Subway of Lille

The subway of Lille is a metropolitan network serving the town of Lille (Northern, France) and part of its agglomeration. It was the first subway to be used the technology VALLEY, for which it was developed, and is for this reason the very first entirely automatic subway in the world. In 2005, it comprises 2 clean lines of sight (underground or on viaducts) an overall length of approximately 45 Kilomètre S, and 60 stations.

History

An international contest, an ambitious project

In 1971, following a bearing patent on the automatisms of a subway without driver deposited by Pr Robert Gabillard, urban community of Lille (old name of Lille Metropolis Urban community) lance an international contest to equip the agglomeration with a new joint transport system. The principal tram lines were dismantled at that time, after the end of their concession and their return to the communes.

Four criteria are given:

a system in exclusive right of way,
low costs of construction,
low costs of exploitation,
more than 30 km/h block speed.

In 1972, the principle of a connection Villeneuve-in Ascq - Lille is adopted. The project of Matra is adopted the following year. A file is built, and on March 29th, 1974 the principle of a network of 4 lines, very ambitious, is privileged: two East-West, the line 1 connecting Villeneuve d' Ascq to Lille, the line 2 connecting Tourcoing to Lille via Roubaix, and two North-South, line 3 (layout adopted in 1977) connecting Comines to Ronchin via Quesnoy-sur-Deûle, Wambrechies, Saint-Andre-lez-Lille and Lille (that is to say 25 km of way) and line 4 connecting Hem to Tourcoing via Roubaix.

Higher costs with the provisions, a more reasonable project

Originally, the cost of the Ligne 1 of the subway of Lille was estimated at 230 franc million, but it goes up quickly to 875 MF in 1974. In fact in 1982, the day before its inauguration, it will be estimated at 2,3 billion francs… The cost of line 1 causes the debate within the urban community on the financial possibility to build line 2 until Tourcoing. Arthur Notebart, the president of the urban community, benefits from it to make adopt in 1984 the principle of the line 1 (a) which serves Lome, a less distant commune of which he is the mayor. In 1989, the line 1-(a) is inaugurated, but this victory of Arthur Notebart involves the revolt of the mayors of the more big cities, which take again at the time of the elections all the places of presidents of the commissions of the urban community. The line 1-(a) becomes again then line 2 and takes again the direction of Tourcoing, which it will reach in 1999, and will butt against the Belgian border in 2000.

2000, end of its development, the search for profitability

The first project of line 3 of the subway voted in 1977 by the urban community was finally replaced in 2006 by a line of high-output bus of services.

Many projects of extension or creation are currently pushed back or cancelled. The called upon reason is a cost estimated in 2005 at 36 million euros the kilometer. The final cost of line 1 is finally estimated (in brought up to date euros 2005) at 564 d'€ million, and line 2 to 884 d'€ million. Today, even if many districts of the center city are forsaken by the subway, Lille Métropole Urban community privileges the project of the Tram-train. Only the passage to 4 cars by oars, instead of 2 currently, is considered by 2011.

In October 2001, the Publicité arrives in the stations, whereas up to now in the name of the safeguarding of the architectural quality of each station, a veto antipub had been emitted by the Urban community of Lille. This decision falls under the programme of humanization by the marchandisation (only the Lille-Flandres station had before a shop, a point presses in fact) stations. In 2005, three stations are equipped with terminals Internet which make it possible to consult and print pre-selected sites (ANPE, CIF, Assedic, CPAM…).

In 2006, the Transpole company asks for the nearest introduction of gantries of control, as in the subway of Paris, in order to decrease the fraud estimated at 22% of the travellers. But such work is not considered.

Underground and air

In theory, when the way urban and densément is densément built, the subway is underground; and when the course is in zones less densément populated, the stations become air. However, in order to realize savings, during the construction of the line 1-(a), the stations built along the boulevard and crossing popular quarters were it in an air way.

Subway and art

At the origin, each commune had a clean budget so that it can choose a Architecte and a Artiste for creation of the stations being on their commune. This measurement was renewed at the time of the realization of line 2 original. But during its prolongation, certain news stations did not profit from works of artists. The station station Lille Europe received in 2000, a price near the Special School of Architecture.

The halls of the stations were useful for many exposures, but work more surprising was it at the time of Lille 2004, a kinetic work was placed in one of the tunnel, and vis-a-vis its success since was renewed.

Subway and insecurity

A long time the subway knew an image of insecurity. Indeed, entirely automated, the subway of Lille thus does not need driver, and dissociates many other underground railway networks (like all the subways resulting from technology VALLEY in addition). A reproach of Déshumanisation is made to him. The visible absence of personnel involves a phenomenon of incivilities quickly, the drug trafficking develops with the center even certain stations, the aggressions and degradations multiply. Between 1995 and 1997, the subway loses 10% travellers. Transpole requires means to react, but is found confronted with the opposition right-hand side-left on this subject within the urban community.

The company first of all obtains the right to install nearly 1200 cameras inside the stations and at the entries of those. The device set up by the Visiowave company is finished in 2001, at the moment when Martine Aubry pushes Transpole to engage 400 agents of environment in Employment-youths. At all events, that it is thanks to the installation of the cameras as proclaims it the right elected members, or with the installation of human presence as the left elected officials proclaim it, the feeling of insecurity decreased, and the frequentation set out again with the rise.

Among the most serious facts having been necessary in the subway, it had the Attentat missed by the Gang of Roubaix at the exit of the station Lille Large palace, the Meurtre of Frank Tavernier in 2000 at the station Epeule Montesquieu, or a car ram set fire to in the station CHR Oscar Lambret at the time of the riots of November 2005.

In practice

Use

To borrow the subway, it is necessary to have a valid transport document. Simplest is the basic ticket, it allows to travel on the whole of the underground railway network, tram and drunk, over one two hours maximum duration (in the same direction of circulation, the return is prohibited, like any interruption of the way). For the short ways, there exists the Zap ticket, valid only for ways of a maximum of three stations after that of departure.

It is also possible to use contractual transport documents, the pass' Journée, the chart viva (less than 25 years), the Iris chart, etc the number of voyages is then unlimited over the period of validity of the transport document.

Easy ways

to find its route in public transport, Transpole set up a very practical site: * If you wish to go to the Gare Lille-Flandres on the basis of Lome or conversely, change at the Porte station stations for the subway of line 1, the way between Porte of the stations - Gare Lille Flandres is faster by taking the 1 qu line ' while remaining on line 2.
the way Gare Lille Flandres - Gare Lille Europe is free for the travellers in transit between the two stations, which very little of them know. Number of them make this way of 400 meters to foot.

Features

the network comprises 45,2 km of ways and 60 stations, of which 2 offer a correspondence between lines.
the system includes/understands 83 oars VALLEY 206 and 60 oars VALLEY 208. New oars VALLEY 208 are in service since the month of August 2007 on line 1 in order to reinforce the frequencies at the time of the annual stock sale of Lille. They offer a configuration of the seats different, with a part reserved for the bags and poussettes.
the two lines are entirely automatic and do not have a driver.
the spacing of the rails is of 1,435 m (standard spacing of the French ways). The subways are however narrower than the standard trains.
Each line has its own station, even with the correspondences: no line shares a way with another.
On a given way, the trains serve all the intermediate stations.
average Distance between stations: approximately 755 Mr. on line 1 and 795 Mr. on line 2
top speed is of 80 km/h
the lines are lines of tyred subway.
the subway of Lille, contrary to its Parisian counterpart, the Subway of Paris, is a subway with small gauge. An oar is composed only of two cars (a passage to four cars is perhaps envisaged on line 1).
the trains circulate approximately since 5:00 of the morning until 1:00 of the morning, the every day of the year except on May 1st when no subway, buses and tram circulate. For certain events (New year, festival of the music, Annual stock sale of Lille…), a service great night is set up: subways (and trams) circulate all the night on lines 1,2, (R, T for the tram).
Each station is equipped with protected quays: no risk to fall on the way thanks to a picture window and automatic doors over the entire length from the quay (landing doors). The doors open only when the oar is with the stop, the rise and the descent of the travellers being carried out as with an elevator.
It was expected that each line is equipped with a system of the type SIEL indicating the latency for the next train. The Siemens company should have equipped the stations in 2006.
Each station is designed to give access to the people reduced mobility (elevator and quays on level of the ground).

List and traced lines

See too

Internal bonds

List of the stations of the subway of Lille
Transpole: company of public transport
List of the subways of the world

External bond

Transpole Transport as common inhabitants of Lille

References

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