The Lyon tramway () comprises eight lines, seven lines operated by TCL and one by Rhônexpress, in the city of Lyon, France. The original tramway network in Lyon was developed in 1879; the modern network started operation in 2001.
Lines T1 and T2 opened in January 2001; T3 opened in December 2006; line T4 opened in April 2009; line Rhônexpress (airport connector) opened in August 2010; line T5 opened in November 2012; line T6 opened in November 2019 and line T7 opened in February 2021. The tramway system complements the Lyon Metro and forms an integral part of the public transportation system (TCL) in Lyon. The network of 7 tram lines (T1-T7) operated by TCL runs ; the single line operated by Rhônexpress runs for (including approximately shared with the T3 tram line). The network is currently served by 73 Alstom Citadis 302 and 34 Alstom Citadis 402 trams.
History: the original network (1879 - 1957)
The first steam-driven tram line, the number 12, linked Lyon and Vénissieux in 1888. The network was electrified between 1893 and 1899. Extensions to the suburbs were built until 1914. This was the height of the network - high quality service, low price, high frequency and high profitability for shareholders. The inflation between World War I and World War II made the network unprofitable. Beginning in the 1930s, tramways were progressively replaced with trolleybuses and later buses. A modernization plan, including underground sections in the city centre, planned in the 1940s was rapidly abandoned. The last urban tram ran on line 4 in January 1956 and the last suburban tram, the "Train bleu" in Neuville-sur-Saône, was abandoned in June 1957.
Original OTL network The first tram network was built and operated by the Compagnie des Omnibus et tramways de Lyon (OTL), founded in 1879. It consisted of ten (standard gauge), horse-drawn lines with a total length of 44 km serving Lyon, Villeurbanne, La Mulatière et Oullins .
In 1894, new electric trams were in service with these lines: 1: Bellecour – Monplaisir via Pont de la Guillotière and Grande Rue de la Guillotière 2: Bellecour – Montchat 3: Cordeliers – Villeurbanne 4: Parc de la Tête d'or – La Mouche (now Jean Macé), extended to Perrache 5: Bellecour – Pont d'Écully via Pont du Change 6: Terreaux – Gare de Vaise via Quai Saint-Vincent 7: Perrache – Les Brotteaux via Pont Morand 8: Pont Morand – Saint-Clair 9: Bellecour – Saint-Paul via Pont Tilsitt (now Pont Bonaparte) 10: Bellecour – Oullins.
The first line to open was line 5, from Place Bellecour to Vaise along the Saône river, competing with riverboats. Lines 1 and 7 followed the approximate routes of the current metro lines D and A, respectively. The network was gradually extended, by the OTL and by acquisitions of competing operators, between 1894 and 1914.
OTL extensions
11: Bellecour - Bon-Coin (Villeurbanne) 12: Bellecour - Saint-Fons, extended to Vénissieux 13: Cours Bayard (south of Perrache) - Place Commandant Arnaud (at the Croix-Rousse) 14: Pont d'Oullins - Chaponost 15: Charité - Pierre-Bénite 16: Bellecour - Meyzieu - La Balme (Isère) 17: Tolozan - Montluel (Ain) 18: Gare Saint-Paul - La Mouche, extended to Gerland 28: Cordeliers - Brotteaux 31: Pont-Mouton - Saint-Rambert-l'Île-Barbe 32: Charité - Vitriolerie.
La Société du Tramway d'Écully (Metre gauge) lines to the northwest, acquired by the OTL in 1894. 19: Pont-Mouton - Écully 20: Pont-Mouton - Saint-Cyr-au-Mont-d'Or 21: Pont-Mouton - Champagne-au-Mont-d'Or, extended to Limonest. 22: Pont-Mouton - Saint-Didier-au-Mont-d'Or.
La Compagnie Lyonnaise des Tramways (CLT) Metre gauge, steam powered lines on the left bank of the Rhône river. Became the Nouvelle Compagnie Lyonnaise des Tramways (NLT) in 1902, then acquired by the OTL in 1906. 23: Pont Lafayette - Cimetière de la Guillotière, extended to Monplaisir-la-Plaine. The extension of the line, electrified to Saint-Priest used the number 34 from 1925 to 1935. 24: Pont Lafayette - Asile de Bron, extended to Bron (Village). 25: Cordeliers - Montchat, extended to Genas. 26: Rue Casimir-Périer - Parc de la Tête d'Or 27: Cordeliers - Vaulx-en-Velin.
La Compagnie du Fourvière Ouest Lyonnais (FOL) Fourvière and Saint-Just funiculars and trams in the west plateau. Acquired by the OTL in 1910. 29: Saint-Just - Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon 30: Saint-Just - Francheville.
La Compagnie du Tramway de Caluire (CTC) Acquired by the OTL in 1914. Originally metric gauge, converted to standard gauge in 1925. 33: Croix-Rousse - Caluire, extended to Les Marronniers (Fontaines-sur-Saône).
Tramway de l'Ouest du Dauphiné This company reached Lyon in 1909. The meter gauge line leading to the east suburb was used on 6 km after being electrified in 1925. 34: Cordeliers - Saint-Priest
The current network (since 2001) Following a decline in the 1950s and 1960s, public transit in Lyon was revived in the 1970s with the opening of the Lyon Metro. In 1996 a decision was made to build a new tram network to complement the metro. The first two lines were opened on 2 January 2001: Line T1 from Perrache to IUT–Feyssine via Part-Dieu and Charpennes and line T2 from Perrache to Porte des Alpes via Jean Macé and Grange Blanche. Line T2 was extended to Saint-Priest–Bel Air on 27 October 2003 and line T1 was extended to Montrochet on 15 September 2005, then again to Debourg on 19 February 2014. Line T3 (codenamed LEA) was opened on 4 December 2006 along the former Chemin de Fer de l'Est Lyonnais tracks from Gare Part-Dieu–Villette to Meyzieu–ZI. Line T4 opened on 20 April 2009, running from Jet d'Eau–Mendès France to Hôpital Feyzin Vénissieux, and was extended to La Doua on 29 August 2013. Line T5 opened on 17 November 2012, running from Grange Blanche to Eurexpo.
Line T1
Operates from 04:40 to 00:35, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
Debourg ENS Lyon Halle Tony Garnier Musée des Confluences Hôtel de Région–Montrochet Sainte-Blandine Place des Archives Perrache Quai Claude Bernard Rue de l'Université Saint-André Guillotière–Gabriel Péri Liberté Saxe–Préfecture Palais de Justice–Mairie du 3ème (connection at Place Guichard–Bourse du Travail with walking distance: ) Part-Dieu–Auditorium Gare Part-Dieu–Vivier Merle (connections at Gare Part-Dieu–Villette with walking distance: ) Thiers–Lafayette Collège Bellecombe Charpennes–Charles Hernu Le Tonkin Condorcet Université Lyon 1 La Doua–Gaston Berger INSA–Einstein Croix-Luizet IUT–Feyssine
Line T2
Operates from 04:55 to 00:34, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
Hôtel de Région–Montrochet Sainte-Blandine Place des Archives Perrache Centre Berthelot–Sciences Po Lyon Jean Macé Garibaldi–Berthelot Route de Vienne Jet d'Eau–Mendès France Villon (nearby at Lycée Lumière: ) Bachut–Mairie du 8ème Jean XXIII–Maryse Bastié Grange Blanche Ambroise Paré Desgenettes Essarts–Iris Boutasse–Camille Rousset Hôtel de Ville–Bron Les Alizés Rebufer Parilly Université–Hippodrome Europe–Université Porte des Alpes Parc Technologique Hauts de Feuilly Salvador Allende Alfred de Vigny Saint-Priest–Hôtel de Ville Esplanade des Arts Jules Ferry Cordière Saint-Priest–Bel Air
Line T2 has been extended from Perrache to Hôtel de Région–Montrochet on 24 March 2021, sharing the track of line T1.
Line T3
Operates from 04:32 to 00:06, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Meyzieu.
Codenamed "LEA" (Ligne de l'Est de l'Agglomération), Line T3 runs along a portion of the former CFEL (Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est de Lyon) train line which extended from the Gare de l'Est de Lyon to Saint-Genix-d'Aoste (via Crémieu, Jallieu et Montalieu).Le Chemin de fer de l'Est de Lyon de MM. Domengie, Alquati, Moulin et Roze, Les Éditions du Cabri, 1996
Gare Part-Dieu–Villette (connections at Gare Part-Dieu–Vivier Merle with walking distance: ) Dauphiné–Lacassagne Reconnaissance–Balzac Gare de Villeurbanne Bel Air–Les Brosses Vaulx-en-Velin–La Soie Décines–Roosevelt Décines–Centre Décines–Grand Large Meyzieu–Gare Meyzieu–Lycée Colonel Beltrame Meyzieu–ZI (service ends here on weekends) Meyzieu–Les Panettes (only from Monday to Friday)
Line T3, which is 14.6 km long, runs largely on ballasted railroad track. It takes 23 minutes to go from Gare Part-Dieu - Villette to Meyzieu - ZI, and runs at a maximum speed of 70 km/h (60 km/h at intersections, of which 26 are equipped with crossing gates). 7 km run near residential areas and are equipped with a noise barrier.
Line T4
Operates from 04:39 to 00:45, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
IUT–Feyssine (only from Monday to Friday) Croix-Luizet (only from Monday to Friday) INSA–Einstein (only from Monday to Friday) La Doua–Gaston Berger (service starts here on weekends) Université Lyon 1 Condorcet Le Tonkin Charpennes–Charles Hernu Collège Bellecombe Thiers–Lafayette Gare Part-Dieu–Villette (connections at Gare Part-Dieu–Vivier Merle with walking distance: ) Archives–Parc Mandela Manufacture–Montluc Lycée Colbert Jet d'Eau–Mendès France Lycée Lumière (nearby at Villon: ) États-Unis–Musée Tony Garnier Beauvisage–CISL États-Unis–Viviani Joliot-Curie–Marcel Sembat La Borelle Gare de Vénissieux Croizat–Paul Bert Marcel Houël–Hôtel de Ville Lycée Jacques Brel Herriot–Cagne Vénissy–Frida Kahlo Division Leclerc Maurice Thorez Lénine–Corsière Darnaise Hôpital Feyzin Vénissieux
Line T5
Operates from 05:00 to 00:00, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
Grange Blanche Ambroise Paré Desgenettes Essarts–Iris Boutasse–Camille Rousset Hôtel de Ville–Bron Les Alizés De Tassigny–Curial Lycée Jean-Paul Sartre Parc du Chêne (service ends here in July and August) Chassieu—ZAC du Chêne (opened 27 June 2025) Eurexpo (except in July and August)
From its opening to 4 October 2020, line T5 served the stop Eurexpo only on exhibition days and only from 08:00 to 22:00 (sometimes to 00:00). Since 5 October 2020, line T5 serves Eurexpo everyday, except in July and August.
A projected extension to Chassieu, which would have added two new stations, Eurexpo 2 and René Cassin, was not approved by the public enquiry and has been postponed (possibly indefinitely) due to lack of support from local councillors.
Line T6
Operates from 05:00 to 00:56, maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Saint-Priest - Porte des Alpes.
Debourg Challemel-Lacour–Artillerie Moulin à Vent Petite Guille Beauvisage–Pressensé Beauvisage–CISL Grange Rouge–Santy Mermoz–Californie Mermoz–Moselle Mermoz–Pinel Essarts–Laënnec Desgenettes Vinatier Hôpitaux Est–Pinel Kimmerling–Genêts Gare de Villeurbanne Grandclément Saint-Exupéry–Jaurès Verlaine–Tolstoï Hôtel de Ville–TNP Gratte-Ciel Geneviève de Gaulle Roger Planchon La Doua–Gaston Berger
Line T6 has been built as an extension of line T1 from its terminus at Debourg to Lyon's eastern hospital complex.
A subsequent extension with 10 new stations from Hôpitaux Est–Pinel to La Doua–Gaston Berger, university campus in Villeurbanne, started construction in the beginning of 2023 and opened on 14 February 2026. This extension connects with lines T1, T3, T4 and future line T9.New line opens in Brest and Lyon extension completed Tramways & Urban Transit issue 1060 April 2026 page 127
Line T7
Operates from 06:00 to 23:55 (from 08:00 on Saturday and from 09:00 on Sunday), maintained by the Centre de Maintenance de Meyzieu.
Vaulx-en-Velin–La Soie Décines–Roosevelt Décines–Centre Décines–Grand Large Décines–OL Vallée
Since its opening, the Parc Olympique Lyonnais is connected to the Lyon tram network with a specially built railway track, but this track was only used by special tram shuttles running on game or event days in the stadium. Line T7 has been launched as a daily tram service to serve the Parc Olympique Lyonnais and its developing neighborhood named OL Vallée.