Bonjour,
I spent a few days in Lyon. Apart from a lot of sightseeing, I managed to catch some rail-related impressions.
Let's start with the Métro. The network consists of four lines. Lines A, B and D use rubber tires, linie C uses toothed rack rail for a steep section
Métro C
A few pictures from Croix Paquet station show the need for rack rail. Additionally, line C is the only line of the network that is not running completely under ground.
Some artwork in Henon station
Métro A and B
Lines A and B use the same rolling stock and are controlled by a conductor. A train of Linie A
The tail tracks in Perrache (the terminus of line A)
Some stations had pretty impressive designs: These metal pillars in Debour station give it a nice touch.
How about a metro under palm trees? Terminus Vaulx-en-Velin of line A.
Right around the cornder: The maintenance yard for lines A und B.
At Gare d'Oullins (line B) a piece of the tunnel boring machine used during the extensions is kept.
This may look like a rusty container, but in fact its one of the entrances to Gare d'Oullins.
Reminded me of church windows: art work Place Guichard station
Métro D
Line D has no conductor, it is runnning fully automated and its running much more frequently than line A and B (headways of about 3 minutes throughout the day). The rolling stock has an orange paint job.
A train in station Vieux Lyon located next to the Lyons old town. Right around the corner is the cathedral St Etienne.
View from the overpass down to the tracks
A piece of art or just a thing to keep people from climbing between the cars? I have no idea - maybe both.
Some more pillars: This time made of stone (station Parilly)
My personal favourite: blue and orange meet in Valmy
or just blue
Aéroport Lyon St. Exupéry
A took a friends advice to heart that the TGV station at the airport is worth a visit. In retrospect I fully agree. It was worth the 30 minute ride on the Rhônexpress tram and the 25€ I had to pay for the return ticket.
On the train I was told that there is 4h return ticket for 17€. I had checked fares in advance on the website and booked the ticket online, because there is online discount. Unfortunately, the 4h ticket was not mentioned on the website (or I just missed it).
The station hall
The red tram in the foreground is the Rhônexpress on its way back to downton Lyon
Regular guest at the station: Ouigo-TGVs. SNCF low cost trains linking Gare de Marne La Vallée Chessy TGV to various destinations in the south of france
I spent quite some time there, because I wanted to wait for the sunset to get a glimpse of the station in the dark too. As this took much longer as expected I had to buy expensive airport food, because I got pretty hungry. But the reward was worth it.
Shot of the interieur (taken more or less at the same spot) at three different times of the day.
Look down unto the platforms
Tram
Since the year 2000 trams are running on Lyons streets again. The fleet consists of Citadis 302 by Alstom. I did not like the design of the trains that much.
My favourite location for tram pictures: The bridge in front of the Musée des Confluence
I liked the museums architecture: Its quite different from your usual museum complex
Tram on the wall of Perrache station
Trams in the green
All trams but one look alike (I have no clue why this one has a special look. As I did not catch it until the last day of my trip there was no time to check it out some more).
Mixed stuff
Lyons public transportation network consist of several trolleybus lines and two funicular lines.
Train of funicular F1 in station Fourvière
We are going down
The Fourviere offers a great view over the city: on the left in black the opera house, in the middle in red the Crédit Lyonais tower and on the right the cathedral
A view up the Fourviere: The basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière and Tour Métallique de Fourvière
More or less by accident I stumpled upon these TER tram-trains in St. Paul station. Seems to be the same rolling stock that is used in Nantes
To sum the trip up some more architecture: The opera house and the headquarters of TV station Euronews
Thats it for today folks. I hope you liked the report. Looking forward to your feedback.
This was my first trip to Lyon but definitely not my last. The city has a great vibe that I liked from the minute when I stepped off my TGV train in Part Dieu station.
À bientôt
Charly
I spent a few days in Lyon. Apart from a lot of sightseeing, I managed to catch some rail-related impressions.
Let's start with the Métro. The network consists of four lines. Lines A, B and D use rubber tires, linie C uses toothed rack rail for a steep section
Métro C
A few pictures from Croix Paquet station show the need for rack rail. Additionally, line C is the only line of the network that is not running completely under ground.
Some artwork in Henon station
Métro A and B
Lines A and B use the same rolling stock and are controlled by a conductor. A train of Linie A
The tail tracks in Perrache (the terminus of line A)
Some stations had pretty impressive designs: These metal pillars in Debour station give it a nice touch.
How about a metro under palm trees? Terminus Vaulx-en-Velin of line A.
Right around the cornder: The maintenance yard for lines A und B.
At Gare d'Oullins (line B) a piece of the tunnel boring machine used during the extensions is kept.
This may look like a rusty container, but in fact its one of the entrances to Gare d'Oullins.
Reminded me of church windows: art work Place Guichard station
Métro D
Line D has no conductor, it is runnning fully automated and its running much more frequently than line A and B (headways of about 3 minutes throughout the day). The rolling stock has an orange paint job.
A train in station Vieux Lyon located next to the Lyons old town. Right around the corner is the cathedral St Etienne.
View from the overpass down to the tracks
A piece of art or just a thing to keep people from climbing between the cars? I have no idea - maybe both.
Some more pillars: This time made of stone (station Parilly)
My personal favourite: blue and orange meet in Valmy
or just blue
Aéroport Lyon St. Exupéry
A took a friends advice to heart that the TGV station at the airport is worth a visit. In retrospect I fully agree. It was worth the 30 minute ride on the Rhônexpress tram and the 25€ I had to pay for the return ticket.
On the train I was told that there is 4h return ticket for 17€. I had checked fares in advance on the website and booked the ticket online, because there is online discount. Unfortunately, the 4h ticket was not mentioned on the website (or I just missed it).
The station hall
The red tram in the foreground is the Rhônexpress on its way back to downton Lyon
Regular guest at the station: Ouigo-TGVs. SNCF low cost trains linking Gare de Marne La Vallée Chessy TGV to various destinations in the south of france
I spent quite some time there, because I wanted to wait for the sunset to get a glimpse of the station in the dark too. As this took much longer as expected I had to buy expensive airport food, because I got pretty hungry. But the reward was worth it.
Shot of the interieur (taken more or less at the same spot) at three different times of the day.
Look down unto the platforms
Tram
Since the year 2000 trams are running on Lyons streets again. The fleet consists of Citadis 302 by Alstom. I did not like the design of the trains that much.
My favourite location for tram pictures: The bridge in front of the Musée des Confluence
I liked the museums architecture: Its quite different from your usual museum complex
Tram on the wall of Perrache station
Trams in the green
All trams but one look alike (I have no clue why this one has a special look. As I did not catch it until the last day of my trip there was no time to check it out some more).
Mixed stuff
Lyons public transportation network consist of several trolleybus lines and two funicular lines.
Train of funicular F1 in station Fourvière
We are going down
The Fourviere offers a great view over the city: on the left in black the opera house, in the middle in red the Crédit Lyonais tower and on the right the cathedral
A view up the Fourviere: The basilica Notre-Dame de Fourvière and Tour Métallique de Fourvière
More or less by accident I stumpled upon these TER tram-trains in St. Paul station. Seems to be the same rolling stock that is used in Nantes
To sum the trip up some more architecture: The opera house and the headquarters of TV station Euronews
Thats it for today folks. I hope you liked the report. Looking forward to your feedback.
This was my first trip to Lyon but definitely not my last. The city has a great vibe that I liked from the minute when I stepped off my TGV train in Part Dieu station.
À bientôt
Charly