 2020, a new chapter began with the extension of line D, latest addition to the network inaugurated in 2019. An international reference, Bordeaux’s tramway network has led to a modal shift in car traffic, while enriching the city centre. The benefits in terms of both quality of life and the reduction of polluting emissions are a success in which SYSTRA has been a key player.