Bordeaux Tramways - Renewal of Operating Contract

Bordeaux Tram Website

Trams were re-introduced to Bordeaux in 2003 and today it has one of the largest growing tram networks in France.  The network currently consists of three lines of around 43 kilometres that extend to various parts the city and suburbs.  

A recent contract for operating the tram network has been renewed with the existing operator, who is Keolis.  As part of the 7.1 billion Euro deal, the operator is committed to extending the network by 7% and growing passenger numbers by 34%.  Tram trips in 2012 were already 117 million or over 320,000 trips per day.

Link: Keolis Contract

The Bordeaux tram network was quite innovative as new "APS" technology was used in 2003 to remove the need for overhead cables in the central areas of Bordeaux, which are World Heritage listed by UNESCO.  This allows the trams to move through the city with minimal visual impact on sensitive historic sites.  As trams pass along the track, radio signals are used to activate electrical power from ground power supplies - however, the system was 3 times more expensive to install and up to 50 times more expensive to maintain during the early years of the system, as reliability was an issue.

Alstom has supplied the Citadis tram sets for Bordeaux throughout the life of the new network.  26 new tram sets were delivered in 2013 in order to increase tram frequencies, in addition to preparing for extensions to the network that will take place from 2015.

Flickr pics of APS Power Supplies & Link to Alstom's APS Fact Sheet:

Alstom ATS Technology

Flickr pics of Bordeaux Trams: