Rennes Metro

Rennes Metro
Overview
Native nameMétro de Rennes
OwnerRennes Métropole
LocaleRennes, Brittany, France
Transit typeRubber-tyred metro
Number of lines2
Number of stations28
Daily ridershipLine A: 145,000 (2023)
Line B: 80,000 (2023)
Annual ridership42.02 million (2022)
HeadquartersRennes
Websitewww.star.fr
www.metro-rennes-metropole.fr
www.star2022.fr
Operation
Began operation15 March 2002; 22 years ago (15 March 2002)
Operator(s)Service des Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rennaise (STAR)
Number of vehicles55
Technical
System length22.4 km (13.9 mi)
Track gaugeRubber-tyred, no conventional track[1]
Average speed32 km/h (20 mph)
Top speed80 km/h (50 mph)

The Rennes Metro (French: Métro de Rennes) (Breton: Metro Roazhon) is a light metro system serving the city of Rennes in Brittany, France. Opened on 19 March 2002, it made Rennes the smallest city in the world to have a metro system from 2002 to 2008.[2]

Currently the system contains two lines, Line A and B. It has 28 stations and stretches 23.5 kilometres (14.6 mi), with the majority of its route underground. Line A connects the quarter of Villejean to the quarter of Poterie, passing the city center. It is based on the Siemens VAL (véhicule automatique léger or light automatic vehicle in English) technology. In 2023, approximately 145,000 trips a day were made on Line A, and 80,000 on Line B.[3]

A second line, Line B, is opened on 20 September 2022.[4] Running north-east to south-west between Cesson-Sévigné and Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, it also has 15 stations, two of them interchangeable with Line A, forming an x-shaped network. It will be the first metro line in the world to use the NeoVal technology. Originally planned to open in 2020, the line suffered multiple delays, mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the opening of Line B, Rennes became the smallest city with two metro lines.

  1. ^ "Documentation technique du VAL 206 [dont le VAL 208 en est l'évolution]" (PDF). traction-electrique.ch (in French). Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Metro of Rennes". mapa-metro.com. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  3. ^ "À Rennes, une hausse de 20 % de la fréquentation des transports en commun depuis la ligne de métro B". Ouest France. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. ^ "La date de la mise en service de la ligne b dévoilée !". metro-rennes-metropole.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-07-18.