| Caen guided light transit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Native name | Tramway de Caen | ||
| Locale | Caen, Normandy, France | ||
| Transit type | GLT/TVR, a type of guided bus | ||
| Number of lines | 2 | ||
| Number of stations | 34 | ||
| Daily ridership | 42,000 (2008) | ||
| Operation | |||
| Began operation | 18 November 2002[1] | ||
| Ended operation | 31 December 2017 | ||
| Operator(s) | Twisto | ||
| Technical | |||
| System length | 15.7 km (9.8 mi) | ||
| Track gauge | Central guideway with rubber tyres | ||
| |||
The Caen guided light transit or Caen TVR, locally known as "the Tram", was an electrically powered guided bus system in Caen, France, which used Bombardier Guided Light Transit (TVR in French) technology.
After a construction time lasting three years, the system opened on 18 November 2002 at a total cost of 227 million euros.[1] The Caen transport company, Twisto (CTAC), was the operator of the TVR system and called the system the "Tram".[2]
Service was provided by 24 three-section articulated vehicles, guided by a central non-supporting rail. The entire passenger line was guided, and in normal service the vehicles were powered by electricity drawn from an overhead wire through a pantograph. The vehicles had auxiliary diesel engines and steering wheels and were able to operate away from the guide rail, but only in diesel mode, and under normal operating conditions they ran only in electric mode when carrying passengers along the route, using their diesel engines only when travelling to and from the depot (garage). The use of pantographs for current collection meant the Caen vehicles could not move laterally away from the overhead wire when operating in electric mode, and for this reason they were not considered to be trolleybuses, under the English language meaning of that word,[3][4] and the system is sometimes referred to as a "rubber-tyred tramway".[4][5]
The system closed on 31 December 2017 to allow for the construction of the present Caen tramway.
- ^ a b Tramways & Urban Transit, January 2003, p. 23. Ian Allan Publishing/Light Rail Transit Association.
- ^ "Welcome to the website for Caen transport network". Twisto. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
- ^ Box, Roland (July–August 2010). "More about the 2000s". Trolleybus Magazine No. 292, p. 79.
- ^ a b Webb, Mary (ed.) (2010). Jane’s Urban Transport Systems 2010-2011, pp. "[20]" and "[23]" (in foreword). Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2915-9.
- ^ "A complete listing of Light Rail, Light Railway, Tramway & Metro systems throughout the World". Light Rail Transit Association. January 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2011-05-05.